Dreadwinter - Demo Patch Notes (March 2026)

Welcome

Hey! I've just released an update to the Dreadwinter demo! There's a lot of gameplay and Quality of Life updates, as well as some new content.

I would highly recommend making a new save if you've played before, as the save file has changed a lot since the last update.

If you'd like to see a more detailed explanation of the changes made, and the rationale behind them, I'd recommend checking out the monthly devlogs I've been releasing!

With that being said, let's get into the patch notes! ːsteamhappyː

Hotfixes (As of 3/4/26)

• Fixed an incorrect setting when starting the game for the first time, causing it to crash (!!!)

• Fixed clothes on zombie customers and interaction highlights not appearing

• Cutscenes in the cafe that trigger at night also trigger in the early morning (12am - 5am)

• Drinks no longer sell for 0 Ls

• Fixed some character schedules that were not being carried out

• Fixed a bug that caused the victory screen to not appear after defeating an enemy

• Fixed a bug that caused the game to crash when spawning ghost or zombie customers

• Fixed some incorrect stats in menus

• Added a fade in to cutscenes that did not have it by default

Content Updates

• There are now 18 NPCs you can meet in town (Increased from 12). New NPCs include:

  • Vanille

  • Kazuho

  • Kiya

  • Hana

  • Usagi

  • Pyogi

• You can now go inside all of the houses in Lunara, although some may be locked at first! This includes:

  • Dread & Winter's home

  • Kazuho's home

  • The Taikoji family home

  • Mayor Moon's manor (not all rooms, though)

  • Chocola & vanille's apartment

• The bath is now accessible

• Townspeople have more active schedules

• Added the book shop

  • Buying recipe books will be available in the full game

Gameplay & QoL Changes

• There are now 3 settings for day length (1 day = 12, 18 or 24 minutes)

  • Previously, a day was equal to 24 minutes

  • Currently, you can only set this during character creation

    • In a future update you will be able to change this in game

• Revamped existing tutorials and added new ones to make gameplay clearer

• Added an indicator when you can interact with an object

• Added highlighting when you can interact with NPCs and cafe machines (grinder, cauldron etc.)

  • This may be extended to all interactable objects in the future

• Added manual saves

  • You can save and reload from any point (outside of cafe shifts and dungeons)

  • This is currently experimental! There shouldn't be any issues, but I can't guarantee it.

• Some shops are open for longer

• You can enter people's homes between 7am and 9pm (I don't actually think there was a time limit before)

• Additional controller support and controller icons added to the UI

Cafe Gameplay Changes

• Dreadwinter opens from 8pm at night

• Revamped the Recipe Book to be easier to understand (and better looking)

• Changed some skills and moved some around

  • The cauldron can now be unlocked earlier

  • Mixing coffee beans has been changed to focus on price increases

  • Adding multiple beans to the grinder is now unlocked by a skill

• Additional coffee beans will unlock based on interest & loyalty rank

  • This is more for the full game

• Customers will have an indicator if they are being served by Winter

• Spaced out the positions of machines and seats by the bar

  • Customers and machines shouldn't overlap now

• Increased the speed of brewing and grinding

Combat Changes

• You now gain money (and potentially items) when you win a battle

• Running from battle no longer counts as a defeat (no more clinic visits)

• You can attempt to run from battle once per turn

  • You have a 50% base chance of escaping, which can change depending on skills and enemies

• You will now be warned before you battle a powerful enemy (such as the Lumbering Jack)

Closing Notes

Good job on making it to the end! There's been a lot of bug fixes alongside these changes, but there are also probably bugs that have been introduced in their place! ːsteamfacepalmː

If you find any bugs or have any issues, let me know (discord or steam community is fastest), and I'll do my best to resolve them!

There will likely be one more major update to the demo just before the full release, but I can't say when that would be yet. For now, though, it's back to the grind!

Have fun, and thanks for reading!

-Alex