Supernatural detective RPG that was removed from Steam set for 2025 release

I first played Kill the Shadow at Steam Next Fest last year. Little did I know it had already won numerous indie awards in China, where independent developer Shadowlight is based. Soon after it had shot to the top of my wishlist, however, disaster struck. The supernatural detective RPG was removed from Steam, along with a string of other titles published by 663 Games. After acquiring a new publisher and a lengthy battle with Steam, the game is back on Valve's storefront, with a demo available to download now. Despite all the hardships, Kill the Shadow is still targetting a 2025 release.

"We're currently aiming to release the game around the end of this year," Shadowlight producer Xiong Tang, who's known in the community simply as 'Black,' tells me over Discord message. "Hopefully no more delays this time!"

It seems that Kill the Shadow's problems stemmed from former publisher 663 Games. After three months off the Steam store, the RPG was reinstated in March. The demo, which was one of the best indie games I played last year, took longer to restore. However, that, too, has been playable since May.

For the Shanghai-based independent studio, this has been a lifeline. "We were incredibly happy—thinking that our hard work had finally paid off, that we had finally cleared our name," Black tells me. "The studio, which was once on the brink of disbanding, was back on track. Now, we're doing everything we can to get the game released as soon as possible."

Black, who told me about conditions of extreme underpayment as the studio struggled for months without a publisher during my reporting for TheGamer, is hopeful that Kill the Shadow will be a success. With new publisher Neowiz on board and the demo returning to Steam, the developers can finally focus their energy on finishing Shadowlight's debut game.

You can play the Kill the Shadow demo now. Find it on Steam (again) here.

If you've already finished Kill the Shadow's spooky demo and want some more, go and play Disco Elysium again. Done that? Good. Now check out our list of the best RPG games. Then go through our list of the best detective games on PC. That should tide you over until Kill the Shadow's full release.

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