Hilltop Studios
@playhilltop
Toronto-based indie studio making story focused games & cool stuff. Currently making narrative roguelite horror Curse of Resthaven. Creators of the award-winning game Lil' Guardsman. Account run by Scott Christian - studio director, narrative and music guy
Here's a fun little game... Pause the video to reveal which Curse of Resthaven character you are. 👀 Think you got lucky? Wishlist the game and find out if your character actually survives. store.steampowered.com/app/3796150/...
Happy Friday! If you're escaping to the water this weekend, I hope it's a peaceful swim. Unlike the governor, try to steer clear of the unknowable eldritch horrors lurking beneath the surface. #CurseOfResthaven
Another killer VO session for Curse of Resthaven with @raoulbhaneja.bsky.social! You may know him from Assassin's Creed Valhalla, Death Stranding 2, or as Chancellor Kelrec in Star Trek: Starfleet Academy. He's bringing a surprising mix of characters to life in CoR. Can't wait for you to hear it!
Where Lil' Guardsman was our playable cartoon, Curse of Resthaven is our playable gothic graphic novel. Your first voyage to the island begins soon. store.steampowered.com/app/3796150/...
For #ScreenshotSaturday, I want to show some love to Curse of Resthaven’s absolutely gorgeous UI. This is part of the game’s trading flow, and it’s such a vibe. @claytondraws.bsky.social’s work is 🔥. #GameArt #indiedev
"One day more, Another day, another Steam sale plea... This never-ending road to “wishlist me” Our tiny guardsman stands the line At 80 off for one more time, One day more!" store.steampowered.com/app/1924360/...
Big milestone today: kicked off voice recording for Curse of Resthaven! First up is the incredible Alana Bridgewater (aka the voice of King Dice from the Cuphead soundtrack) who plays Lydia. Voice can bring a game to life, and I can't wait to start revealing the rest of our amazing cast.
When a small indie studio goes quiet on social media, I usually assume they're heads down making something cool. I think we've been a bit quiet lately... 😉 #CurseOfResthaven #indiedev #gothichorror #somethingscoming
If your weekend has you running errands, I hope you pick yourself up a little treat. Maybe some light armour. Maybe a profitable trade with a merchant captain from distant lands. You know. Normal Saturday stuff...
Lil’ Guardsman is 80% off in the Steam Summer Sale! 🎉 Our debut is still being discovered, and still making people laugh their butts off. It’s a few bucks. Every sale helps fund the next game (and the one after that). Don’t overthink it. store.steampowered.com/app/1924360/...
Callooh! Callay! We’ve returned to Trello for Curse of Resthaven instead of continuing to dump all of our bugs and flags into a chaotic Google Doc. If we’d waited another week I’m pretty sure our programmer Adolfo would’ve packed a bag and quietly departed the island... #gamedev #qa #grumpycat
New #CurseOfResthaven dev diary alert! Our programmer Adolfo goes behind the scenes of gamepad integration, Steam Deck compatibility, and the bugs that come with getting everything to play nicely. Come for dev insights. Stay for the cat photo. store.steampowered.com/news/app/379...
Anyone catch the finale of Widow's Bay? Well this ISN'T from that. It's a screenshot from our gothic mystery Curse of Resthaven for #ScreenshotSaturday. If you're into eerie coastal towns, dark secrets, and the occasional dead body, you're our target audience. #indiedev #gamedev #gothichorror
The barbershop “God Only Knows” moment from Bioshock Infinite remains one of my favourite musical moments in gaming. So beautiful, weird and perfect.
#CurseOfResthaven is coming to PlayStation at launch (and other platforms too)! Excited to bring our gothic mystery to console players around the world. Proud to keep flying the indie flag, and trust us, this journey is going to be epic. #ps4 #ps5 #indiedev
🚨 Lil' Guardsman is 80% off! 🚨 If you're curious about our funny, heartfelt, surprisingly deep, award-winning indie, there's never been a better time to jump in. Every copy sold helps make the next game. At full price it's a deal. At 80% off? Ridiculous! store.steampowered.com/app/1924360/...
Lil' Guardsman is part of the @fanatical.com 'Best of Platinum' bundle next to my all-time favourite games. She's right there with Nico from Broken Sword, a top-5 from childhood, and in the mix with Harry Dubois from Disco Elysium. COME ON! www.fanatical.com/en/pick-and-...
This is General Oliver Bolingbroke, one of the most powerful people on Resthaven. Even with a missing eye, a missing leg, and his massive bulk covered in scars, he could likely bend a cannon in half... he's not someone you want to cross. #CurseOfResthaven #indiegame #indiedev
Proud that Hilltop is one of the featured studios participating in the Art of the Concept exhibition for @torontogamesweek.com. LETS GOOOOO!!! #gameart #conceptart
Happy fWishlist Friday! (Yeah, I said it.) SO close to another wishlist milestone. If you can share, tell your friends, call in a favour, it'd mean the world to our small-but-mighty team. Also: this clip is actual gameplay footage, which still feels bonkers to me. (Cont.)
As a gamer who started playing in the '90s and early 2000s, there's something very cool about having your game on @ign.com. Maybe it's a little silly, but it makes the whole thing feel more real. It was great feeling spotting Curse of Resthaven on there this morning!
Happy Friday! MIX Summer Game Showcase is this Monday and the lineup is wild. We’re proud to be in the... mix... with so many amazing games, and very glad our title starts with “C” so we’re in that first slate. Wishlist what you love and tune in Monday! mediaindieexchange.com/showcases/su...
Curse of Resthaven returns June 1 with a brand new trailer at the @themix.bsky.social Summer Game Showcase! More mysteries. More creeping dread. More suspicious behaviour from Adam. Tune in Monday, and wishlist now to investigate. store.steampowered.com/app/3796150/...
Ambrose would instinctively say “I’m fine,” while visibly exhausted, bleeding, and standing three feet from a supernatural catastrophe. He’s a diplomat. Politeness, composure, and keeping the panic buried deep are practically muscle memory to him. #CurseOfResthaven
Had a blast with friends and colleagues at the Canadian Game Awards last week! Here I am with two of my very besties in the biz, @williamhperkins.bsky.social and @balbontino.com, having zero fun whatsoever.
Something’s coming... VERY pleased to share that Curse of Resthaven is an official selection for the MIX Summer Games Showcase @themix.bsky.social. Cannot wait to show more of the weird, creeping, cursed progress we’ve been making on our narrative gothic roguelite. Stay tuned.
Had your dose of creeping dread today? No? Don’t worry, we’ve got you covered. YOU’RE WELCOME. If you haven’t already wishlist Curse of Resthaven, which one recent playtester described as “Immaculate vibes. Successfully creeped out and unsettled by my first days on Resthaven.”
Character design is delicate work. Nuanced. Technical. Precise. For example: the Adam on the left does not slay. In fact, he legally cannot slay. Adam on the right, meanwhile, is snatched, pelvis-having, and legally required to slay. Game development is magic #ConceptArt #GameArt #CurseOfResthaven
Play tester feedback that made my week: For context, Disco Elysium is an all-time fave, but we are NOT necessarily trying to make a Disco-like with Curse of Resthaven. That being said, hearing this rules! “Made me feel like I was playing Disco Elysium for the first time again.”