HABOKU / THIRD-PERSON BOSS RUSH 2026


After Boneyard, I wanted to go back to third person and focus on one thing: boss fights that feel good to play.

Haboku is a boss rush. A ronin painted every man he had been on a single scroll; one night the ink broke and the figures walked off the paper, wearing his face. Three bosses, three past selves, and after each fight he steals one of their techniques.

The look is a custom ink post-process inspired by Japanese sumi-e: paper, brush-weight outlines, flat ink washes and mist that fades the world into the page.

Everything is built entirely in Blueprints in Unreal Engine 5.

Download the playable build.

CREDITS : 
Game Design & Development : Julien Pietri (Third Hand) with the help of Claude


SYSTEMS

Combat & Abilities
Three abilities, each earned in a different crypt:

  • Bone Boomerang: thrown weapon that hits enemies and switches at range

  • Bone Dash: quick dash with invincibility frames that breaks cracked walls

  • Lantern: lights the darkness and reveals hidden souls

    Enemies
    Each ghost type asks for a different approach:

  • Angry Ghost: chases the player and deals contact damage

  • Wailing Ghost: keeps its distance and throws projectiles

  • Golden Ghost: rare, runs away, drops a big soul reward

  • Boss: bigger, tougher, waiting at the end

    Progression & Economy

  • Souls dropped by ghosts or hidden around the levels

  • Spent at graves to upgrade maximum health

  • Secrets reward exploration

    Save & Persistence

  • Graves act as save points: heal, upgrade and save

  • Saves level, health, souls, inventory and upgrades

  • Separate settings save

    Level Design

  • A graveyard hub, three crypts and a boss arena

  • Each crypt follows a clear structure: combat hall, item shrine, hidden alcove, save point, boss door

  • Layouts planned from top-down reference maps, then blocked out in engine

    UI & Presentation

  • Health HUD, profile menu with inventory and controls

  • Data-driven item descriptions and on-screen hints

  • Settings menu, credits and end screen

  • Typography inspired by 1930s cartoon title cards

    Look & Sound

  • Black & white post-process grade with film grain and an old-film effect

  • Night, rain and wet reflections with Ultra Dynamic Sky & Weather

  • Music and sound effects

DESIGN DEVELOPMENT

Process

Reference Map

Final Level in Engine