Gravethorn vs Blood Within: What's the difference?

It’s been nearly a year since I released Blood Within. After taking some time to recharge, I jumped back into game development. During this period, I worked on two projects—one as a solo endeavor and the other as a team effort. Unfortunately, the group project didn’t work out due to unforeseen circumstances, at least for me. My solo project, on the other hand, is currently on hold due to resource constraints. It’s not abandoned, just waiting for the right time and a complete gameplay overhaul. It has the potential to be something big—for me, at least—but it needs more time to take shape.

In short, the months following Blood Within's release didn’t lead to a finished game. However, in December, I decided to develop another game in the same genre and a similar dark fantasy theme. That’s how Gravethorn came to life.

This time, I approached development with a much clearer design philosophy. Unlike my previous mistakes, I didn’t just go with the flow. I carefully planned level layouts, structured mechanics beforehand, designed character progression thoughtfully, and wrote dialogues with meticulous attention to detail.

Additionally, I took a closer look at how other games in the genre handled things. I completed Blasphemous 1 & 2, took a trip back in time to play Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, and revisited Hollow Knight, which I had left unfinished. Studying these successful titles helped me understand what makes them so compelling. Based on what I learned, here’s a breakdown of the key differences between Blood Within and Gravethorn.

Controller Customization

In Blood Within, I didn’t have enough experience to implement customizable controls, so players had to use the default keybindings I had set. In Gravethorn, both keyboard/mouse and gamepad controls can be fully remapped. Additionally, the in-game button prompts dynamically update based on the player's chosen keybindings.

Language Options

Blood Within only supported English and Turkish. In Gravethorn, I aimed to reach a broader audience, so in addition to English and Turkish, the game will be available in French, German, Italian, Spanish, Brazilian Portuguese, Polish, Russian, Japanese, Korean, Traditional Chinese and Simplified Chinese—13 languages in total. While the translations haven’t been reviewed by professionals or native speakers, I’ve done my best to verify their accuracy, and overall, they seem to convey the intended meaning well. For now, this is a solid step forward. Hitstop

One of the things I overlooked in Blood Within was hitstop—the brief pause when an attack lands. It significantly enhances the impact of combat and is a crucial element in creating satisfying hits. In Gravethorn, I made sure that both successful attacks and received damage briefly freeze the character animations just enough to emphasize the impact without disrupting the game’s flow.

Environmental Sounds and Details

Wind howling, distant owl calls, barking dogs, the reverberation of footsteps in enclosed spaces—these small details help immerse the player in the game’s world. Sound design plays a pivotal role in making a world feel real, so I’ve paid extra attention to environmental audio to enhance the overall atmosphere.

Map and Level Design

Blood Within had a very linear level structure, which is why there was no map interface. Gravethorn, however, features a more interconnected world filled with shortcuts, hidden passages, elevators, and corridors that link different areas. To prevent players from feeling lost, I’ve added a dynamically updating map that progresses alongside them.

Boss Fights

In Blood Within, boss fights were primarily built around parrying, which, while fun at first, became repetitive as the game progressed. Neither the player nor the bosses introduced new mechanics, which limited gameplay variety. Additionally, some players found boss fights unfair, as many bosses relied on constant forward dash to pressure the player. In Gravethorn, I’ve focused on designing more diverse, balanced, yet still challenging encounters that move away from monotony.

Cleaner and More Intuitive UI

The UI in Blood Within was a bit cluttered. For Gravethorn, I’ve aimed for a cleaner and more streamlined design that’s easier to navigate for both Gamepad and Keyboard.

Voice Acting and Dialogue

Blood Within didn’t have voice acting, but for Gravethorn, I’ve added voiced lines where possible to breathe life into the characters. While not perfect, I believe it adds depth to the atmosphere and storytelling. Additionally, in Blood Within, I made the mistake of writing the script in Turkish first and then translating it into English. This resulted in some dialogues losing their impact. This time, I wrote everything in English from the start, and I think it has led to a much stronger narrative experience.

Camera Movement

In Blood Within, the camera always followed the player. In Gravethorn, unless moving vertically, the camera remains stable on the Y-axis while smoothly tracking the player horizontally. When reaching the edges of rooms, it stops following to maintain a composed frame. During boss fights, the camera remains fixed at a predetermined position between the player and the boss, ensuring that the battlefield’s boundaries are clearly visible. In Blood Within, I had used a lightning effect to mark boss arenas, but since the camera followed the player, bosses could sometimes move off-screen. This issue has been resolved in Gravethorn.

Animation Variety

Captain Thorne, the protagonist of Blood Within, had a rather limited animation set. Inquisitor, on the other hand, has animations for opening chests, drinking potions, grabbing ledges, crouching, and more. I had to manually adjust some of these animations in Aseprite, but the extra effort was worth it to achieve greater variety.

Execution Moves

Players can now execute stunned enemies with brutal finishing moves. Creating unique animations for each enemy and ensuring proper synchronization took a lot of work, but I believe the added variety makes it well worth the effort.

For now, that’s what I wanted to share about Gravethorn. I wanted to reflect on the lessons I’ve learned and the improvements I’ve made compared to my previous game. Development continues, and I’m looking forward to sharing more in the future!