This week’s location showcase for our At the Heart of Ruin expansion reveals the Ember Mines, a highly contested site that once belonged to the Dwarves of Dvendar Tharr, but has recently become a den for the numerous scavenger gangs that plague Varnurud. Whether it's sacrificial burnings or the enjoyment of human flesh, these savages are hardly the kind you’d be happy to encounter in the Ember Mines’ depths. No wonder that few go near the site – to do so is to invite death – though the resources within are said to be plenty, and there is talk of far more down the shaft than mere scrap.

As we ramp up the teasers for At the Heart of Ruin’s release, some of Varnurud’s most perilous landscapes come to the fore. While the mountainous realm’s northernmost reaches are a far cry from the red-hot, scorching locales closer to the volcanos, they pose a different kind of threat  – one emanating immense dread. In so many respects, this is no man’s land.

Excitement builds steadily as Vagrus's console release draws closer, and at the studio, the mood is elated. We cannot wait to introduce the game to an entirely new segment of the player base, which, according to the feedback we’ve received thus far, can hardly wait for the release. Thus, as we march onward to the 31st of March release date (for Xbox, Nintendo Switch, PS4, and PS5), we thought it’d be fitting to share some of the features that we think make the game play well on consoles. It’s certainly not your typical console release, though, if not for anything else, then for the mix of genres that is Vagrus.

It’s about time we brought to your attention one of the most insane gangs of them all in our new At the Heart of Ruin DLC, who call themselves the Cleansing Conflagration. This band of murderers and pyromaniacs are just as likely to lob fiery projectiles your way as they are to parley, so if you're a vagrus who relies on persuasion to get what you want, you’ll not find these madmen particularly amenable.

The theme and look of this week’s location reveal for our upcoming DLC, At the Heart of Ruin, is quite different from the previously teased ones, all fiery and desolate. It is true that vagri who brave the Mountains of Fire will mostly traverse a volcanic hellscape replete with peril of the scorching variety, but what lies beneath is also intriguing.

Our aim at Lost Pilgrims is not just to create memorable gaming experiences, but also to introduce you to people who contribute to building our cozy community. Therefore, we have interviewed Ben the Human, who has been streaming Vagrus for a while now and recently arrived at a major milestone by concluding a run with over 250 episodes. This seemed like the perfect opportunity to ask him about his gaming journey and his experience with Vagrus:

This week we’re excited to show off some recent revamps of our UI that we’ve been working on, namely a rework of the Extras menu point in the game’s main menu. The most important improvements here entail the ability to rewatch all Vagrus cinematics, including the main campaign’s intro, as well as the story trailers of Old Acquaintances and At the Heart of Ruin, our upcoming DLC.

This week we’re bringing you a glimpse of what some might consider slithering death. It is the Salamander, one of At the Heart of Ruin’s many new enemies. Just coming into contact with one would terrify even the most stalwart souls, as the look of malice in their eyes is inescapable, and their speed, cunning, and fiery abilities make them formidable opponents in battle.

After revealing our trailer for ‘At the Heart of Ruin’, our second region DLC, we’re now ready to share a little more about the new realm you will be able to explore. The first area we’ll look at here is Varnurud, which is one of the traversable parts of the great Mountains of Fire. As harsh and unforgiving as it is, most vagri will spend a great deal of their time here, as they navigate searing magma flows and the seemingly endless hordes of madmen who run roughshod over it.

Vagri! We’re sure many of you’ve been waiting for more information about our next DLC (shaping up to be expansion-sized once again) and the time has come to deliver just that – in the form of a special story trailer we’re excited to share:

So, there you have it. Some exposition delivered by award-winning voice actor Phil Rowe, along with a title reveal and the year of release. Although the latter is fairly vague, we can already say that we are aiming for the first half of 2025, as we’ve been working on it very diligently for months now. There’s still a lot to go, but we’re making good progress and we’re very satisfied with how it’s shaping up. Can you guess where it’ll be set? There are quite a few indicators, we think.