Critical shift | Rhinotales @cshiftgame

Hello, friends! We hope you're doing great and enjoying your summer days. And today, we'd like to tell you a little more about our secret base. ICE-1 might surprise you. Deep under the South Pole, its underground levels hide a real garden. This recreation area was meant to give the base personnel a quiet place to breathe, relax, and pretend they weren’t buried beneath endless ice. There’s even a bar with things no one outside ICE-1 has ever seen. These days, though… you probably don’t want to meet the garden’s regulars. #CriticalShift #ICHOR

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Hello, agents! Hope you’re doing well!) Work on the game is in full swing, but we still wanted to take a moment to share a few locations from the Critical Shift with you - from their first drafts to their current versions. 1. This is where our game begins: the entrance to a seemingly abandoned Antarctic research base that was still online and active just a few days ago. 2. This dining room is currently closed to guests - unless you’re in the mood for a chilling story. What happened here? The ice was surprisingly tricky to get right, and the lighting carries a huge part of the atmosphere. 3. This reception hall looks suspiciously calm and inviting - probably by design. It’s there to calm you down before you head right, toward the morgue. Or left, where the crematorium waits. That's all for today! Thank you for being with us and for your support - we really appreciate it❤️ #gamedev #indiegame #criticalshift

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The first closed playtest for the mystical tactics game Critical Shift has begun! You can sign up for the second wave to access the early version (under NDA): - Join the playtest: forms.gle/WkzrRcgyA4doYF… - Wishlist on Steam: store.steampowered.com/app/3395320/Cr… We’re also excited to show you the in-game hub - a cargo elevator deep beneath Antarctica! This is where agents conduct research and return between missions. #gamedev #indiegaming #criticalshift #ICHOR

Greetings, agents! We’re preparing to start playtesting this spring, and the first step will be an early closed beta. At this stage we’d like to invite around 100 players to join the test and help us improve the game through feedback before moving on to the next beta phases. A few important notes: - PC only. We have not prepared a Steam Deck version yet. - NDA required. It’s a simple one. During this stage we ask participants not to stream or share gameplay publicly. - At the moment, the beta version is available only in English. If you’re interested in participating, please send your request through this form: forms.gle/WkzrRcgyA4doYF… Selected players will receive further instructions by email. Thanks to everyone who wants to help us shape the game! #CriticalShift #ICHOR #indiedev #gamedev #playtest

Why doesn't Critical Shift have a branching storyline? In our new devlog, we explain why we decided to focus on a single, cohesive story and how the game's story campaign is structured. Read the full post at: store.steampowered.com/news/app/33953… #CriticalShift #ICHOR #gamedev

Dear agents, our systems have detected new material in the Archive. It is particularly relevant given the recent events of February 14. Link: critical-shift.com/archive/sadjou… Love happens at ICHOR too, and like many things in our organization, it is unpredictable. Remember that we are all biological organisms subject to the effects of hormones. This is important, but serving humanity is even more important. Sincerely yours, Administration #ICHOR #CriticalShift #ICHORarchive

Hello, everyone! :) Today, in our devlog, we're talking about a combat system that could have become the basis for Critical Shift, but ultimately wasn’t included in the game! We explain why we abandoned this idea in detail here: store.steampowered.com/news/app/33953… #CriticalShift #ICHOR #indiedev #gamedev

Hello, everyone! In this video, we want to show how Warlock - a master of totems and manipulation - came to life step by step: from the early concept, searching for shapes and details, to a fully-fledged 3D character. A lot changed along the way: proportions, mood, elements, and everything else to make the character feel organic in the game. We would love to hear your thoughts and impressions!:)

Greetings, agents! January update brings combat improvements, pre-battle placement, camera tweaks, meta-gameplay progress, bug fixes and optimization! More details on Steam: store.steampowered.com/news/app/33953… #ICHOR #CriticalShift #gamedev #indiedev

The rebellion of deranged artificial intelligence in our game is going according to plan #ICHOR #CriticalShift

We built a procedural corpse generator for our horror game - rigged models, IK poses, damage states (Unity + Houdini) #unity #gamedev #indiedev

During the prototyping of Critical Shift, tactical research unexpectedly took on the characteristics of survival horror. Resource shortages, dangerous enemies, and the atmosphere changed the focus of the game. Why and how is explained in a new post: store.steampowered.com/news/app/33953…

Full archive file and participation details: store.steampowered.com/news/app/33953… Deadline: January 21, 2026

We’re inviting creators to visually interpret what this file describes. Not retellings. Interpretation. Atmosphere. Mood.

An agent was lost. An anomalous EXO object was recovered. The first file from the ICHOR Archive has been released. Tombstone Gambit.