In-game event12 Aug 2026Aug 12 Game UpdateA Big One (Mostly Because There's a Lot of It) Hey everyone, This update is large, not because any single change is massive, but because there's a lot packed in here. New relic, nameplates, item rarity rework, and a long list of smaller fixes and improvements. This one's a bit of a crazy update behind the scenes too: 24 bugs and features shipped, and at least two nights where the team was up un…
Hey everyone, This is a big one. Bots, smarter enemies, fog of war, and a full objectives overhaul. Let's get into it. Bots Have Joined the Dungeon We know the deal: Few Shall Return is built around player interaction, and it's just a better game with 3+ people in the room. But we also know that public matchmaking doesn't always cooperate, and sometimes you queue up and there just aren't enough…
We started working on Few Shall Return full time in November 2024. Back then we were hoping to release in August 2025. It's now almost a year later than we planned, but we're happy (and honestly a little relieved) to say that Few Shall Return is live in Early Access today. Ballard Games is three people: Joul on marketing, Solomon on design, and Victor on tech. But this game is not just three pe…
Greetings, dungeon delvers!👋 We're excited to push our final build before Next Fest. Yes, we're going in Next Fest! Boss difficulty If you recall, a few weeks ago we released Relics which are special, unique items that you find on the map. They cannot be taken out of the map for future games, but if you find one of them, they give you some serious buffs for that game. Until today, relics were…
Greetings, dungeon delvers!👋 We have a new demo build for you! Here's what's new: Item rarities Until now, if you found a Stone Hammer in the dungeon it would always have the same stats: 100 damage. Finding a second hammer was not really fun. Today, we're introducing item rarities which make every instance of an item unique. Each item, randomly, spawns in one of the 4 rarities: · Common · Rare…
Greetings, dungeon delvers!👋 It's been only 6 days since the last update but we have some exciting changes for you today! New ROSTER editor You can now see in the main menu which character you have selected and their inventory! The character selection screen gives you a preview of the characters as well: Did you know that our two characters have back stories? You can read them on the character…
Greetings, dungeon delvers!👋 We've got some big changes for you today, along with a handful of quality of life changes that have been in the works for some time! EMOTES Ever since we started Few Shall Return, we knew that players need a way to chat with each other. Today, we are finally releasing Emotes so you can communicate with each other. There are 15 static ones and one that allows you to…
Greetings, dungeon delvers!👋 We've got a MAJOR visual change for you today, along with a handful of quality of life changes that have been in the works for some time! NEW Environment Assets Our artist's been hard at work building new environmental assets to better fit the dungeon! New walls and variations for them were built and implemented, along with new variations for the floor tiles! NEW D…
Hi Everyone!👋 We've got some pretty impactful bug fixes and performance boosts for you this week, across a few different systems! NEW minimap The previous minimap did the job, but was generally noisy to look at. Also, as it's camera based, the old minimap would duplicate lighting effects, potentially obstructing view and generally impacting performance. This system was replaced with one where…
Greetings, dungeon delvers!👋 We've got a smaller update for you today, with a couple smaller bugfixes, and one BIG change for melee weapons! Also, to get us started, we've got a new trailer for your viewing pleasure: What's new in combat? Weapon VFX was adjusted to match the actual range of the weapon! Before, character outlines were the main source of truth on if an attack would land, which w…
Hi Everyone!👋 We've got a big update today, with some new mechanical upgrades and format tweaks! With no further ado: TREASURES for those who seek them Introducing, the treasures system! If you've been craving the dark power the dungeon promises, look no further than these treasures. There's only one of each to be found on the map, so make sure to fight for them if you want the powers they gra…
Greetings, dungeon delvers! 🏰 Today may be April First, but I assure you this update is no joke! And, neither is the new difficulty scaling for the inner dungeon! Additionally, the settings screen should now be controller navigable. Difficulty Scaling To help make the inner dungeon the formidable challenge we've imagined, we've implemented difficulty scaling for everything past that initial tr…
Hi Everyone!👋 We've got some new tutorialization for you! Along with the usual bugfixes and tweaks, you now get toast-style tutorialization pop-ups to explain game elements as you come across them What's new in combat? · Hammers (notably, Mealnir) now have a more appropriate dust cloud visual effect and an overhead swing. The effect reacts to lights, too! · Enemies now give you XP when killed!…
Greetings, dungeon delvers! 👋 We've got a good handful of bug fixes for you, along with new tutorialization and added combat feedback to make the game easier to pick up than ever! What's new in combat? · To give options for Molokhia players to approach enemies with ranged attacks, Molokhia's slides now grant a brief stun on impact! · Stunning or interrupting an enemy with an attack now gives y…
Hi Everyone!👋 Maps, maps everywhere Initially, we were planning on having only one map for the demo. However, after careful consideration, we've decided to increase that number. Starting today, there are 3 maps that randomly rotate when you start a game. As a reminder: the final, full game will have an infinite amount of maps because they are procedurally generated. Bug fixes · Increased the h…
Greetings, dungeon delvers! ⚔ With this week's update, we bring a close to this wave of combat and aim adjustments. Introducing: Auto Aim! No longer will Sprout fire shot after shot at enemies, hoping to land a hit that never happens! To bring this game more in line with the kinds of skill checks the genre generally demands, we're eliminating fine aiming as a player requirement with auto aim. W…
Hi Everyone!👋 We've got a couple more combat changes for you, along with fixes to make aiming more fun and consistent! What's new in combat? · Attacks now slow you down. Molokhia's hammer slows him down more than a sword would, and Sprout needs to stop to fully aim his pistol shots! · Players now use a sideways and backwards walk animation as needed, this can be seen if you're attacking in one…
Hi Everyone!👋 This week's update is all about combat. We've revamped the combat system to feel more dynamic and engaging. What's new in combat? · Attacks now have a startup duration , allowing certain weapons to take more or less time to attack with. · Attacks from both players and enemies can stun . · Attacks can be interrupted if the target is starting an attack when they get hit. There's a…
Hi Everyone!👋 We are thrilled to publish one of our biggest updates to date! Since launch, Few Shall Return has featured four classic archetypes: the Wizard, Witch, Knight, and Queen. While they served us well, we wanted to evolve beyond the standard. Today, we are replacing them with two brand new characters! These heroes were designed entirely in-house, featuring custom art and distinct new…
Hi Everyone! As we prepare for Next Fest, we've been working on some large features that will take us a few weeks to complete. This week's update has a lot of change under the hood but not many things visible to the player. However, we expect next week's update to be quite significant. Here's a sneak peek: As always, please share your thoughts on Discord and follow us on social media: -- The Ba…
Happy New Year! 👋 Welcome to the first update of 2026! As we prepare for Next Fest, we are working on some larger features that will take a bit longer to complete. However, we remain committed to releasing new content every week. It's been a while since we added a movement mechanic, so this week we're introducing the " back dodge ". Now, if you press the dodge/slide button while standing still…
Hi everyone! 👋 This week's update comes a day early -- usually we release a new build on Wednesday. The update is huge but requires very few words: we've replaced all AI-generated content from Few Shall Return! You can read the full story here . Starting tomorrow, we'll be on vacation until 2026. The next game update will be on Wednesday, January 7, 2026. As always, please share your thoughts…
Hi everyone! 👋 This week we have a very visual (and tactile) update for you! New Camera Angle We’ve heard many times that it can be difficult to see things behind walls and objects. We’ve increased and raised the camera angle significantly, making the environment much easier to navigate and enemies easier to spot. Map Axis Aligned Navigation For our keyboard players, movement should now feel m…
Hi everyone! 👋 This week we have another mega update for you! Incapacitated characters Up until now, there were no consequences to not escaping the dungeon. Starting today, when a character fails to escape the dungeon, not only they lose all their items, but they will also become incapacitated. An incapacitated character cannot be used. They will recover on their own after a while or when the…
Hi everyone! 👋 We’ve rolled out a significant update this week focused heavily on player control and personalization! New Player Customization & Control · Settings Menu: You now have full control over your experience. We've implemented a comprehensive Settings Menu allowing you to adjust volume, and customize your key bindings. · Character Selector: Before starting your run, you can now visit…
Hi everyone! 👋 We’ve just deployed our weekly update, focusing on adding tactical depth to both combat and exploration. What's new: · Environmental Damage: Be extremely cautious around the crystals in the room that we released last week because they do environmental damage now! · Tactical Dodge: The dodge mechanic just got a major upgrade! If you time your dodge correctly, you now benefit from…
Hi everyone 👋, It's time for our weekly update! This week we have a brand new room for you: the Crystals Room. To showcase it, we've also released a totally new map for the Demo! Beyond the new content, we've implemented a host of under-the-hood tweaks and various bug fixes. As always, let us know what you think and join us on Discord to chat about Few Shall Return! The Ballard Games Team
Hi friends, We have another update for you! Without further ado, here's what's new: Map & Quality of Life Updates · Item Markers: You'll never lose a key again! Important items and objectives are now clearly visible on the minimap. · Cleaner Minimap: Speaking of the minimap, it has been refined to be cleaner and is now slightly zoomed in for better visibility. Bug Fixes · Sounds: We broke the a…
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Announcements are the developer’s own posts to the game’s Steam news feed: updates and their patch notes, in-game events, releases and sales. The important ones are marked on the players chart.