
Devlog #9: Hello, Again - Narrative Design Timeloop Troubles
Hi. I’m Matt. How are you? Good Day. Good to see you. Hello. Have we done this before? You only get one chance to make a good impression… Well, luckily in Curse of Resthaven,…




Hilltop Studios, Digital Bandidos
In this single-player narrative roguelite, govern a cursed island as you investigate your niece’s mysterious disappearance. Interrogate, trade, upgrade, and embark upon card-based expeditions to uncover dark secrets – before the next cataclysm strikes.

Take command of the cursed island colony of Resthaven after your niece disappears on the eve of a catastrophe. You must govern the town, allocate resources wisely, and decide who… or what… to trust.
Trade and haggle with visiting merchants, upgrade businesses, and interrogate townsfolk who guard their secrets closely. Every decision will impact the colony’s prosperity and unlock new leads, opportunities, and risks.

When interrogation and investigation alone aren't enough, venture beyond the safety of Resthaven’s walls into the island's wilds through branching card-driven expeditions. Build a deck of resource and companion cards to face unpredictable encounters and confront eldritch horrors.
Your deck reflects your strategy: who you bring, what you carry, and how you prepare shape how expeditions unfold.
The cataclysm is just six days away. At the moment of destruction, the island’s fading guardian intervenes, sending you back to the moment of your arrival with all of your memories and experiences intact.
Each time loop carries forward hard-earned advantages. Invest in permanent skill upgrades, and accept temporary boons from the island's goddess, each offering powerful benefits balanced by grave consequences.
Every loop reveals new truths about Resthaven, the forces seeking to control the island’s power, and your niece’s true role in what’s unfolding. Interrogate over 25 fully voiced characters, each with their own motives, secrets, and shifting allegiances.
Multiple major narrative paths and randomized expeditions ensure that each playthrough exposes different pieces of the puzzle. Only by mastering the game’s systems and winning over the people of Resthaven can you hope to break the curse.

A unique genre mashup: Curse of Resthaven combines investigation and interrogation with trading, town management, deck building, and roguelite elements.
Strategic resource management: upgrade the town's businesses and trade with visiting merchants to restore prosperity to the colony.
The hand you're dealt: build your deck of resource and companion cards to undertake expeditions beyond the town's walls to retrace Amalia’s steps and go toe-to-toe with the island’s horrors.
Exploit the timeloop: invest in skill upgrades, and accept the goddess's blessing (buff/debuff) to advantage your next run.
Eldritch horror meets gothic intrigue: Unravel a darkly woven tale inspired by mythology, history, and cosmic dread.
It takes a village: interrogate 25+ fully voiced NPCs, each with their own motives and agendas.
A metaphysical fork in the road: three main paths and randomly shuffled island expeditions mean that every playthrough will be different.
Relentless beauty and creeping dread: a hand-drawn, graphic novel art style that brings Resthaven’s dark fantasy world to life.
Curse of ResthavenSteam announcement
Hi. I’m Matt. How are you? Good Day. Good to see you. Hello. Have we done this before? You only get one chance to make a good impression… Well, luckily in Curse of Resthaven,…
Curse of ResthavenSteam announcement
One of the biggest pieces of Curse of Resthaven is now in the can: we’ve officially wrapped voice recording for the game. And because I enjoy a good statistic, here’s what that…
Curse of ResthavenSteam announcement
Curse of Resthaven has just passed 10,000 wishlists here on Steam! From everyone at Hilltop Studios and Bandidos, we want to say a huge thank you to everyone who has added this…
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Curse of ResthavenSteam announcement
Hi everyone, Scott here. Today is probably the biggest day in Curse of Resthaven’s journey so far: our demo and the new Hilltop Studios Discord are launching as we speak! We hope…
Curse of ResthavenSteam announcement
Hi everyone, Scott here! Before I got into games, my first career was as a composer and musical director. So when I started Hilltop Studios, I knew music wouldn't just accompany…
Curse of ResthavenSteam announcement
Hi everyone, Scott here. Matt recently wrote an excellent post about time loop games in general, and where Curse of Resthaven fits alongside them. If you haven't read it yet,…