iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Gallant Leaf @gallantleaf.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

Metroid 1 is one of my all time favorite games and was a major influence when I was making Zexion. So I'm not terribly surprised when people clock similar vibes from it despite it being quite different. Anyways you should check out Snailiad if you haven't already.

010

Gallant Leaf @gallantleaf.bsky.social · 07/08/2026

Zexion 100% speedrun on GDQ hotfix today around 6:45 CST! Full schedule here: gdq.gg/schedule/hotfix. I've been pleased to see lots of people enjoy both speedrunning the game and playing the built-in randomizer! #indiedev #gamedev #metroidvania #Steam #Zexion

1153

Reposted by Gallant Leaf

Sean Chiplock 🟡 🔜 Animate! Philadelphia (Pennsylvania) @sonicmega.bsky.social · 03/08/2026

Please please PLEASE check out Zexion on Friday! Garin (runner) has worked so damn hard to raise awareness of the game and encourage others to try it out, and is the one who convinced me to do my own (very scuffed) randomizer attempt! This game was MADE for speedrunning & shmoovement and it shows.

49925

Gallant Leaf @gallantleaf.bsky.social · 22/06/2026

Português Brasileiro, Espanol, and Deutsch (featuring the word "Gravitationsverzerrungsexperimente"!) translations for Zexion are coming very soon! store.steampowered.com/app/3392510/... #indiedev #gamedev #gaming #Steam #Zexion

0143

Gallant Leaf @gallantleaf.bsky.social · 22/05/2026

Zexion is 40% off right now, its biggest discount ever! Now's a great time to check out this tough, action-packed metroidvania that features a dense, interconnected world and some of the craziest bosses ever! store.steampowered.com/app/3392510/... #indiedev #gamedev #gaming #Steam #Zexion

store.steampowered.com

Save 40% on Zexion on Steam

Seek out new weapons and equipment to delve deeper into the dangerous world of Cypher-X72! Be warned, you aren't the only one seeking the forbidden technology known as Zexion! It will take cunning and...

33826

Gallant Leaf @gallantleaf.bsky.social · 21/03/2026

Zexion's been out for a year now! I worked on it for 13 years. I'm glad that so many people are enjoying it as much as they are. Hoping to get more languages, Archipelago support, it released on consoles, and a few other surprises! Then finally… a sequel? #indiedev #gamedev #gaming #Steam #Zexion

94514

Gallant Leaf @gallantleaf.bsky.social · 19/03/2026

A 日本語 language setting has been added to the intense, expansive metroidvania Zexion! Also... the game is 35% off right now! Now's a great time to check this challenging sci-fi action-adventure out! store.steampowered.com/app/3392510/... #indiedev #gamedev #gaming #Steam #Zexion

store.steampowered.com

Save 35% on Zexion on Steam

01910

Gallant Leaf @gallantleaf.bsky.social · 19/03/2026

本日、『Zexion』の日本語対応アップデートを配信開始しました！広大でシームレスな世界を駆け巡るアクションアドベンチャー！さまざまなパワーアップやアビリティを駆使して、強大なボスとのバトルに挑もう！ぜひチェックしてください！ #メトロイドヴァニア

061

Gallant Leaf @gallantleaf.bsky.social · 16/03/2026

SFアクションアドベンチャー、『Zexion』が日本語対応します！ローカライズは Matsurika Games LLC ( matsurika-games.com ）が担当しています。日本語対応アップデートは3月20日配信予定！ #メトロイドヴァニア #indiedev #gamedev #Zexion store.steampowered.com/app/3392510/...

094

Gallant Leaf @gallantleaf.bsky.social · 26/02/2026

简体中文, Français, and Italiano language options have been added to the challenging, epic metroidvania 泽克西昂 (Zexion)! The game is 35% off (an all-time low!) to celebrate! Check it out! store.steampowered.com/app/3392510/... #indiedev #gamedev #gaming #Steam #Zexion

store.steampowered.com

Save 35% on Zexion on Steam

04319

Gallant Leaf @gallantleaf.bsky.social · 23/02/2026

Chinese, French, and Italian translations for Zexion are coming out February 25th! #indiedev #gamedev #gaming #Steam #Zexion

0142

Reposted by Gallant Leaf

Sean Chiplock 🟡 🔜 Animate! Philadelphia (Pennsylvania) @sonicmega.bsky.social · 02/02/2026

Finished the playthrough with 100% Item Completion! But DO NOT FOR A MOMENT think that's the end of what this game has to offer. I may be finished with streaming Zexion as of tonight, but this game is worth every single dollar of the $20 it costs. Metroidvania/horror fan? BUY THIS GAME IMMEDIATELY.

46212

Gallant Leaf @gallantleaf.bsky.social · 18/01/2026

I have quite a bit I need to catch up on. Void Stranger and Pseudoregalia are pretty high up on the list!

020

Gallant Leaf @gallantleaf.bsky.social · 15/01/2026

Zexion is 30% off right now! This Metroidvania epic features unique movement tech and powerups, insane bosses, absolutely ZERO chatty tagalong NPCs, a tightly crafted nonlinear world, a built in Randomizer, and more! store.steampowered.com/app/3392510/... #indiedev #gamedev #gaming #Steam #Zexion

store.steampowered.com

Save 30% on Zexion on Steam

02412

Gallant Leaf @gallantleaf.bsky.social · 13/01/2026

I don't know why nobody's just put up a good guide on steam yet and it annoys me too!

120

Gallant Leaf @gallantleaf.bsky.social · 02/01/2026

Things I'm hoping to get done this year... 1)Learn the Vulkan API inside and out. 2)Finally learn Blender for actual realsies. 3)Play more video games! Really didn't make time for this last year... I have a lot of stuff I need to catch up on!

160

Gallant Leaf @gallantleaf.bsky.social · 18/12/2025

Zexion is 30% off for Steam's Winter Sale! Now's a great time to check out this epic Metroidvania with a deep interconnected world, over-the-top bosses, and a built in Randomizer with lots of features! store.steampowered.com/app/3392510/... #indiedev #gamedev #gaming #Steam #Zexion

store.steampowered.com

Save 30% on Zexion on Steam

02213

Reposted by Gallant Leaf

Design Doc | Warbot @designdoc.bsky.social · 02/12/2025

New video's out! The Best (?) Games of 2025 www.youtube.com/watch?v=pxvH...

youtube.com

The Best (?) Games of 2025

YouTube video by Design Doc

0227

Gallant Leaf @gallantleaf.bsky.social · 23/11/2025

Zexion is 30% off right now! This is lowest price so far for this EPIC metroidvania featuring huge challenging bosses, unique cool movement tech, a built in randomizer, and more! Check it out at store.steampowered.com/app/3392510/... ! #indiedev #gamedev #gaming #metroidvania #Steam #Zexion

store.steampowered.com

Save 30% on Zexion on Steam

02418

Gallant Leaf @gallantleaf.bsky.social · 14/11/2025

Pretty much everything in the game was straight to pixel art without concept art. This is pretty much the closed thing I have to concept art. There will likely be more art created for things in the future. The vertical lines on Siege's helmet are supposed to be a vent.

120

Gallant Leaf @gallantleaf.bsky.social · 12/11/2025

I've got a website now! gallantleaf.com Not much on it yet, but I hope to get some cool stuff on it soon! #indiedev #gamedev #gaming #Zexion

gallantleaf.com

Home | Gallant Leaf

1105

Gallant Leaf @gallantleaf.bsky.social · 24/10/2025

It's really not that hard to add an option to turn off screen shake to your game! You really should do that if you haven't already! #indiedev #gamedev #gamedesign

0205

Gallant Leaf @gallantleaf.bsky.social · 17/10/2025

Zexion is 20% off for the week! Check it out, especially if you find the idea of a challenging metroidvania with tons of unique upgrades, a dense, varied, expansive world, and intense boss battles interesting! store.steampowered.com/app/3392510/Zexion/ #indiedev #gamedev #gaming #Steam #Zexion

store.steampowered.com

Save 20% on Zexion on Steam

12416

Gallant Leaf @gallantleaf.bsky.social · 09/10/2025

I think the game has plenty of tension as is. I do have an option to turn off the entire status HUD, which doesn't turn off the boss health bars for some reason. I should probably change that. It'd be even more tense not knowing how much health or missiles you have!

120

Gallant Leaf @gallantleaf.bsky.social · 09/10/2025

I originally didn't have boss health bars in Zexion to create a "sense of tension". I later added them so that players could see the effectiveness of different weapons and better strategize. There are lots of weapons in Zexion, so it seemed kind of important. #indiedev #gamedev #Zexion

2326

Gallant Leaf @gallantleaf.bsky.social · 29/09/2025

Zexion, a challenging metroidvania that checkpoints you right before bosses, has no corpse runs, has options to make the game easier, and has a built in randomizer, is on sale now during the Steam Autumn Sale! store.steampowered.com/app/3392510/Zexion/ #indiedev #gamedev #gaming #Steam #Zexion

store.steampowered.com

Save 20% on Zexion on Steam

03514

Gallant Leaf @gallantleaf.bsky.social · 08/09/2025

Nah I'm pretty bad at promoting my game!

010

Gallant Leaf @gallantleaf.bsky.social · 07/09/2025

The randomizer's gotten lots of testing with normal settings, but I don't think the generation works quite right with certain wacky settings, guess I'll be working on that...

150

Gallant Leaf @gallantleaf.bsky.social · 07/09/2025

Today's Zexion update lets you copy and paste random stuff into the Randomizer settings to get really wacky settings (Possible before but sometimes it would crash, oops)! Try pasting this post in there! #indiedev #gamedev #gaming #metroidvania #Steam #Zexion #screenshotsaturday

22510

Gallant Leaf @gallantleaf.bsky.social · 29/08/2025

Did you know that Zexion's soundtrack includes FamiTracker project files with added commentary? You can see what the notes are, mess with the instruments, play the songs looping indefinitely, and more! store.steampowered.com/app/3691900/... #gaming #metroidvania #Steam #Zexion #gamemusic #chiptune

store.steampowered.com

Save 25% on Zexion Soundtrack on Steam

The Soundtrack for Zexion! Features MP3s as well as Famitracker files that also have a bunch of weird unused stuff in them.

1122

Reposted by Gallant Leaf

rittzy @rittzler.bsky.social · 27/08/2025

silksong seems cool and all unfortunately chose the wrong year to come out, gonna be hard to beat my goat ZEXION its looks are disarming, just trust me when i say every time it went for something it consistently blew my expectations out of the water store.steampowered.com/app/3392510/...

store.steampowered.com

Save 20% on Zexion on Steam

920350

Gallant Leaf @gallantleaf.bsky.social · 12/07/2025

Three and a half months after launch, Zexion is finally Steam Deck verified! #indiedev #gamedev #gaming #metroidvania #Steam #SteamDeck #Zexion

0246

Gallant Leaf @gallantleaf.bsky.social · 10/07/2025

Y'all gotta pretend I posted this on release day, and that I made a brand new trailer for it!

140

Gallant Leaf @gallantleaf.bsky.social · 10/07/2025

Zexion is out now! It's a big metroidvania featuring tons of bosses, a built-in randomizer, lots of cool movement tech and sequence breaking, and more! Purchase/Wishlist it now on Steam! store.steampowered.com/app/3392510/... #indiedev #gamedev #gaming #metroidvania #Steam #Zexion

29645

Gallant Leaf @gallantleaf.bsky.social · 19/06/2025

The blue area in R'talva would turn orange. And the Hyperspace zones would have flashing orange colors. (which made it more intense, by accident)

010

Gallant Leaf @gallantleaf.bsky.social · 19/06/2025

There was a mistake with the "Less Intense Palette" option in Zexion causing wacky unintended palettes in a few areas. I think players using that option thought it was intentional because of how weird those areas are! It's been fixed in the latest patch. #indiedev #gamedev #gaming

2166

Gallant Leaf @gallantleaf.bsky.social · 18/06/2025

I have gotten some fan art, and some pretty cool fan art at that. But it's kind of all strewn about in hard to find places!

110

Reposted by Gallant Leaf

Teur (does Commissions) @taurmega.bsky.social · 18/06/2025

The Zexion seekers, Natu and Phantom. Seeing 0 Zexion fan art anywhere was a tragedy, I felt pretty much obligated to do this lol @gallantleaf.bsky.social #art #digitalart #zexion #indiegame #fanart #zexion #metroidvania #characterart

23415

Gallant Leaf @gallantleaf.bsky.social · 15/06/2025

I uh... really should at least repost this stating that the game's already out, and has been for nearly 3 months!

110

Gallant Leaf @gallantleaf.bsky.social · 07/06/2025

In terms of accessibility, I also like these photo sensitivity options I put in the game. An option to go and set them shows up before the game starts when it's first loaded up. #indiedev #gamedev #gaming

0113

Gallant Leaf @gallantleaf.bsky.social · 06/06/2025

Zexion features tons of different assist options to fine tune the difficulty of the game, should you need to. Lot's of different damage settings, and even Save States! So almost anyone should be able to play it. Doesn't prevent achievements either. #indiedev #gamedev #gaming

0177

Gallant Leaf @gallantleaf.bsky.social · 06/06/2025

I do think having some kind of visible goal that the player works towards is a really cool thing to have in a game!

010

Gallant Leaf @gallantleaf.bsky.social · 05/06/2025

And I did want Zexion to be challenging even when the player knows what to do. Some people don't like this, of course, and that's okay, it's a matter of taste.

120

Gallant Leaf @gallantleaf.bsky.social · 05/06/2025

Maybe it's the "wrong way to make a game" to have things vaguely communicated sometimes, but going out of your way to always communicate things clearly (like having an NPC tell you exactly what you need to do, or having arrow lead the player) can really ruin the mood of a game.

130

Gallant Leaf @gallantleaf.bsky.social · 05/06/2025

Some of the most common sources of difficulty in games are "points of miscommunication". And if a game is meant to be challenging when things are communicated properly, and there's something the player is missing, it can come across as unreasonably difficult. #indiedev #gamedev #gaming #gamedesign

1145

Gallant Leaf @gallantleaf.bsky.social · 31/05/2025

I do plan to put the soundtrack on YouTube!

020