Hand-painted indie title delayed for 7 years is launching this July and looks like the anti-AI dream game
After seven years of silence, hand-painted indie adventure Tormentum II is finally arriving on July 23, 2026. Originally announced in 2018 with a planned June 2019 release, the game has become notable as much for its extended development journey as for its artistic approach—the developers have painstakingly hand-painted individual artwork throughout the entire game, positioning it as an uncompromising alternative to AI-generated game assets.
The sequel builds on the foundation of the original Tormentum: Dark Sorrow, which launched in 2015 to a “Very Positive” reception on Steam. Tormentum II expands this experience with over 150 hand-crafted locations, emphasizing the scale of manual artistic labor involved in its creation. The extended development timeline suggests the team prioritized artistic quality and individual human creation throughout production.
The silence from developers during much of the wait has only heightened anticipation among fans of the original game. With the release date now confirmed, the studio is preparing to reveal what consumed seven years of development—a prospect that appeals particularly to players who value traditional hand-drawn artistry and reject algorithmic content generation.