'Surfpunk' is a new action RPG where up to four players cooperate to explore monster-infested islands and race across the waves. Based on hack-and-slash action, it features a unique concept called 'Surf-and-slash'. Players become pirates called 'Raiders' and traverse procedurally generated tropical islands on boards. The main objective is to carry out a thrilling mission where you must defeat swarming enemies, acquire loot, and escape before a massive tsunami strikes. Double Stallion is a developer that proved its capabilities in action game development by releasing 'Time/Cross: A League of Legends Story,' a 2D side-scrolling Metroidvania game featuring the champion 'Ekko' from the popular game 'League of Legends.' This new title aims to differentiate itself from other games with dark and violent atmospheres while preserving the dynamic action sense of its predecessor. It is characterized by a bright atmosphere where players can laugh and chat with friends, achieved through the application of colorful hues reminiscent of 'shonen manga' and humorous, lively anime-style art. The core experience pursued by 'Surfpunk' lies in multiplayer cooperation. To successfully complete missions, players must utilize four distinct weapon types (classes)—swords, dual pistols, anchors, and even electric guitars that attack to the rhythm—to divide roles with teammates and create synergy. Featuring a management and development system that enhances weapons and skill trees with collected loot, this game is currently available to play via a Steam demo version. Emphasizing the importance of Korean fans who showed great support for the previous title, the development team announced that they will officially support Korean subtitles for the upcoming Early Access release. Double Stallion set up a demo booth for 'Surfpunk' at the global indie game festival 'BitSummit' held in Kyoto, Japan, and welcomed users. Inven met with Eric Angelillo, Creative Director of Double Stallion, at BitSummit to discuss the game's direction and behind-the-scenes development stories. Double Stallion Creative Director Eric Angelillo ©INVEN Reporter Kim Ji-yeon Q. First, please give us a brief introduction to 'Surfpunk'. 'Surfpunk' is a cooperative action RPG. Internally, we refer to the game as 'Surf and Slash'. While the core gameplay is based on hack-and-slash action similar to 'Raven's Watch', 'Hades', or 'League of Legends', the metagame and management phase systems are designed to be closer to 'Monster Hunter' or 'Helldivers'. Players become pirates called 'Raiders' and set off from a pirate ship after selecting missions to complete. It is not a roguelike; players perform missions with objectives to achieve. With treasures found during missions, players can upgrade weapons and develop their skill trees. Q. Incorporating the unique concept of 'surfing' into the game... I am curious about the inspiration behind this choice. Q. You particularly emphasized multiplayer. How is it played? Up to four players can form a team to perform missions together. Each class has different strengths, so players must support one another, and cooperation is essential to successfully complete the mission. It is a PvE mode where you fight against the environment rather than player-versus-player (PvP) combat. Every mission features a map and randomly accessible islands, where hidden objectives can be discovered along the way. The design intent itself places multiplayer as the core experience, and preparations have been made to allow a demonstration of the 4-player mode at the Graph booth within the BitSummit venue. A demonstration of the 4-player mode has also been arranged. ©INVEN Kim Ji-yeon Reporter

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

" The classes in 'Surfpunk' are divided based on weapons, and at the time of Early Access release, we plan to provide four weapons—sword, dual pistols, guitar, and anchor—identical to those currently in the demo.

Q. It is unique that a guitar is used as a weapon. What role does it play? It is an electric guitar-shaped weapon that serves as a type of support class. It features many interesting skills and a timing-based mechanism that attacks in rhythm. While the Anchor is closer to a tank, it also allows for support play by throwing a hook to pull teammates up and assist with movement. Reflecting community feedback received during Early Access, we plan to increase the number of weapon types to over six in the future. 'Guitar' attacking in rhythm ©Double Stallion Q. What is the development team size and duration of 'Surfpunk'? A total of 8 full-time employees are currently developing the game, and it has taken at least 3 years. Since our previous title, 'Crossroads: A League of Legends Story,' was a 2D side-scrolling Metroidvania, we spent a considerable amount of time initially building entirely new technology from scratch for this new title. We have released a demo version on Steam since last December to gather feedback and aim to move into Early Access as soon as possible. How was the reaction from users who tried the demo on-site? It was quite good. Everyone really enjoyed it. I am confident that the art style of 'Surfpunk' will definitely work in the Asian market. While users in the Western market generally want dark and violent games, those in Asia tend to enjoy vibrant colors and beautiful graphic elements. A significant portion of the inspiration for this game came from PlayStation 2 (PS2) and Dreamcast console games that I enjoyed playing in the past, specifically Japanese games. ©Double Stallion Q. If you had to choose the best game of your entire life? What was the reason for deciding to support Korean? Although it is not supported in the current demo version, we plan to definitely add Korean subtitles before the Early Access release. Korea is currently a very important market. Since the previous game, 'Crossing Time: A League of Legends Tale,' was a 'League of Legends' IP game, it was quite popular in Korea. We expect there will be many potential fans in Korea, and Korean is a language we really want to support. 'Crossing Time: A League of Legends Tale' featuring LoL 'Ekko' ©Double Stallion Q. Will character voice dubbing be included? Not all dialogue will be dubbed, but voiceovers for characters shouting battle cries or short lines will be included. Currently, English and Japanese voiceovers are available. We are also in discussions with influencers regarding special in-game guest voices, and we plan to gradually expand this so that users can select their own character voices while playing. I am curious when the official release date is scheduled. We would like to release it before the end of this year if possible, but nothing is confirmed. This is because properly completing the game is much more important than forcing a release to meet the schedule. ©Double Stallion Stallion)