NO PLACE FOR BRAVERY

Thorn, an old warrior worn down by decades of vim and violence, roams a world undone in search of his lost daughter. Dodge, parry and cleave your way out of brutal clashes in this 2D top-down action RPG while you discover the bone-chilling tale of No Place for Bravery by Glitch Factory and Ysbryd Games. 

In No Place for Bravery, players experience a lingering sense of fragility, as any mistakes will be heavily punished. Surviving this game requires skilled parries and the ability to keep up with fast-paced combat: although Thorn may be a warrior, it’s clear that he can easily die, too. It will be up to the player to decide how far Thorn will go—not only to rescue his daughter, but also to fulfill his ambitions—all with his disabled foster son at his side.

The story of Bravery is inspired by the developers’ stories and real-life experiences: focusing on the role of parental figures and how their choices can have consequences. Glitch Factory and Ysbryd Games surely bring depth and feeling to their game.

Released on September 22nd, 2022, No Place for Bravery is available now on Steam for PC and Nintendo Switch.

Ysbryd Games & Necrosoft Games also featured Demonschool at PAX West 2022:

Demonschool is a new-style tactics RPG where motion equals action. Defeat big weirdos in between the human and demon worlds as Faye and her misfit companions, all while navigating university life on a mysterious island. Demonschool will be releasing in 2023 on Steam.

Joey: I'm Joey interviewing with Jacob Burgess. Who are you? What are you working on?

Jacob: So my name is Jacob Burgess, again, the Director of Operations for Ysbryd Gamess. I help run the publisher. So, right now we're showing No Place for Bravery and Demon School here at PAX West.

Joey: Perfect. I love both the games. They are really challenging, like to a breakpoint and they’re fantastic. Awesome. Great art too.

Jacob: Thank you. Thanks a lot. Yeah, art and message are two of the most important things to us.

Joey: What originally got you into indies?

Jacob: I’m not exactly sure how to answer that question…

Joey: Maybe like a good memory of something that happened?

Jacob: We didn’t really get into Indies. We have always been into indies. That's where we started. That's where we've always been. It wasn't like, we looked at the landscape and decided, “Oh, we’re gonna go into indies now.” We’ve been indie the entire damn time. From some of our first games, like bass Masquerada: Songs and Shadows and She Remembered Caterpillars, all the way up to World of War, Demon School, and No Place for Bravery.

Joey: Cool. I love that. Paving the way.

Jacob: *laughs* I wouldn't make any grand claims that we paved the way, but we have been around for quite some time as an indie publisher, about seven years now. Which, you know, we’re a boutique publisher, we do a lot with a little. But I wouldn’t make any grand claims that we’ve paved the way or anything.

Joey: No, you’re good, you’re good. So what are you most excited about in the game in the game, No Place for Bravery?

Jacob: Yeah, No Place for Bravery? The art and the music.

Joey: The art and the music?

Jacob: Yeah, that's the friggin chocolate and peanut butter that, kind of, makes this game so great. Like the gameplay is just smooth as hell. It is a lot of fun. I've been living with this game for three years. The devs have been living with it for five.

Joey: Wow.

Jacob: Yeah. And the art and the aesthetic and the game, knowing what it is and what it’s about, is what attracted us to want to partner with Glitch Factory.

Joey: Okay.

Jacob: This game is going to kick your ass and break your heart.

Joey: That's my favorite kind of game.

Jacob: Yeah.

Joey: I'm sure a lot of people can agree with me on that one too. Perfect. And so, you’re the publisher: so what was it like working with the developers on this game?

Jacob: They're awesome guys. They're a group of seven dudes out of Brazil. And they have put their blood, sweat, tears, and trauma into this game. Like, the game ultimately is a story of how far a father would go to keep his family together in a world that's dying. It's a low fantasy setting. The guys down there just put so much of themselves into this game. I literally talk to them every week, you know, for progress updates and things, and yeah, and working with them has been a blast. Really.

Joey: I kind of gathered some of that, just from the 20-minute or 25-minute demo.

Jacob: Yeah, 20-25 minutes. Yup.

Joey: It was great. The story is right there, you know.

Jacob: Yeah, it gets you.

Joey: I love it. It's fantastic. The warlock — even the blood — I was like, “Oh! There’s just like, a literal ocean of blood right when you walk into the next area.” It was great.

Jacob: Yeah, the game makes you invest early on.

Joey: What is something that you look for when deciding to publish a game?

Jacob: So, Ysbryd is a Welsh word that means “spirit”.

Joey: Okay.

Jacob: So, one of the things that we look for — we've got to find it's hard to describe — but, one of the things that we look for is soul. so the game has to be able to — right off the bat, just looking at it — have its own identity, its own aesthetic, and its own message. For us, that's one of the most important things. Like, it just grabs you by the chest. It just grabs your heart right off. It makes you want to look at it just by the gravity of it existing.

Joey: I love that. It's just like for lack of better words: it just needs that “it” factor, right?

Jacob: I would put it more as gravity because it's a little bit easier to, kind of, rock. But yeah, that would be a decent way to put it. Yeah.

Joey: I love that. Awesome. And then I guess, you know, if there was anything — like if you could go back in time — would you change anything? Would you have anything from the future, like something to tell your past self? Anything about the game?

Jacob: Anything about No Place for Bravery?

Joey: Yeah.

Jacob: *laughs*

Joey: That's my favorite question to ask people. *laughs*

Jacob: Give yourself some time after you're done with it.

Joey: Okay. That’s a great answer. I love that. Well, I've been Joey with Game Raven Review and this is Jacob Burgess.

Jacob: Jacob Burgess with Ysbryd Games.

Joey: Awesome.