The first-person roguelite deckbuilder is heading into full release with some changes to Corruption Delving, new encounters, and a few more Artifacts.
Rock, paper, scissors is going to get a bit more complicated when Handmancers hits 1.0 on 12th November 2026. 58BLADES have just announced that their roguelite deckbuilder is exiting Early Access with a new playable class, a completely rebuilt meta progression system and a major overhaul to the Corruption Delving endgame. That will be the end of the Early Access roadmap following the game’s initial launch in May.
For the first time around, Handmancers’ battles are based on the rock/paper/scissors dynamic as a first-person card game. You build and upgrade a deck which in turn changes how your hand gestures work, and then you combine those with Artifacts to create a build. The big moves also cause cramps (temporarily restricting your options) so the timing of your heavy attack is to manage with care.
The new class will introduce its own set of mechanics and combinations to get to grips with. Nothing is revealed as to the class’s name or the specifics of its abilities, so I don’t yet know how it will slot in with the existing classes.
Two of the bigger changes are to what happens across multiple runs. Meta progression has been completely reworked with the aim of giving players more control over their long-term decisions and future runs. Corruption Delving is also being substantially reworked with more varied content and run modifiers. The announcement details the direction of both changes without going into any detail about the individual systems.
Version 1.0 will also see the introduction of new encounters, more Artifacts and further gameplay mechanics. This will add new challenges for players and further scope for deck combinations. There will also be balance changes and other gameplay tweaks as a result of the Early Access feedback.
Handmancers launches fully on Steam on November 12th with a demo also available. You can watch the release date trailer below.
