Protectors of the Light,

It’s been a very busy month as our team has been both working to complete Exile’s Return and showcasing some of our most exciting progress to audiences at PAX Aus in Melbourne and SXSW Sydney, Australia.

If you weren’t able to make it to our Casting Back the Veil panel, don’t fret. We’ve got the biggest takeaways covered below, and the full presentation available here:

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**Be aware, some spoilers below!**

Casting Back the Veil

Ryan McMahon, our GM PC and Console kicked off the panel by introducing himself and Age of Darkness: Final Stand, before celebrating two years to the day since the team launched the title into Early Access, and our incredible AGDA win for Studio of the Year 2023.


We couldn’t have done it without you!

Next, the panellists were introduced:

Mario Barone – Senior Designer, Age of Darkness
Shane Dalton – Designer, Age of Darkness
Guy Cunningham – Voice of Edwin
Derek Pritchard – Lead Animator, Age of Darkness
Ruby Trumble – Concept Artist, Age of Darkness
Chris O’Neill – Senior Audio Designer, Age of Darkness

Mario kicked things off by discussing the story-so-far for Erodar and where our cast of characters find themselves at the end of Act II. Guy then spoke about how Edwin has evolved into a fully-fledged character. Many might not know it, but Guy is a Melbourne local who has been a huge part of the Age of Darkness: Final Stand journey, and helped shape Edwin to the character he is today.

Shane then took over and looked at how Mission 6 evolved dramatically throughout production.

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The Daughter of Ruin

Next, the discussion moved over to Aurelia. As many of you will know, Aurelia is a playable character in Act I and II of the campaign and people have long guessed that she would be appearing in Survival – but probably as an Order character, not as a Volatist. Accompanying her heel turn, she’s got a new, darker look.

Concept artist, Ruby, delved into Aurelia’s two designs and how they compare and contrast.


Before, as an Order Lightbearer.


After, as a Volatist Hero.

Derek then spoke about how he works with Ruby and other members on the team to create cutscenes and cinematics for the game.


Stormeye concept art by Ruby Trumble.


Finished Stormeye art

Derek continued to discuss how the title’s cutscenes have been improved and iterated on, sharing progress over time for Mission 3:

[previewyoutube=qhtJZSurkwQ;full][/previewyoutube]

Finally, Chris spoke about the creation of an audio identity for Age of Darkness: Final Stand and how the Audio team strove to make the world of Erodar feel unique and grounded. He then related one of his favourite anecdotes of using the PlaySide team to make the Order feel richer and more menacing.

[previewyoutube=g3FNkYVcr3A;full][/previewyoutube]

New Vizargo Intro

Eagle-eyed attendees would have seen the new Vizargo intro featured prominently. So here it is in all its glory! Enjoy!

[previewyoutube=rfI5MrQeX7Y;full][/previewyoutube]

Till next time, Protectors of the Light…

Next up, we will be deep diving on Aurelia and Formations…

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We greatly appreciate everyone who has taken the time to let us know about these bugs and crashes you’ve encountered. If you come across any bugs or crashes in the future, please report them to us either through the Steam forums, our Discord server in the ‘player-support’ channel or using the in-game bug reporting tool.

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Have a question about the game? We have a handy FAQ we’ve posted on the Steam forums that you can view. If your question hasn’t been answered there, we’ll be doing our best to keep up with questions here, on the forums and our Discord server.
Speaking of which, you can also chat with our team and ask them questions on our official Discord server here!

Age of Darkness: Final Stand