Avinash Rohra 
The underworld doesn’t wait politely. It sharpens its blades, tunes its guitars, and asks you to step forward.
That’s the energy surrounding the latest announcement for Grim Trials, which has just released a brand-new demo update on Steam, officially unveiled during Indie Fan Fest. Developed by Glory Jam and published by Soft Source Publishing, this heavy metal action roguelite is leaning harder into its combat systems, and it’s doing so with direct input from its community.
This isn’t just a routine demo refresh. This update is shaped by feedback gathered during a Discord community playtest, with the team explicitly thanking players for helping refine the experience. It’s the kind of iterative development story that feels increasingly vital in modern indie production: build, listen, improve, repeat.
Combat, Turned Up
At the center of the new demo is an expanded Skill Tree. Six new Attack Combo nodes have been added: Charge, Aftershock, Finisher, Clash, Momentum, and Shadowstep. Each of these features two levels and stackable damage, giving players more ways to tailor how Avelin tears through the underworld.
For a roguelite, where builds are the language of experimentation, this matters. More combo nodes mean more synergy potential, more room for risk, and more opportunity to turn a shaky run into something spectacular. It suggests a push toward faster, more expressive combat, something that fits the game’s heavy metal framing.
And then there’s the ranged overhaul.
Players can now fire a crossbow while moving, a change implemented because, as the press release bluntly puts it, the community thought it would be “badass.” So the developers added it.
In a genre where mobility equals survival, this seemingly small tweak could dramatically alter combat rhythm. Standing still is vulnerability. Movement is momentum. Grim Trials appears to be doubling down on that philosophy.
Visual Feedback That Hits Harder
Power fantasy only works if you can see it.
The demo update introduces enhanced gear VFX, meaning power-ups now trigger visually within the Trial Grounds. It’s a clear attempt to make player progression feel immediate and readable, not just statistically stronger but visibly so.
For high-speed roguelite combat, clarity is everything. When effects trigger cleanly and dramatically, the game communicates its systems more effectively. You understand your build not just through menus, but through the chaos unfolding onscreen.
Balance, Tightened
Beyond flashy additions, the update includes meaningful balancing changes and quality-of-life improvements.
Potions are now capped at 12 per slot per run, eliminating what the developers jokingly describe as “drinkmaxxing.” Crafting recipes have been tweaked to smooth progression. Blessings have had their appearance rate multiplier adjusted. Bosses now have stun immunity. Various gear stats and scaling effects have also been recalibrated.
These adjustments point toward a more disciplined combat ecosystem. Limiting potion stacking reins in overreliance on sustain. Stun immunity for bosses prevents the trivialization of major encounters. Together, these changes suggest a clearer design intent: challenge should be earned, not bypassed.
Returning players are advised to create a new save slot to properly experience the full scope of these updates.
Avelin’s Trials
For those unfamiliar with Grim Trials, the premise blends bombastic action with an emotional spine.
Players take on the role of Avelin, a young woman who has died unexpectedly and finds herself recruited as one of Death’s many Reapers. Tasked with hunting impure souls and confronting her own demons, she must endure a series of trials in an underworld shaped by her experiences. Her goal is to become a full-fledged Reaper and see her still-living love once again.
It’s a setup that fuses hack-and-slash intensity with a coming-of-age arc. The press release frames Grim Trials as both mechanical and personal, a roguelite where death is not just a system reset but a thematic foundation.
The Studio Behind the Scythe
Glory Jam, based in Indonesia, is no stranger to emotionally driven indie projects. The team has previously released titles such as Rage in Peace, What Comes After, and Hello Goodboy.
With Grim Trials, the studio is channeling that narrative sensitivity into a faster, heavier format: a hack-and-slash roguelite set in the afterlife.
Deadlier, By Design
What makes this demo update feel meaningful isn’t just the added nodes or balance tweaks. It’s the tone of responsiveness. Community suggestions led to tangible combat changes. Feedback reshaped systems. Numbers were adjusted. Bosses were strengthened. Movement was freed.
Grim Trials isn’t simply adding content; it’s refining identity.
For players who have already tested earlier builds, this demo represents a recalibration. For newcomers, it’s an invitation to step into Avelin’s journey at a moment when combat depth and system clarity appear sharper than before.
The new demo is live now on Steam, and if the underworld is going to test you, it seems only fair that you step into it with momentum on your side.
Check out the demo here.
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