How Studio Doodal Created the Wolrd for Metroidvania Game Solateria

Introduction

We are an indie game development team based in Korea, with eight members. We define ourselves as a team that believes in the power of imagination and storytelling. It was first formed in December 2019 while we were still in university, and since 2023, we have continued developing games together as an official company. In August 2023, we released our 2D precision platformer LAPIN, and we have now launched Solateria on Steam.

The development of Solateria builds heavily on the experience and know-how we gained from LAPIN. While working on LAPIN, we realized that our team has a strong ability to build worlds and create beautiful environments. We then began thinking about which genre would best allow us to fully utilize that strength, and concluded that a Metroidvania would be the most suitable choice.

At the time, all of our team members were also passionate fans of the Metroidvania genre. As a result, development began naturally from a shared goal: to create a Metroidvania that we ourselves would truly enjoy playing.

Solateria

Solateria is set in a world that has fallen into ruin due to the Shadow Plague. This world was once inhabited by a race known as "Litt", but everything was devastated after the plague spread. Players awaken alone in this beautiful yet dangerous world and must press forward through adversity.

The player takes on the role of a small flame warrior who has lost their memory. In the land of the sun, Solateria, where five races: water, fire, wind, earth, and fungus that once coexisted, warmth is life itself. The source of that warmth was their king, the Primordial Flame. However, with the emergence of the Shadow Plague, even the Primordial Flame has disappeared.

As a small flame warrior, the player embarks on a journey to find it. Throughout the journey, players will explore diverse regions shaped by the characteristics of these five races.

From a gameplay perspective, the core mechanic is parrying. By blocking enemy attacks with precise timing, players can reduce the enemy's resistance. Once that resistance is fully depleted, the enemy enters a staggered state, allowing the player to unleash a powerful counterattack called Pyron Action.

Additionally, since defensive and evasive actions have no startup delay, players can seamlessly interrupt attacks to parry at the exact moment needed, then immediately transition back into offense. This creates a fast-paced and stylish combat flow. Combined with powerful Burst attacks against staggered enemies, as well as a variety of skills and progression systems, the game delivers a dense and impactful combat experience.

Exploration and progression also play a key role. Players can use Inflare gained through leveling up to enhance their Corestone, allowing for character growth. By collecting new Corestone, players can diversify their builds, and by utilizing various Parts, they can create unique playstyles and synergies. The overall structure is designed as a loop: defeat bosses, acquire new Corestone abilities, access deeper areas, and gather new growth resources.

When it comes to difficulty design, our main focus was whether the experience feels both challenging and fair. Even if bosses initially appear overwhelming, we wanted players to gradually learn their patterns through repeated attempts, eventually reaching a point where they can parry most attacks and overcome the challenge.

To ensure consistency, we unified the timing of certain mechanics, such as Rage Flood and grab attacks, across all bosses. Each boss has a unique concept, and we put a great deal of effort into designing how patterns connect in a way that feels logical and learnable for the player.

Inspiration

When creating Solateria, we wanted to build a world that is both beautiful and lonely, yet filled with danger. The concept of a post-apocalyptic world and the feeling of navigating it alone were key starting points. Rather than simply explaining the story, we wanted players to experience it through exploration, gradually uncovering the history, characters, and reasons behind the world's current state.

The story itself reflects thoughts that the director has carried for a long time: that in difficult and desperate situations, the only one who can truly save you is yourself. Through the game, we wanted players to experience a sense of believing in and affirming themselves. Each character in Solateria is pursuing their own form of salvation, and we carefully designed how both the protagonist and supporting characters move toward that goal throughout the game.

In terms of storytelling, we were inspired by classic Metroidvania titles. Instead of presenting the entire narrative upfront, we structured the game so that players gradually become curious and actively seek out the deeper lore. For those who choose to explore further, the game continuously reveals new layers of truth and worldbuilding.

Visually, our experience with hand-drawn backgrounds from LAPIN served as a strong foundation. We have always believed that we are particularly strong at expressing atmosphere through handcrafted visuals, and with Solateria, we aimed to push that even further.

Since Metroidvania games require players to spend long periods exploring the same world, we believed it was important not only to create beautiful visuals but also to design memorable spaces and atmosphere. Each region was carefully crafted with distinct lighting, color palettes, and effects to leave a lasting impression.

We chose to maintain the hand-drawn style because we believe it is highly effective in conveying emotion and atmosphere. We wanted players to immediately recognize the unique mood of Solateria even from a single screenshot.

In fact, many players have responded positively to the game's visual quality and overall atmosphere. For us, hand-drawn art is not just a visual style. It is a core part of the game's identity.

Development Process

Solateria was developed using Unity, with a strong focus on URP. Our goal was not just to create a solid action game, but to deliver an experience where highquality visuals and intense combat coexist seamlessly.

To achieve this, we made extensive use of post-processing and shaders to enhance both environments and effects, giving each region a distinct atmosphere.

One of the biggest technical challenges was maintaining high visual fidelity while controlling resource usage. Compared to LAPIN, Solateria required more assets and more complex effects, making the balance between performance and quality much more critical.

A particularly challenging aspect was the blending of post-processing effects. Since each region had its own unique visual tone, abrupt transitions between areas could break immersion. To solve this, we implemented a system that smoothly transitions visual effects based on the player's position.

Blending different LUTs (Look-Up Tables) naturally required a great deal of trial and error, but ultimately allowed us to create seamless environmental transitions.

Rather than building entirely new tools, we focused on creating efficient pipelines by connecting existing tools. For example, our scenario writers work in spreadsheets, and we developed internal tools to import that data directly into the game. This pipeline, which originated from LAPIN, significantly improved readability, flexibility, and development speed.

For optimization, object pooling proved especially effective. While it is a commonly used technique, we applied it extensively to maintain high-quality visuals and numerous effects without causing frame drops during combat.

Since performance instability during combat can severely impact the player experience, we prioritized stability through efficient resource management rather than simply lowering visual quality.

Process Before Launch

Before launch, we focused heavily on showcasing the game through both domestic and international exhibitions. Participating in Gamescom 2025 and releasing a demo during Steam Next Fest in February 2026 were particularly important milestones.

These events allowed us to observe players directly and gather valuable feedback. After releasing the demo, we were able to collect a much broader range of player reactions. From early on, we prioritized making it easy for players to connect with us. For example, we included a direct link to our Discord server on the title screen of the demo.

Discord became the central hub for communication, where we actively engaged with players and incorporated their feedback into development. We also monitored reactions across various channels, including exhibitions, Discord, and online discussions, and used this data to guide our development direction.

After launch, Discord continued to play a significant role. We frequently asked players for feedback, particularly regarding late-game boss design, and used their responses to identify areas for improvement. Additionally, we shared development logs and short gameplay clips on platforms like Instagram and Twitter to increase visibility.

Overall, the combination of demo releases, social media presence, and direct communication through Discord played a crucial role in both promoting and improving the game.

Community Reception and Lessons

One of the most positively received aspects of Solateria has been its visual quality. Many players have praised the graphics and atmosphere, which we believe reflects the effort we put into that direction.

On the other hand, early feedback indicated that the game's difficulty was too high. After carefully analyzing feedback from multiple channels, we concluded that adjustments were necessary and implemented a large-scale difficulty update shortly after launch.

We also released daily patches, continuously improving the game based on feedback from Steam discussions, Discord, and reviews, particularly focusing on quality-of-life improvements.

As a result, we are now receiving much more positive feedback regarding overall enjoyment. Many players who enjoy challenging boss fights have expressed satisfaction in overcoming difficult encounters after multiple attempts, especially on higher difficulty settings.

Some players have even described Solateria as one of the most enjoyable Metroidvania games they have played. We have also received long messages from players on Discord expressing how much they enjoyed the game, particularly praising its worldbuilding and narrative.

As fans of the Metroidvania genre ourselves, it is incredibly rewarding to see our game being appreciated by other fans of the genre. Moving forward, our primary focus is on responding to ongoing bug reports and improving stability.

At the same time, we continue to monitor community feedback and make balance adjustments as needed. We are also considering additional content, such as a Boss Rush mode and a soundtrack DLC.

One of the biggest lessons we learned is just how complex and challenging it is to develop a Metroidvania game. As fans of the genre, we wanted to create one ourselves, but the process was far from easy. Nevertheless, by focusing on delivering a meaningful narrative and refining the combat experience, we were able to bring Solateria to life.

Developing Solateria was a major challenge for our team, and we are grateful to all the players who have supported and enjoyed the game. We hope that Solateria can become a memorable and enjoyable experience for fans of the Metroidvania genre.

Studio Doodal

Interview conducted by Amber Rutherford