From Placeholder to Purpose: The Evolution of Few Shall Return

By Victor Hurdugaci on Dec 23, 2025

When we started Few Shall Return in November 2024, our team consisted of just two developers with plenty of ideas but very little artistic experience. Our original vision was a 2D dungeon extraction game, but we quickly hit a wall. Finding consistent, high-quality 2D assets that fit our world proved to be an uphill battle, and progress stalled.

To keep the momentum going, we made the pivot to 3D. Using assets from the Synty collection allowed us to build a cohesive first version of the game and finally get our mechanics into your hands.

Addressing the AI Elephant in the Room

As we moved toward our Steam page launch, we faced a new challenge: we needed high-fidelity marketing assets that we simply couldn’t produce ourselves at the time. To bridge that gap, we turned to AI-generated imagery.

If you looked closely at our Steam capsules or the main menu background, you likely noticed some of those tell-tale “artifacts”—like that slightly wonky sword handle. While those assets served as temporary placeholders, they never quite felt like “ours.”

A Major Milestone: Going AI-Free

Today, we are incredibly proud to announce that the latest Few Shall Return build is officially AI-free. This transition was made possible because we finally expanded our team to include a dedicated artist. Over the last few months, they have been working tirelessly to replace those generated assets with handcrafted art that truly reflects the spirit of the game.

Looking Ahead: Our Path to 100% In-House Art

We aren’t stopping at just removing AI. We want Few Shall Return to have a visual identity that is entirely unique.

Over the coming months, we are planning to replace every store-bought asset currently in the game with custom, in-house content. It’s a massive undertaking for a small team, but we believe it’s the only way to give you the immersive, polished experience you deserve.

Thank you for sticking with us since 2024. We can’t wait for you to see how the world looks as it truly comes to life. If you’d like to support the development of Few Shall Return, wishlist the game on Steam and/or join us on Discord.

This article is part of The Tales of a Small Indie Studio series. Click here to check out out the other articles.