Overview
Death Kumiai develops and publishes Annihilated, a Windows game on Steam that combines a roguelite RPG with a branching visual novel. Its dungeon escape follows a two-person party caught between survival and the consequences of a failed expedition.
The protagonist is the last surviving member of a rescue team searching for a missing band of heroes. Reaching them presents a difficult restriction: only one companion can be carried out. Choosing that partner determines whose troubles accompany the journey back.
How do card battles work?
Annihilated uses turn-based card battles in which carried items become cards with limited uses. Enemies reveal their next action, so each turn involves weighing an incoming threat against the equipment available.
Combat offers timing-based and probability-based styles, and either supports a complete playthrough. Route selection adds another decision between encounters, while the core battle loop centers on a few connected actions:
- Choose a dungeon route
- Read enemy intentions
- Manage limited-use cards
- Stagger foes for finishers
Weapon durability doubles as an offensive resource. A weapon delivers its greatest power on its final use. Landing that attack on a staggered enemy triggers a Fatal Strike, instantly killing the target and taking its equipment. Deliberately exhausting a weapon can therefore secure a replacement, making conservation only one part of managing supplies.
Breaking gear and defying fate
Every broken item produces a Curse. Spending one activates Defy to undo an unfavorable roll, tying control over chance directly to the equipment the party sacrifices.
Death returns the player to the floor where the character falls. Stored Curses can be forged into needed items, while the remainder converts into experience. Failure feeds progression without requiring a restart from the dungeon's entrance.
Curses create a choice between correcting a result immediately and preserving resources for recovery. The equipment pool contains more than 100 weapons and items, providing plenty of material for this cycle of use, destruction, and rebuilding.
Four companions, four branching stories
Each companion's condition changes the rescue's tone. The Hero communicates only through yes and no despite a continued desire to save the world. The Mage retains her knowledge but questions her value without spellcasting.
The Warrior inhabits a doll and welcomes his new appearance. The Priest follows the Great One and provides powerful healing, while the Hero resists death in battle. Companion selection affects both the conversations and the help available during combat.
Conversations uncover personal secrets and the events behind the party's collapse. Relationship choices shape trust, doubt, or dependence, leading to multiple endings across four self-contained routes. The mystery develops through the person accompanying the protagonist, keeping the escape focused on a specific relationship.
The branching story contains more than 200,000 words, with an estimated six hours per route and more than 400 hand-drawn illustrations. Replayability rests on following another companion through a complete visual novel narrative, giving each return to the dungeon a different personal story alongside its card combat.
