'Surfpunk' is a new action RPG where up to four players cooperate to explore monster-infested islands while riding the waves. Built on hack-and-slash action, it features a unique concept dubbed 'Surf-and-slash.' Players take on the role of pirate 'Raiders,' riding boards between procedurally generated tropical islands. The primary goal is to complete thrilling missions, defeating waves of enemies and collecting loot before a massive tsunami hits.

Double Stallion is the developer that proved its action game expertise with 'Convergence: A League of Legends Story,' a 2D side-scrolling Metroidvania game featuring 'Ekko' from the popular 'League of Legends.' This new title retains the dynamic action of its predecessor while distinguishing itself from other dark, violent games. It features vibrant colors reminiscent of 'shonen manga' and humorous, lively animation-style art, creating a bright atmosphere that friends can enjoy together.

The core experience of 'Surfpunk' lies in multiplayer cooperation. Players must divide roles and create synergy using four distinct weapons (classes)—a sword, dual pistols, an anchor, and an electric guitar that attacks to the rhythm—to successfully complete missions. The game, which includes management and progression systems to upgrade weapons and skill trees with collected loot, is currently available as a demo on Steam. The developers emphasized the importance of their Korean fans, who showed great support for their previous work, and announced that official Korean subtitles will be supported for the upcoming Early Access launch.

Double Stallion hosted a demo booth for 'Surfpunk' at 'BitSummit,' a global indie game festival held in Kyoto, Japan. INVEN met with Eric Angelillo, Creative Director at Double Stallion, at the event to discuss the game's direction and the story behind its development.

Q. Could you start with a brief introduction to 'Surfpunk'.

" 'Surfpunk' is a co-op-focused action RPG. Internally, we call it a 'Surf-and-slash' game. The core gameplay is based on hack-and-slash action similar to 'Ravenswatch,' 'Hades,' or 'League of Legends,' but the meta-game and management systems are designed more like 'Monster Hunter' or 'HELLDIVERS.' Players become pirates called 'Raiders' and set out from their pirate ship to complete missions. It is not a Roguelike; it involves completing missions with specific objectives. You can upgrade weapons and grow your skill tree with the treasures found during missions.

Q. What inspired you to adopt the unique concept of 'surfing' in the game.

" We looked at several games in similar genres, and most had very dark and violent themes. We wanted to maintain intense action while creating a fun, lively atmosphere where friends could gather and joke around. That led us to the 'shonen manga' sensibility, like 'One Piece,' and we decided that the surfing theme was very interesting and well-suited for incorporating humorous elements.

Q. You emphasized multiplayer. How does it work?

" Up to four players can form a team to complete missions together. Each class has different strengths, so players must support one another and cooperate to succeed. It is a PvE (Player vs. Environment) game, not PvP. Every mission has a map with randomly accessible islands, where you can discover hidden objectives. The game was designed with multiplayer as the core experience, and we prepared a 4-player mode for demonstration at the Graph booth here at BitSummit.

Q. How many weapons (classes) are there currently?

" Classes in 'Surfpunk' are defined by their weapons. At the time of the Early Access launch, we plan to offer the same four weapons currently in the demo: sword, dual pistols, guitar, and anchor.

Q. It's unique that a guitar is used as a weapon. What role does it play?

" It's an electric guitar-style weapon that acts as a sort of support class. It has many interesting skills and a rhythm-based attack mechanism. The anchor is closer to a tank, but it can also perform support play by throwing a hook to pull teammates up and assist with movement. We plan to increase the number of weapon types to six or more after reflecting on community feedback during the Early Access period.

Q. What is the size of the development team and the duration of development for 'Surfunk'?

" There are eight full-time staff members working on it, and it has taken at least three years. Since our previous title, 'Convergence: A League of Legends Story,' was a 2D side-scrolling Metroidvania, we had to build entirely new technology from scratch for this project, which took quite a bit of time initially. We have been receiving feedback since releasing a demo on Steam last December, and we want to move to the Early Access stage as soon as possible.

Q. How was the reaction from users who tried the demo on-site?

" It was quite good. Everyone seemed to enjoy it. I am confident that the art style of 'Surfpunk' will definitely resonate in the Asian market. Western users generally prefer dark and violent games, but Asian users tend to enjoy vibrant colors and beautiful graphic elements. Much of the inspiration for this game comes from PlayStation 2 (PS2) and Dreamcast console games I enjoyed playing in the past, especially Japanese games.

Q. If you had to pick the best game of your life, what would it be?

" If I had to pick my favorite game from childhood, it would definitely be 'Sonic 3.' I also really loved the style of Capcom's brawler 'Power Stone 2.' I can't leave out 'Skies of Arcadia,' a story about flying pirates released around 2001. I drew some inspiration for 'Surfpunk' from that game as well.

Q. Why did you decide to support the Korean language?

" It's not supported in the current demo, but we definitely plan to add Korean subtitles before the Early Access launch. Korea is a very important market right now. Since our previous game, 'Convergence: A League of Legends Story,' was an IP-based game for 'League of Legends,' it was quite popular in Korea. We expect there to be many potential fans in Korea, and Korean is a language we really want to support.

Q. Will there be voice acting for the characters?

" Not all dialogue is dubbed, but there will be voice lines for characters shouting battle cries or short phrases. Currently, English and Japanese voices are applied. We are also talking to influencers for special guest voices in the game, and we plan to gradually expand so that players can choose their own character voices.

Q. When is the official release date scheduled.

" We would like to release it before the end of this year if possible, but nothing is confirmed. It is much more important to properly finish the game than to force a release to meet a schedule.

Q. Lastly, do you have a message for Korean users.

" I know that Korean gamers really enjoy PvP games like 'League of Legends.' However, those games can sometimes cause significant stress and fatigue. I sincerely hope that 'Surfpunk' can approach players as a game that offers dynamic action similar to those titles, while allowing them to play much more comfortably and enjoyably with friends without the stress of competition.