Northern wilds
Luzon
A broad northern journey through highland ridges, deep forests, volcanic country, river valleys, and settlements that open into the rest of the archipelago.
Development vision
The world we are building
A clear look at the game Kali is growing toward: one explorable Philippines where combat, building, daily life, and supernatural danger grow from a precolonial Filipino foundation.
Living design document
01LuzonNorthern wilds
02VisayasIsland crossings
03MindanaoSouthern frontier
CapizPanay · Visayas
Biringan CitySamar · Visayas
One connected world
World structure
One archipelago.
Three great regions.
Kali is planned as one continuous, compressed map of the Philippines. Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao become distinct regions within the same journey—not disconnected levels selected from a menu. Travel distances are shortened so the world stays rich, readable, and playable, with early place anchors like Capiz and Biringan City.
Island crossings
Visayas
A dense middle passage of short sea crossings, trading communities, limestone country, volcanic interiors, and spirit-held islands that pull journeys in many directions—including Capiz and the legendary Biringan City.
Southern frontier
Mindanao
A sweeping southern region of great river systems, marshlands, lakes, mountain approaches, and powerful communities and spirit domains.
The Arnis system
Twelve strikes.
Your fighting style.
The Arnis is the player's main weapon. Its 12 basic strikes form a combat vocabulary: players choose which strikes belong in their basic attack combo and arrange the order themselves.
Example strike effects
3 of 12 shownChance to stun
Head strike
A committed high-line attack can interrupt a dangerous enemy and create a brief opening.
Slows movement
Leg strike
Targeting mobility can keep fast creatures close or make space when the fight turns against you.
Can disarm
Weapon-arm strike
A precise attack against an armed opponent can remove the immediate threat instead of only dealing damage.
Settlement building
Build the place
you fight for.
Base building is a core pillar, not a side activity. By day, players gather, choose how the settlement grows, and prepare its defenses. At night, that plan is tested by creatures that attack in different ways.
- 01
Gather with purpose
Timber, fiber, food, and rare materials are decisions about what the settlement can become and what it can survive.
- 02
Shape the settlement
Choose the layout and expand homes, work areas, storage, and defenses using forms and materials grounded in the setting.
- 03
Fortify for the night
Control approaches, strengthen exposed areas, and prepare the tools and defenses needed for the creatures you expect.
- 04
Repair and adapt
Every attack reveals weaknesses. Rebuild what was damaged, change the plan, and let the base evolve with its people.
Enemies of the archipelago
Old stories become
the danger.
The main enemies are aswang and other beings from Philippine myth and folktales. The bestiary is built from the same Filipino foundation as the weapons, settlements, world, and survival systems.
Aswang at the center
Aswang are the main enemies of Kali. Their different forms, hunting patterns, and tells create the foundation of the night threat.
A wider Filipino bestiary
Other creatures are drawn from Philippine myths and folktales across the archipelago, giving different regions their own dangers and stories.
Lore becomes behavior
A creature's origin shapes how it moves, hunts, reveals itself, and can be resisted. These are not generic monsters wearing Filipino names.
What must remain true
The foundations of Kali
Combat with a language
Real Arnis fundamentals—angles of attack, twin-stick sinawali, disarms, footwork, and improvised weapons—reward precision over button-mashing.
Survival with a rhythm
Daylight is not downtime. What you discover, build, craft, and neglect determines how much control you have after sundown.
Folklore with agency
Aswang, diwata, and engkanto are planned as beings with specific lore, behaviors, demands, and consequences—not interchangeable fantasy reskins.
Filipino from the ground up
Weapons, settlements, materials, clothing, objects, beliefs, and creatures are grounded in a precolonial Philippine world—not imported medieval fantasy.
Development path
From first strike
to living world.
- 01
Foundation
Make the first fight feel true
Prove the Arnis combat language, movement, hit reactions, and the first creature encounter in a focused playable slice.
- 02
Survival loop
Connect daylight to danger
Join gathering, settlement building, crafting, fortification, and the night threat into one repeatable rhythm.
- 03
Spirit world
Let relationships echo
Build reciprocity, favors, offenses, alliances, and rivalries so choices with spirits reshape later journeys and nights.
- 04
Archipelago
Open the continuous world
Expand routes, biomes, settlements, creatures, and discoveries across the compressed Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao map.