Aldamami's Bloodletter: Competing for Attention in Turn-Based Games

Bloodletter from Aldamami Games will be released on Steam in Early Access on 31 March 2026. Prior to this, the game will be showcased at the Turn-Based Fest on Steam, once again featuring a playable demo. Bloodletter is a medieval deck-building game in which players use cards to heal bizarre villagers. Players must protect the villagers' bodies and minds from the torment of mysterious entities by customising their unique decks and enhancing dubious healing methods. This is the first title from Aldamami Games in Berlin. We spoke with Katharina 'Mikey' Müller about the vast market for turn-based games, the challenges of attracting attention to the game within its niche, the idea of healing rather than fighting, and developing games in Berlin.

GamesMarkt: How would you currently assess the market for turn-based games? What is doing well and what is not doing well in the genre?

Katharina "Mikey" Müller: "We think there is a lot of interest in the turn-based games with major success stories everywhere like Baldur's Gate 3, Mewgenics, Slay the Spire 2 and Monster Train 2 to name a few. However most of these games come from established IPs or known developers so it can be difficult to figure out what exact other factors played into their success. We believe players love the system focused game design that the turn-based genre allows for. What we think works well: Games with high player agency that allows players to create their own stories via tactical choices and decisions with actual consequences. This goes hand in hand with creating addicting fantasies like gambling game homages such as Balatro and Clover Pit."

"What we think doesn't work: Copy paste style design where the core gameplay is the same as big established games within the genre without its own USP. Players would rather play something fresh and new rather than a less exciting version of the same games they already love and own. " - Katharina "Mikey" Müller

GamesMarkt: How does Bloodletter fit into this market, and what makes it stand out?

Katharina "Mikey" Müller: "Bloodletter hooks players with an immersive, creative world and characters set against the backdrop of a grim medieval bathhouse with the core mission of helping others in dire times. We believe this in itself is already quite unique and can resonate with players a lot. We also put a lot of effort into coming up with systems and mechanics that work well within the world we have created so players are immersed within the game not just via visuals, sound and story but also their own interactions. Bloodletter is a unique experience located quite far from what we think doesn't work in the turn-based genre. The game is also quite different from the big titles so it's a bit of a struggle to reach a broad audience but we have found great passion for the game from the people that do discover it, play it and sing its praises."

GamesMarkt: How are you trying to generate interest in Bloodletter and excite your intended audience?

Katharina "Mikey" Müller: "We've tried out a lot of different things in the past to figure out how to best get people interested in Bloodletter and have found the most value in connecting with people on Steam itself. Joining different Steam Festivals and showcases has been the most lucrative option but also the least engaging with our audience. While we've noticed that social media marketing isn't nearly as effective it instead allows us to engage with our community more by talking in comment sections or engaging in conversations in discussion threads. We try to find a balance between taking actions that generate general interest and awareness for the game but also engaging with our players in an authentic way on the human level. We also had the prototype uploaded on itch.io long before we launched our Steam page so we already had some awareness for the project before moving over to steam. Thanks to being featured on the itch.io frontpage we were able to build interest in the project and a core community even before our activities on Steam."

GamesMarkt: How important was feedback on the demo for you?

Katharina "Mikey" Müller: "Feedback is always an essential part of our development process. The feedback from our community especially on discord allows us to get a good feeling for how players perceive Bloodletter and what they really enjoy and what parts don’t work for them. This allows us to find a good balance between bringing to life our own vision of the game while still producing a marketable game that resonates with players and is enjoyable for them. "

GamesMarkt: How challenging was it to create a "combat system" that focuses on healing rather than dealing damage?

Katharina "Mikey" Müller: "Coming up with Bloodletter what we first thought about what we want the game to be about and what we want players to feel. Bloodletter started with 'a game about influencing a community of villagers and changing the progression of a match depending on how you treat different members of this community'. Altruism was a very interesting idea to us from the very start. Once we had our minds set on the medieval healer narrative, we had to come up with mechanics that transported this feeling and the overall vibe of the game as well. The turn-based genre allows for flexible game design with quite a few analogue deck builders excelling at themed mechanics other than combat. Similarly, we iterated on paper first to get a satisfying game loop and then moved on to our digital prototype. The trust mechanic within the game where you can play more cards during the day and visit a villager to use their deckbuilding ability in the evening is a great example of a mechanic that is interesting functionally but also works well within the narrative."

GamesMarkt: What is it like developing a game as a small, young team in Berlin?

Katharina "Mikey" Müller: "It's an amazing experience to get to exist within the community of game devs in Berlin. There's a lot of passion and expertise to be found and as a small, young team we benefit a lot from being surrounded by more experienced developers who are always happy to share their knowledge and experiences from past projects. Besides the amazing people there is also valuable institutional support like government funding and the DE:HIVE where we met, work and receive ongoing support from."

GamesMarkt: How important was or is the funding (from Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg) that you received?

Katharina "Mikey" Müller: "The MBB funding is essential for Bloodletter's development. It gives us the freedom to work on the game fulltime and opens a lot of doors in regards to marketing the game. Without it Bloodletter would not exists in the way it does now and we wouldn’t be able to work at the same speed with the same amount of care that we do now. It's a great privilege to have the MBB backing the project financially and also putting their trust in us to create something of value. "