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Alabaster Dawn is a top-down 2.5D action RPG developed and self-published by Radical Fish Games. The game launched in Steam Early Access on May 7, 2026 for Windows and Linux. Players take the role of Juno, the Outcast Chosen, who awakens in the ruined world of Tiran Sol after the catastrophic Nyx curse has scattered the gods and shattered humanity. The launch build covers the prologue and progresses into mid-Chapter 2 of a planned seven-chapter campaign, combining fast combo combat, two unlockable elements, environmental puzzles, and the new Roguelite Mode.

At a Glance

Premise

On the world of Tiran Sol, humanity once lived under the protection of the gods. That peace ended with the arrival of Nyx, a curse that descended in a meteor shower and warped the surface into a shadow-blighted wasteland. The Nuemera, monstrous creatures spawned by the curse, infest what remains of the world. With the gods departed, humanity sealed itself underground in shelters and waited for a sign that the curse could be broken.

Juno awakens long after that retreat. As one of the Twelve Chosen, warriors entrusted with divine power, she emerges to clear the curse from the surface, locate the gods' lost weapons, and guide the survivors out of hiding. The story unfolds across seven chapters of the planned campaign; the launch build covers the prologue and progresses into Chapter 2.

Core Systems

Alabaster Dawn pairs an action-combat skeleton with several deep RPG systems.

• Combat. Real-time action with combo trees, parries, dodges, a break meter that staggers enemies when filled, and finisher-style Divine Arts. See Combat System.

• Divine weapons. Eight weapons are planned. Loadouts pair one melee and one ranged weapon. The first five weapons, including the kama Corran Solas, are joined by the Spear in 0.2.0. See Divine Weapons.

• Elements. Four elemental affinities are planned. Physis is the starting element and Aether unlocks at the Trial of Aether in Chapter 1. Cryo is added in 0.2.0. See Elements.

• Gem crafting. Gems slot into weapons and Divine Armor for stat boosts and situational effects, crafted and upgraded by Artificer NPCs from Essences dropped by Nuemera. See Gem Crafting.

• Cooking. Healing bulbs and temporary buff dishes prepared from gathered ingredients. The Palate Level scales how strong each meal becomes. See Cooking.

• Settlement rebuilding. Quests reconstruct ruined towns such as Lyhamn, with the world map physically changing as villages, fields, and trade routes return. The launch build begins in Koro Valley, the game's first major region.

• Roguelite Mode. A separate dream-world challenge mode unlocks late in the launch content. Runs through it earn Dream Shards and Sleep Tokens that feed back into permanent perks. See Roguelite Mode.

• Exploration. Auto-jumping movement, hidden parkour routes, and weapon-gated puzzle paths reward off-path searching. The world map provides fast travel, objective markers, and adjustable hint intensity.

Early Access Status

Alabaster Dawn launched into Steam Early Access on May 7, 2026 at a fifteen percent introductory discount that runs through May 14. Radical Fish has stated the Early Access period is expected to last at least two years and that the price will rise as new chapters and systems land in patches. Reception has stayed strong well past launch. Four months in, the all-language review aggregate sits at about 95% positive across more than 2,200 reviews, and the English-only filter a tier higher again.

The Early Access cycle is planned to add chapters beyond the mid-Chapter 2 story cutoff, further Divine Weapons and the remaining element. Version 0.2.0 adds Cryo and German localization, with some recent preview content not yet translated. Save Anytime and Steam Cloud are supported; Linux-to-Windows save synchronization was fixed in Hotfix 0.1.0-5.

Post-Launch Patches

Radical Fish shipped a rapid series of hotfixes (0.1.0-2 through 0.1.0-10) across the first two weeks of Early Access. Highlights:

• Steam Cloud sync between Linux installs and Windows installs was repaired.

• A crash near a teleporter caused by an Evil Frumato enemy was fixed.

• Map detail adjustments and a typo pass.

• A "Spring Trial" progression blocker was resolved (0.1.0-7).

• Quality-of-life additions: boost and buff information was added to the help menu, several skill descriptions were corrected, and exploits were patched (0.1.0-8).

• A portrait for Filia was added and the low-HP warning display was adjusted (0.1.0-10).

A pre-launch hotfix on April 29 refined parry timing windows, balanced early mana costs and resource nodes, and improved performance in larger areas.

Roadmap and Upcoming Updates

Eight major content updates are planned before version 1.0, alternating gameplay and story milestones. The first content update, 0.2.0, released on October 2, 2026 after delays from August and early September.

The update has now slipped twice. It was first moved back from its August target so the studio could give the release proper post-launch support rather than shipping it days before Gamescom 2026, then moved again in a September 4 progress report.

Confirmed v0.2.0 additions:

• Scala Moor, a new swamp region to the west of Sundalan, with a new dungeon, puzzle elements, swamp-adapted enemies, and a new boss.

• Spear (also referenced as Lance), Juno's first melee Pierce weapon. See Divine Weapons for current loadout rules.

• A new elemental Aspect to unlock, plus extended weapon skill trees with bonus effects for combo actions.

• Map Markers, returning as a player-requested feature, with support for placing nearly unlimited markers.

• A Dojo practice space accessible from any Waysprout, with infinite health, regenerating Divine Charge and enemy-essence unlocks. The July development preview also described Records hidden across Tiran Sol.

• Missing side quests filled in for Sundalan and the Aurum Plains.

• Extended Roguelite Mode with additional floors and enemies in Somu's Dream.

Beyond 0.2.0, a Glossary menu collecting lore entries about the world of Tiran Sol is in development. Entries will unlock automatically or be found through exploration, and the developers have said the feature will not be ready in time for the 0.2.0 release.

A three-way collaboration with two other Radical Fish related titles has been confirmed. The previously teased third partner is SHADE Protocol, a separate game. The content planned to ship inside Alabaster Dawn is a set of themed Divine Arts and a guest playable reskin of Zura, the lead character of the partner game, usable in place of Juno inside the Roguelite Mode (Somu's Dream). The studio has stated this crossover content is not in the current build and will be a focus in later development, potentially for post-1.0 updates. All roadmap and crossover content is forward-looking and subject to change before it ships.

Development Status, September 2026

Radical Fish exhibited at Gamescom 2026 in Cologne from August 26 to 30, showing a playable build of Alabaster Dawn at Hall 10.2, Booth D042. The studio described the show afterwards as a success but announced no new features, platforms or release commitments there.

A progress report on September 4 confirmed that 0.2.0 had slipped a second time, from early September to a window of late September through October. The report named two development reasons and one human one. The second major dungeon, the Trial of Cryo, has its maps, puzzles and standard encounters largely finished, but its boss fights are not: the studio said it had planned something big for them and needed at least a few more weeks. Some content for the swamp region was also still in progress, and the team wanted to finish it properly rather than fence off unfinished areas with signs as it had done before. On top of that, the studio asked for recovery time after running without a break since the May launch and through the Gamescom trip, and said it was looking at ways to spread the workload more evenly across the team in future.

The September report publicly named the second major dungeon Trial of Cryo. Version 0.2.0 later made its gameplay preview and the Cryo Aspect available on October 2, 2026.

System Requirements

The combination of low minimum specs and a custom WebGL engine makes Alabaster Dawn comfortable on integrated graphics and Linux configurations, including Steam Deck. Adjustable difficulty, camera comfort options, custom volume controls, save anytime, and full subtitle options are all present at launch.

Where to Begin

New players should start with the Getting Started guide, which walks through the prologue, the move into Lyhamn, and basic combat fundamentals. From there the Combat System page covers parries, the break meter, and Divine Art usage, while the Divine Weapons and Elements pages cover loadout choices.

Version 0.2.0

Version 0.2.0, released on October 2, 2026, adds playable previews of Scala Moor and the Trial of Cryo. These areas include new enemies, several boss fights and puzzle mechanics, but the update does not extend the story. Keep a separate save before starting the preview to replay the areas with their story in a later update.

The update adds the Spear, the Cryo Aspect, Dojo practice and map markers. German localization is available, though the newly added preview content may not yet be fully translated. Somu's Dream gains a Scala Moor Depth Layer, new Blessings and Perks, and a Flawless Combat bonus. Its Damage Taken penalty and Rogue Exchange Shop are removed.

The latest hotfix is 0.2.0-6, released on October 3. Hotfix 0.2.0-3 was rolled back after its chest-opening change caused other failures; 0.2.0-4 supplied the proper chest fix. Later fixes stop duplicated map markers, correct the color of a Kama attack and prevent rumble settings from changing sound volume. See Version History.