The creators of the Metroidvania SpiritFusion are looking for a publisher for their project

New material in the "Investor/Publisher Wanted" section. Today we talk about the vibrant Metroidvania, SpiritFusion, centered around the adventures of a spirit knight.

Project overview by Marcel Zakiev, CEO and Unity Developer of the team.

About the Team

The team consists of enthusiasts from Lumforge. Work on the current project version has been underway since February 2025.

Team Members:

Marcel Zakiev – Unity Developer;
Nika Sikorskaya – Spine Animator;
Aleksandr Juganson – Narrative Designer;
Mikhail Puchkov – Composer;
Andrey Kharin – Sound Designer.

The team independently developed the playable foundation of the project: combat systems, character controls, enemies, elemental reaction systems, interfaces, saves, dialogues, trading, several game locations, animation, and sound design.

About the Project

SpiritFusion is a single-player 2D Metroidvania, an action-platformer focused on world exploration, battles, and a magical system centered around the use and combination of elements. Players control a spirit knight traveling through a fantasy world, battling foes, unlocking new abilities, and utilizing them in combat and environment interactions. The planned completion time is about eight hours.

A playable alpha version is currently available, featuring the main menu, a village, a magical forest, a demo gameplay path, and the final scene.

The project is being developed on Unity 6 using:

Universal Render Pipeline and Unity's 2D Tools;
Spine for character animation;
FMOD for music and sounds;
Yarn Spinner for dialogues;
Unity Input System supporting keyboard, mouse, and gamepad;
Cinemachine, DOTween, R3, and a proprietary DI architecture.

Current work is focused on a demo version. To reach the demo milestone, the following tasks are needed:

Add the Giant Forest location;
Add a boss for the location;
Work on game balance and progression;
Conduct playtests and refine the game based on results.

Before release, the full range of locations (five in total) and content must be completed, storytelling and dialogues refined, enemies and bosses added, progression balance polished, interfaces polished, testing, optimization, localization, and a release build prepared.

Exact readiness percent by repository can't be determined.

SYNOPSIS ANNOTATION

Spirit Knight Arthur is a renowned adventurer from an order of spirit knights assembled to protect the world of all races from conflicts. Sometime back, he retired and settled in a village near the Hearth that nourishes all spirits. At first, Arthur's peace remains undisturbed, until his former comrades start dying one by one. While Arthur discovers their bodies along with elemental horcruxes in succession, he's unaware his actions are manipulated by an external force. Can you help Arthur unravel external manipulations and realize what is happening in this perilous world?

About Gameplay and Mechanics

The primary gameplay loop involves exploring locations, platforming, combat, resource gathering, unlocking elemental abilities, and character development.

The current version includes:

Walking, running, jumping, and dashing;
Melee attack;
Aiming and using magical abilities;
Health, mana, healing, and death with subsequent respawn;
Various enemy types with patrolling, chasing, retreating, melee, and ranged attacks;
Four configured abilities: life magic, wind, water, and cold;
Elemental statuses and reactions;
Inventory, equipment, skills, and upgrades;
Elemental horcruxes unlocking abilities and interactions;
Consumable items, currency, resource gathering, and in-game shop;
Dialogues and NPC interactions;
Save points in the form of campfires;
Destructible objects, doors, crystals, moving platforms, and other environmental elements;
Support for keyboard, mouse, and gamepad.

The project's key feature is the sequential overlay of elements on enemies. Combinations trigger specific reactions. For example:

Fire + life causes burning with periodic damage;
Cold + water freezes the enemy;
Air amplifies an existing element, creating an area explosion.

This system allows the choice not only of a specific spell but also of a sequence of actions, adjusting to enemy type, shield, and battle field conditions. Elemental abilities are also used for environmental interactions: for instance, an air horcrux is necessary to activate an air platform.

USPs we emphasize are:

1. Combining elements for diverse combat outcomes.
2. Linking magical abilities with world exploration.
3. A vivid fantasy atmosphere with a deep narrative.
4. A combat system designed for thoughtful switching of abilities.

Target Audience

SpiritFusion is aimed at players who enjoy atmospheric single-player games with exploration, ability development, and dynamic combats.

The anticipated core audience consists of:

Players approximately 10–35 years old;
PC and console users;
Fans of indie games with a vibrant visual style;
Players interested in world exploration, acquiring new abilities, and experimenting with combat combinations.

Reference audiences can include:

Ori and the Blind Forest / Ori and the Will of the Wisps – atmosphere, platforming, and exploration;
Hollow Knight – 2D Metroidvania audience and exploration structure;
Neversong – emotional storytelling;
Ender Lilies – fantasy atmosphere and battle-centric action-platforming;
Magicka – serving as a reference for player interest in elemental combination, though the genre and game structure differ.

Business Model

SpiritFusion is planned as a premium single-player game without ads or mandatory in-game purchases. Primary revenue is expected from full version sales. The release of a soundtrack, artbook, or substantial additions may be considered post-release but are not core to the current financial model.

Currently, SpiritFusion has garnered around 500 wishlists on Steam without spending on paid promotion or a systematic marketing campaign. We see this as an initial sign of audience interest but do not consider the figure sufficient for accurate sales forecasts.

The commercial result will depend on release timing, the quality and duration of the final version, participation in Steam festivals, collaboration with content creators, and the level of support from the publisher. Therefore, we are considering several scenarios primarily based on the number of wishlists by release.

In the basic scenario, with a publisher, we aim to gather 10–25 thousand wishlists by release. Achieving this metric, our working estimate is 1.5–8 thousand copies sold in the first month and 5–30 thousand copies over the first year. The lower range corresponds to limited marketing reach; the upper range anticipates a successful demo, festival participation, positive reviews, and additional organic visibility on Steam.

We preliminarily consider a premium model with a base price of $14.99 – $19.99. The final price will be determined after fixing the full version's volume, evaluating playtime, and conducting playtests. The nearest pricing benchmarks are Hollow Knight and Neversong at the lower end of the range, and Nine Sols at the upper.

Who We're Looking For

We are seeking a publishing partner to help SpiritFusion reach the market and realize its commercial potential. The team is ready to continue core development independently and does not view full production funding as a mandatory cooperation condition.

Primarily, we need assistance with marketing strategy and positioning, promoting the Steam page, participating in festivals, PR, and working with content creators. Additionally, we are interested in support for QA, localization, and porting the game to target platforms – PC and consoles.

The project currently has a playable version and approximately 500 organic wishlists gathered without an advertising budget or systematic marketing. We see the publisher's involvement as especially valuable in preparing public demos, building an audience, and organizing the release.

We are open to various cooperation formats: providing publishing services, funding specific stages, or a combined model. We propose determining the exact required budget together after evaluating the current build, production plan, and the cost of marketing, QA, localization, and porting.

Contact

Telegram: @mar_munc