Dear members of the Secret Fire Brigade, sorry for the wait! Are you ready for a Werewolf game intertwined with verbal battles, swords, and magic?
As the crimson moon once again stains the sky red, and the whispers from the land eroded by darkness grow closer – "Sudden Shadow: Crimson Moon Kill," an asymmetric competitive game developed by Hangzhou Xinghan Mingkong Tianming Xuanniao Game Studio, will undergo its first public test for seven days from August 25 to August 31! Meanwhile, the game is scheduled for official release on September 25!
The Steam store page is now open, add it to your wishlist and get ready to play anytime!
Both introverts and extroverts can enjoy the fun
"Sudden Shadow: Crimson Moon Kill" is essentially a fantasy Werewolf game that combines identity deduction with fast-paced combat, but it's not the traditional Werewolf where a group sits around a circle just "talking and voting." The core gameplay of this game can be summarized as: "You can argue, and you can also fight."
The game is set on a continent eroded by darkness, where players will play as either the Secret Fire Brigade (good guys) or the Underworld Apostles (werewolves), engaging in a 3 vs 7 light-and-dark struggle in a 10-player match. On the surface, it's an adventure to purify the plague and resist monsters, but underneath, currents are swirling – three randomly assigned "Underworld Apostles" lurk within the team, waiting for opportunities to sabotage, frame, or even assassinate.
Worried about being socially anxious, not good at speaking up or deducing? This is absolutely not a problem in "Sudden Shadow: Crimson Moon Kill".
The game introduces a large number of RPG and combat elements. Players who are not good at talking can fully transform into "battle maniacs," focusing on killing monsters, leveling up, and gathering equipment, letting their武力 speak for them. Socially anxious "introverts" can focus on exploring this detailed realistic world; socially adept "extroverts" can engage in sharp debates at the round table, controlling the entire scene with logic; even "fun-seekers" can be mere "looters" who only care about picking up items.
It offers completely different survival methods for different players, allowing everyone to find their own rhythm here.
The game also thoughtfully designs a proficiency grading system: less than 100 hours is considered a novice, 100 to 500 hours is considered入门, and over 500 hours is considered proficient. Matching can be done by selecting rooms based on proficiency, allowing both new and old players to enjoy themselves.
Playing Werewolf also requires learning "martial arts"
Gameplay progresses according to the in-game day cycle, with each of the three phases having its own focus:
Daytime – Exploration and Confrontation. Players need to scatter and explore the map, searching for and purifying infection sources (such as wells and strongholds), while fighting enemies like zombies and dark believers, collecting materials to forge weapons and learn magic. If the good guy (Secret Fire Brigade) faction efficiently completes purification tasks, they can win directly; conversely, if the werewolf (Underworld Apostles) faction continues to pollute and causes the plague to spiral out of control, or kills all good guys, then the werewolf faction wins.
Night – Judgment and Gaming. All members return to the church and sit around the holy table to begin the long-table trial. Good guys vote to execute suspected werewolf members by sorting through clues and accusing each other, while werewolves use lies and public opinion to confuse the situation and borrow knives to kill people. On the first day, there will also be an additional leader election, where the elected leader will gain buff aura effects (teammates nearby can recover sanity) and map marking abilities, guiding the team's direction.
Crimson Moon Outbreak – Destruction and Survival. When the infection level approaches the critical point and the blood moon rises, the game enters the final escort phase. Good guys need to protect the city lord and others as they board the carriage and resist zombies and ambushes along the way, while werewolves do their best to obstruct them through traps, sneak attacks, and other means, killing the target before reaching the port to turn the tables.
Art academy background, three years of polishing
The two founders of "Sudden Shadow: Crimson Moon Kill" both graduated from the China Academy of Art, and 8 out of the 20 team members are alumni of the academy. Since shifting to game development in 2022, the team has spent over three years polishing the game, with R&D investment exceeding ten million yuan.
The game is developed using Unreal Engine 5, with an art style that blends medieval fantasy and dark Gothic elements. The scene details and character effects demonstrate a high level of visual quality. The first map is a Western village full of life, where you can hear the gurgling of water and the rustling of grass underfoot, feeling the tense atmosphere of day and night cycles. While maximizing graphics quality, the minimum configuration requires a GTX 1060 or RX 590, with a recommended RTX 3060 or RX 6700.
In January 2026, the game was selected by Epic's MegaGrants program and received development funding, indirectly confirming its graphical quality and technical strength; in February, NetEase Leihuo invested in Xinghan Mingkong, a move that has drawn more attention from the outside world to the innovative capabilities and product potential of this young team; the three teaser videos previously released by the official team on Bilibili have accumulated nearly ten million views. The game has gained popularity before its release, being called a "surprise hit" in this year's gaming circle by many.
August 25, go to the island and try it yourself
The game is currently available on the Steam page and is expected to officially launch on September 25 (Mid-Autumn Festival). The upcoming first public limited-time test will be held from 10:00 AM on August 25 to 5:00 PM on August 31.
When classic "Werewolf" social deduction meets exhilarating action combat, this ten-person duel of intellect and武力 awaits you.
Interested players can now search for "Sudden Shadow: Crimson Moon Kill" on Steam and add it to their wishlist!
