Region 01
CINDERFALL
Vertical city built inside a frozen volcano. Black markets, choir-cults, and the last library that burns books to stay warm.
● INDIE STUDIO • DARK FANTASY UNIVERSE • EST. 2019
FORGE FROM
NOTHING.
BURN FOREVER.
NILFIRE is a brutal, beautiful action-RPG universe — Ashes of the Hollow. No chosen one. No gods left. Only you, a spark in endless ash, building flame, clan and legend.
NILFIRE • ASHES OF THE HOLLOW • FORGE FROM NOTHING • BURN FOREVER • NILFIRE • ASHES OF THE HOLLOW • FORGE FROM NOTHING • BURN FOREVER •
01 — About Nilfire
WE ARE THE SPARK IN THE ASH
Nilfire began in 2019 as three friends burning game-jam prototypes in a garage. Today we are a 34-person independent studio obsessed with one idea: what if fire was memory? Every flame you light in our world remembers you.
We don't make power fantasies. We make ash fantasies — stories about loss, rebuilding, and stubborn hope. No pay-to-win. No soulless open world. Just dense, hand-sculpted realms, visceral combat, and choices that scar the map forever.
34Firekeepers
6Years forging
12Awards
100%Independent
🔥 Studio — Reykjavik / Warsaw
02 — The World
ASHES OF THE HOLLOW
The gods burned the sky to kill the Night. They succeeded — and killed themselves. Now the world is a cold ash desert dotted with last flames. You are Hollowborn: a husk that can carry fire without burning.
Region 02
WEEPING WOODS
Trees of glass that sing when wind passes. Wolves made of embers. If you hear your name — run, it's not you.
Region 03
DROWNED CHOIR
Sunken cathedral where water burns. Sail on bone boats, trade memories for passage, face the Leviathan of Soot.
03 — Features
NOT JUST A GAME. A FURNACE.
🔥
Memory-Fire Combat
Every enemy is a memory. Burn it to learn its moves, spare it to recruit its ghost. 140+ hand-animated executions.
⚒️
Forge Your Clan
Build a travelling forge-fortress. Recruit outcasts, hammer relics, decide who eats when ash storms come.
🌪️
Living Ash Storms
Dynamic world simulation: storms reshape dunes, bury dungeons, reveal new paths every 7 in-game days.
🩸
Scar System
Choices brand the world. Burn a village? Its ash follows you. NPCs remember. Map remembers. You will too.
🎭
No Classes, Only Vows
Swear vows to dead gods for powers — break them for freedom. 27 vows, 200+ combinations, zero respecs.
🎻
Choir Soundtrack
Recorded with 40-voice Icelandic choir in a lava cave. Adaptive music that ignites with your flame level.
Gameplay — 4K / 60fps
BRUTAL IS BEAUTIFUL
Souls-like precision meets story-rich RPG. Parry with a lantern. Heal by remembering. Die — and your ghost keeps fighting beside you as NPC.
- ✔ 5 biomes, 9 legacy dungeons, 0 fetch quests
- ✔ Co-op for 3 Hollowborn — shared flame, shared doom
- ✔ Photo mode + Forge mode (build & share dungeons)
- ✔ Full controller, ultrawide & Steam Deck support
04 — Gallery
BURNED INTO MEMORY
05 — Studio & Craft
SMALL TEAM. HUGE FIRE.
We sculpt everything by hand — no AI slop, no asset flips. Each armor set takes 3 weeks. Each quest is playtested 200 times. We stream our forge every Friday, bugs and all.
◉ Principle 1 — Ash First
If it's not fun with grey boxes in ash storm, it won't be fun with graphics.
If it's not fun with grey boxes in ash storm, it won't be fun with graphics.
◉ Principle 2 — No Map Markers Hell
Follow smoke, songs and rumors. The world guides you, not UI.
Follow smoke, songs and rumors. The world guides you, not UI.
◉ Principle 3 — Players Are Co-forgers
Discord votes on bosses, endings, even permadeath rules. 14 community designs shipped.
Discord votes on bosses, endings, even permadeath rules. 14 community designs shipped.
06 — Roadmap
THE IGNITION PLAN 2025-2026
Q2 2025 — Ember Demo ✓
120k downloads, 94% positive. You burned the tutorial village (we forgave you).
Q4 2025 — Closed Forge Beta
3-player co-op, Cinderfall + Weeping Woods. 8,000 keys for Hollowborn Discord.
Q2 2026 — Early Access: Ashes of the Hollow
40+ hours, Forge Mode, full scar system. Price: $29.99, free for demo veterans.
Q4 2026 — Drowned Choir Expansion
Naval ash-sailing, Leviathan raid, underwater fire magic.
2027 — Nilfire: Cinderborn (Animated Series Pitch)
We storyboard with fans. Because lore deserves more than one medium.
★★★★★
"Nilfire is what happens when Dark Souls meets Hades and decides to tell a human story. The demo broke me."
— Ash Review, 210h played★★★★★
"The scar system is genius. I still see the village I failed to save every time I fast-travel."
— Mira K., Forge Tester★★★★★
"Best indie art direction since Disco Elysium. Every screenshot is a metal album cover."
— Pixel Furnace Mag07 — Dispatches / News
LATEST FROM THE FORGE
Dev logs, lore drops, patch notes and community events. Click any transmission to read full story — each has its own page.
Oct 04, 2026 • ★ Featured
Football
Game On: Why UK Gamers Are Ditching Cable for IPTV to Watch Live Football in 4K If you're a gamer in the UK, your setup is pr...
Read Full Story →08 — FAQ
QUESTIONS FROM HOLLOWBORN
When does it release? On what platforms? Is it souls-like? All answered by our lead firekeeper.
When is release? +
Early Access Q2 2026 on PC. Consoles (PS5/Xbox) follow 6 months later. Demo is live now — 3 hours, free, no strings.
Is NILFIRE souls-like? +
Yes, but kinder. Precise dodges and stamina, but with story difficulty, ghost assist, and no corpse runs — your ghost fights with you.
PC requirements? +
GTX 1060 / 16GB RAM minimum. Runs on Steam Deck 40fps. 4K/120fps on RTX 4070+. Only 28GB — we compress ash efficiently.
Is it multiplayer? +
3-player co-op + asynchronous ghosts. Invade as Ash Wraith or help as Lantern Bearer. No griefing — Hollow code enforced.
How can I support indie devs? +
Wishlist, play demo, join Discord forge votes, share fan art with #NILFIRE. Every wishlist adds fuel to our furnace.
09 — Join the Clan
READY TO BURN BRIGHT?
84,213 Hollowborn already carry the flame. Get demo, beta access, lore PDF (120 pages) and Friday forge streams.
Live — Ash Storm over Cinderfall