New PS5 Roguelike Knock on the Coffin Lid Makes Story as Important as Gameplay

RedBoon’s Knock on the Coffin Lid is now available on PlayStation 5. The unique roguelike card game has a focus on storytelling, and PlayStation LifeStyle spoke to producer Dmitry Chinaev about its transition to consoles and what sets it apart from others within the genre. “Investigate your own death, find ways to break free from […] The post New PS5 Roguelike Knock on the Coffin Lid Makes Story as Important as Gameplay appeared first on PlayStation LifeStyle.

May 28, 2025 - 05:50

New PS5 Roguelike Knock on the Coffin Lid Makes Story as Important as Gameplay

knock on the coffin lid interview ps5 — (Photo Credit: RedBoon)

RedBoon’s Knock on the Coffin Lid is now available on PlayStation 5. The unique roguelike card game has a focus on storytelling, and PlayStation LifeStyle spoke to producer Dmitry Chinaev about its transition to consoles and what sets it apart from others within the genre.

“Investigate your own death, find ways to break free from a time loop, choose a hero who will ascend to the throne and rule the Northern gate! The fates of whole nations of the land of Midian depend on your choices,” says the game’s description.

Roguelikes often put gameplay over story, but the narrative in Knock on the Coffin Lid is very important to the experience. How was it finding that middle ground?

Dmitry Chinaev: Yes, traditionally, in roguelike deckbuilders, the priority is given to card mechanics and replayability, rather than story and narrative. But we wanted to focus on the story and make it a part of the world from the very beginning. We wanted to put meaning into heroes and their respective mechanics.

The challenge was to find a format that would respect the genre and its mechanics, but also would give players an incentive to be invested in the story.

The solution was what we call a “mosaic structure.” Parts of the story and lore are scattered throughout different events and runs, which, with time, begin to fit into one whole picture. Each choice is important and defines the player’s path.

This gives players the ability to learn more about the world and the main characters’ place in it the more that they dive into the story. In a lot of ways, it is similar to how memory might work in a time-loop – non-linear, incomplete, but emotionally charged.

Are there plenty of story branches to make sure runs wind up being very different?

That was one of our goals – to make runs feel varied. Not only from a gameplay standpoint, but also from the narrative. The game has multiple endings and player choices will determine which you’ll get. Some choices might not seem very important from the first glance, but the consequences of these choices will accumulate with time.

We wanted the story to have many layers, and that’s why visiting the same places multiple times can lead to new discoveries, depending on who you play with and what you did in the past. Each hero has their own story arc, that’s why changing heroes not only changes gameplay — it gives a new perspective on the world.

What would you say is the biggest differentiator for Knock on the Coffin Lid compared to other roguelikes on PlayStation?

While many other roguelikes are focused solely on cards or fighting mechanics (which we also enjoy a lot!) Knock on the Coffin Lid stands out because of its deep story and lore, atmospheric worldbuilding, and RPG elements all combined into one game.

This game is not just about card fights, it’s about story and narrative. You are not just trying to win a fight, you are exploring, learning new story bits. And strategic deckbuilding and itembuilding help you with that, along with dialogue, music, and hand-drawn art.

The game has been out on PC for a while now. What’s most exciting about having a second chance at a first impression with console players after implementing feedback?

The most exciting part? To see new players discover everything the game has to offer. But now, with all the fixes and feedback from other players, the game is much more streamlined, more balanced (though we are still working on improving it further!), and overall better.

From our original launch, we saw that we nailed quite a few things. The story was interesting and compelling, the gameplay was addictive, the humor was funny, and the characters interesting. So now, with rough edges ironed out, more content added and general improvements made, we are happy to share our game with a new huge audience.

Is the game’s DLC available at launch on consoles?

As Nightmares of Millenis DLC is a continuation of the story of the original game, which also brings with it a lot of improvements and new variants to older events, we ultimately decided to bring it to consoles, included with the original game. So, every console player buying Knock on the Coffin Lid will get the complete version of the game, with a finished story and all of the new mechanics, challenges and improvements we’ve made since the original release.

The PC release had controller support, so were there many changes needed to be made for the console port, or was it a pretty straight conversion?

The original PC release didn’t have controller support. We decided to add it a bit later on, with, at that time, potential console releases in mind. Luckily, there were some other card games with controller support and/or released on consoles, which we could look at as a starting point while developing. But from there, yes, it was a pretty straight conversion. Of course, there were some specific cases where we had to invent our own solutions, but there were not a lot of changes needed to implement controller support.

Thanks to Dmitry Chinaev for taking the time to talk about Knock on the Coffin Lid, which is out now on the PlayStation Store.

The post New PS5 Roguelike Knock on the Coffin Lid Makes Story as Important as Gameplay appeared first on PlayStation LifeStyle.