Stream of the Day
‘Effulgence RPG’ delivers ASCII story
The game turns text characters into a 3D adventure, combining distinctive visuals with tactical combat.
Effulgence RPG, a sci-fi roleplaying game built entirely from text characters, enters Steam Early Access on 2 December 2025.
The colourful turn-based story features a style inspired by the expressive potential of keyboard characters. It draws on ASCII art where letters, numbers and symbols function as visual strokes.
“Effulgence RPG is a party-based RPG where enemies are more than obstacles – they’re raw material,” said solo developer Andrei in a press release. “Break them down into particles and forge weapons and gear using a matter printer. The entire world is built from text symbols arranged in 3D space, creating a uniquely striking visual style.”
In the game, which has over 45,000 Steam wishlists, video signals degrade over vast distances. A transmission travels easily from satellite range, but beyond the solar system even a single image can take hours to reach Earth. From a galaxy a million light-years away, only fragments of symbols arrive, and those pieces can sometimes be decoded into animations made from text characters.
Effulgence RPG presents a world built with symbols, spanning characters, environments and visual effects. The tactical turn-based combat uses a PING system to manage turn order and timing. Defeated enemies can be harvested for components that are printed into weapons and items.
The world includes a 3D-style globe map built from symbols, with new locations unlocking as players advance, supported by short satirical dialogue and a slightly absurd and darkly humorous tone.
Where to play Effulgence RPG?
Effulgence RPG is available to play on Steam through its Early Access version from 2 December 2025. It offers a compact first slice of roughly an hour of content.
A public roadmap is available in the game’s main menu and on the Steam page, detailing upcoming additions that include new locations and quests, further combat mechanics, new weapons, tactical cartridges, achievements and other planned features. A Supporter DLC is scheduled: it will be free for Early Access owners of the base game and will become paid after the full 1.0 release, with early players retaining access at no additional cost.
* Visit the ‘Effulgence RPG’ Steam page here.
