We’re big fans of the Metroidvania genre here, but even that genre pales compared to our love of 2D platformers. In recent years we’ve had some seriously incredible games added to both genres, so when a game comes along that marries incredible platforming with exploration and discovery, our ears are always pricked up.
After around three years of being in the public eye, Constance is nearly here. Set for release on November 24th on PC (console versions are coming later), after multiple demos, developer Blue Backpack is ready to unleash this painterly stunner of a game into the public for all to see and play. Ahead of that release date, we had a chance to sit down with Sebastian Drews, Game Director at Blue Backpack, to talk about how the team is feeling, how the demos have worked for the developer, those console versions, locomotion and movement, and of course, difficulty.
First of all thanks for taking the time to answer our questions. How are you feeling now the release date is finally in sight for the team?
A wild mix of emotions haha, stress, anxiety, but also of course lots of excitement and wonder and satisfaction. We can’t wait to finally release and see the reactions of everyone for the full game.
Constance has been in development a while now, did you encounter any issues along the way? Has the process been challenging?
Too many to name them all, haha. I think that’s very normal in game development. You have ideas that sound good on paper but then in practice they don’t work at all, you gotta come up with alternatives, that brings consequences, now you need to fix those. We had a couple of those moments for sure but I think we solved all of them satisfactory in the end.
How much has your design and features changed along the development path?
Most things happened as we planned them I’d say, but of course over three years, new things get added, some get iterated, others get fully scrapped. But I’m glad to be able to say that the planned core vision remained the same.
How important have playable demos been for the game?
Extremely. We literally had three different demos up and running on Steam for almost two years and the feedback from the players is super important and helped us a lot.
We find that in a game of this genre, “locomotion” and “movement” are really key to enjoyment. How hard is that to get across in trailers, and is that why a demo feels so important for a game like Constance?
We are very lucky to have an amazingly talented animator, Su, who actually manages to get that feeling of “flow” and “fluidity” across with her work, even in the trailers I would say. But of course, you are right, a demo helps really a lot to sell it fully. You need to feel the responsiveness of the controls yourself with a controller in hand, not just watch it.
What sort of length can people expect? It’s clear speed-runners will have fun sequence breaking, but what about a normal playthrough?
Very hard to say, but if we’re looking at our testers, I’d say for a blind first playthrough everything from 8 hours (that would be really quick though I think) to 15 hours is possible. I could imagine for slower players or less experienced players or just players who love to look at environments it could also be easily 20 hours haha.
The fact you can make the game harder when you die, if you prefer, is interesting. Just how far can people take this in terms of difficulty, is there a hard upper limit?
You can use that system as much as you like, it doesn’t stack. It’s our approach to eliminate unnecessary backtracking – especially since we are so platforming focused.
On that note, what would you compare the difficulty to? Are there ultra-hard optional sections if people want that?
Constance overall is an accessible game I’d say, nonetheless a challenging one. You need to achieve your victories and persevere here and there. But it’s definitely doable. Really hard sections do exist for players who like that but they are usually on optional paths.
How healthy do you feel the metroidvania genre is? We’re big fans, and it’s lovely to see such high profile games like Silksong, Prince of Persia, and now Constance in the limelight.
I feel like it’s a challenging genre. We’re definitely attempting something different with Constance, our Game Over system is the biggest indicator for that I would say. It’s also a very inspiring genre I’d say. Silksong is one of the most well crafted games in existence I would say, I really enjoyed Lost Crown and there are so many other great interpretations of the genre through Indie Games.
Do you have a release window in mind for the console versions, and will they all come at once… yes we’re thinking Switch 2 here (sorry!)
We hope to get out the console versions sometime early 2026, it might be April or something, but nothing fixed yet. If every version comes at the same time is also hard to say still, because Nintendo Switch 2 dev kits are apparently very hard to get for small indie devs like us.
How early did you decide on hand-drawn art? It feels like it was part of the original idea, is that right?
To be honest just being inspired by Hollow Knight and their animations, haha. When we then locked in on all the art, creativity, giant paintbrush as a weapon themes, it became apparent that it is the right choice and not 3D or pixel art, haha.
The corruption idea is fascinating, where did that come from?
We tried to figure out how we could get the feeling across of being anxious, depressed or paralyzed by thoughts through systems/mechanics that would also relate to paint/colour somehow.
The black corruption slowly infecting your paint and the world around Constance seemed like the best idea.
The story seems like it could go to dark places with the focus on mental health. Is this a personal story, or just one you wanted to tell? Please feel free to skip this question if you’d rather not speak about personal issues.
I’m happy to speak about it and it’s as personal as it can get actually haha. The whole story of Constance is very closely related to my own journey through different professions/careers and my own fight with mental health issues. The special thing is, that with each and every member that joined the team we not only realized that they are a great fit with their skills but also that every single person that started to work on Constance could very strongly relate to the story I wanted to share. So with everyone that joined the story grew a little more to represent us as a whole team as best as possible. The game really means a lot to us – in many ways.
Thanks to Sebastian Drews for taking the time to answer our questions.
Constance is coming to PC on November 23rd, and consoles at a later date.
