Greetings to everyone who still cares about the most realistic space simulator in human history! And, of course, to everyone who still cares about Breathedge — nice to see you too.
We honestly thought we wrote the last news update just yesterday… then we looked at the calendar.
Why didn’t you yell at us sooner? This is all your fault!
Phew. Now that we’ve successfully shifted the blame — let’s get to the news.
Since the demo’s release, we’ve been focusing on making the gameplay as good as humanly possible. Sure, we’ve also been doing some model stuff, other stuff, and all kinds of mysterious “developer” stuff — mostly at 3 a.m. — but the hardest part turned out to be… thinking.
Thinking is hard. We can officially confirm that. We tried it. We didn’t like it. But we had to keep doing it anyway. What this brave act of self-destruction will lead to — we’ll all find out very soon in Early Access. In the meantime, here are a few juicy details.
The most important thing — the core, the essence, the very soul of the game (and yes, it’s even hidden in the title) — is oxygen. We’ve done a lot to improve the oxygen mechanics since the demo. But if we take off our huge rose-tinted glasses for a second… the oxygen system is still complete sh... It’s fine! But! we’re not leaving it like that! We’ve decided to go even deeper and turn oxygen into one of the most valuable parameters and resources — without abusing the Man or making him suffocate every other minute.
Right now, we’re creating a broader system that ties together all survival parameters: gas, hunger (and thirst — yes, you asked for it, it’s back, the Man is officially allowed to drink again). All parameters will depend on the Man’s condition, the environment, and various world factors. Everything will be built around positive and negative effects — buffs and debuffs — that can affect not only the Man but also your crew, your ship, or your base.
After the first Breathedge, where oxygen was the main driving force, simplifying that mechanic might sound strange. But honestly, it didn’t drive anything forward — more like forward–backward–forward–backward, and few people enjoyed that little dance. So, will the Man be able to float around in space longer without gasping for air? Yes. Will that make the game easier? Not even close. Safe zones with free or infinite oxygen are gone. Oxygen is now a resource — and you’ll have to hunt for it with a stick, just like our ancestors did. (Cavemen hunted oxygen, right? RIGHT??)
Another parameter you might’ve poked at in the demo was fatigue. Its mechanics in the demo can best be described as: uuugh... bleh... uuuuuuh... pffft. A brilliant concept, of course — just not exactly how we planned to leave it. Fatigue is actually a pretty important parameter. It’s basically the game’s natural way of saying, “That’s enough gaming for today.” Get out of bed — fly around — loot some junk — eat — sleep. You know, like real life. Sure, you can fight fatigue: chug coffee, pop pills by the handful, and generally behave like a very bad dog. But sooner or later it catches up with everyone (fatigue, not the dog — come on, focus), and the more you resist it, the harder it hits you in the back of the head. Again — just like real life.
Tightly the storm clouds gather as one,
Black and mighty, their danger begun,
Hurling down lightning in furious display,
Their plump rear smothers the world in dismay.
The cloud…
Wait. That’s not right. We definitely started with “tightly,” didn’t we? Ah! Right — tightly connected to the fatigue system is the sleep mechanic! It was also in the demo, and also worked on the same “ehhhhhh” principle — so it’s getting a complete rework. Sleep will now let you skip certain events (like long warps) and give you a nice little rest with optional minigames. Nothing scary or mandatory — but, hey, a good nap is a good nap. And waking up with some bonuses for the next adventure? Even better.
Speaking of minigames — we’ve got this stubborn idea stuck in our heads: if there’s a collectible cartridge in the game, it should actually play. We’re slowly moving in that direction… though we promise nothing. Not even to ourselves. But we’re moving. But we promise nothing. But we’re moving! But— you get the idea.
One of the first minigames will, of course, be the legendary Clickedge — the one that a grand total of two and a half players discovered in the first Breathedge. And alongside it, there’s another project currently in development — one that’s especially dear to the Man’s heart: the dramatic adventures of Mr. Dumpling.
You get tired, you play, you sleep, you skip a warp, blah-blah-blah. Does it actually affect anything else? Yes. We’re adding a full day-and-night cycle wherever it makes sense — and, frankly, wherever it doesn’t. And we reserve the right to add any other cycles we feel like: from cosmic hurricanes (take that, physics!) to tropical rainstorms (take that again!). No, we’re not planning rain in open space — obviously — but the game doesn’t take place only in open space. These cycles will slightly change gameplay, open up new opportunities, and even provide new resources. For example, alkaline moles only crawl out of their holes at night — your one and only chance to catch them. But during the day, you’ll get to smack some maintenance robots with a crowbar — before they fly off to recharge for the night.
We’ve added tons of new stuff — and we keep adding more! Unfortunately, our memory’s worse than a guppy’s, so we can’t really remember what exactly. Although… wait! We did add a dialogue system. Yep. That’s right. A dialogue system. Why? To overload you with meaningless, stupid conversations, of course! You’re welcome!
Okay, fine — we’re lying. It’s actually the opposite. The introduction of a dialogue system (well, more like a monologue system, really) will help us avoid dumping endless walls of text on the Man, deliver quests faster, and spare you from listening to every random robot’s heartbreaking life story. If you do want to know more about the world and your objectives — feel free to hit the “Talk” button. If you don’t — feel free not to. You’ll still understand everything just fine.
You worried, we worried, they worried — even those guys over there worried about the fate of Sui. In the name of dramatic storytelling and for the sake of the highest artistic ideals, we once decided to separate the Man and Sui into two different characters. We tried it. We played it. We cried — out of sheer horror. The idea of dividing the indivisible turned out to be… bland. So, we’re putting everything back the way it was.
In the new version, Sui returns to his rightful home — on our shoulders! Well, technically, on our back. He’ll remain the same busted-up robot bolted to a scorched spacesuit, but he’ll now accompany us on every space outing. Sui will have unique abilities thanks to his upgraded robo-arm — and we fully intend to abuse that privilege. It’s the right thing to do. It’s the fair thing to do. It will… be done!
The base. Oh yes — the base, the base, the base! So, what’s going on with construction? Are we working on it? Are we doing anything at all? What will building look like? What kind of mechanics will it have? And the answer is: yes!
Ahem. There’s been some mild outrage that we didn’t exactly answer our own questions about the base. We don’t see the problem, but fine — if that’s what you want, the next devlog will be fully dedicated to construction. We’ll go over the mechanics, the concept, how it all works, and how it ties into gameplay. It’s a big topic, and yes, we’re working on it too. Anyway, overall… the project is moving forward at the majestic speed of a dead turtle — exactly as planned. We’re still nurturing the beautiful illusion that we’ll be able to launch Early Access in the first quarter of 2026. But honestly, 2027 sounds fine too. 2028? Not bad either. And 2029… well, at that point, what’s one more year?
Early Access will include the first chapter of the story, roughly 8 to 10 hours of gameplay (that’s a very, very, very rough estimate). Those who played the demo have already seen the beginning, but even for them, the updated version will feel completely different thanks to all the new systems and mechanics. Eight hours doesn’t mean you can’t spend 200 if you really want to. We’re making Breathedge 2 with great attention to the feedback you’ve been generously giving us for the last few thousand years, and we want the game to be a true survival experience for those who love it — without suffocating those who just want classic Breathedge with its posters and sophisticated adult humor. Of course, we’ll do our best to screw up both directions equally, so it ends up as a complete misunderstanding instead of a game. But hey — maybe we’ll fail at failing. Such is life.
Now, let’s talk about truly important things — not all those silly gameplay fantasies. We recently held a micro-contest to create a helmet for Breathedge. Any guesses how many people participated? Yeah, that’s what we thought too. But we were wrong — people actually did! A whole three people created three absolute masterpieces. Before we announce the three winners out of ten (which was a tough call, obviously), we’d like to share some details about these heroes and what exactly they’ve built.
FalKram — mysterious, elusive, active tester, and an overall excellent human with hands growing from exactly the right place. He took the helmet-building challenge more seriously than… well, there’s just no comparison. Below are a few quotes and details from the making-of, shared in full on our Telegram channel. This isn’t just a helmet — it’s a Real Helmet:
“It’s not a mock-up or a display prop — it’s almost completely airtight. The construction itself turned out surprisingly monolithic.”
“Made from ABS plastic and plexiglass, rubber from some random bike tire, regular cyanoacrylate glue, and a bit of clear ‘Crystal’ sealant. I also used a seat from a chopped-up toy car, one valve, one sports-bottle nipple, a jar of vitamin C, and that’s pretty much it.”
“Tools used: metal shears, a cheap soldering iron on ‘wood-burning’ mode, and that’s it. Simple as that.”
So, what do we have here? A working, real helmet made from everyday junk — complete with a back-flow valve, durable structure, airtight sealing, a visor (yes, an actual one), an oxygen system, and even a rubber-lined chin section — so the sharp weld seams don’t shave off a real man’s beard. And it doesn’t stop there — upgrades and improvements are already planned, and they’re no joke. Photos straight from the workshop:
Phew, awesome! And now — our second contestant.
Pavel Yuzhakov — even more mysterious than the first one, which is why we won’t tell you anything about him at all. But the important part is — he exists! Pavel approached the task with true creative spirit. Like FalKram, his inner artist clearly refused to accept the humble idea of “just a foil helmet.” Instead, he built a full suit — and what a suit it is! We’re talking a visor, a cooling system (or maybe heating — who knows where a person might end up in that thing out in space), an oxygen system, a power socket, sensors, ports, an antenna, filters, a phone, a switch, groin protection, and even a blaster mounted right on that protection!
And, of course, the pièce de résistance — the Vacuum 2000 system, capable of sucking resources straight into internal storage. Oh, and the author apparently stole Gordon’s crowbar — so he might actually know something about Half-Life 3. Isn’t that beautiful? It is.
And now it’s time for our third contestant.
Yevgeny Rikhmaer — to create his helmet, he had to work harder than anyone else… and, reportedly, even produce two children in the process. That’s what we call true dedication. A solid claim to victory, we must admit. What we have here is a full cosplay of the Man, the immortal Chicken, and… well, let’s just assume Sui is standing nearby in his traditional skeleton outfit. But, of course, the centerpiece of this heroic craft is the helmet itself. And really, we couldn’t describe it better than the author did:
“We had an old Soviet steel helmet, a rice cooker bowl, a respirator, some epoxy, and a piece of pipe. Not that you need all that to enter a Breathedge contest, but once you start building a space helmet — you go all the way.”
Rugged, stylish, and with lighting — what else could you possibly need for space?
We want to thank everyone who took part — seriously, it’s awesome, and it genuinely made our whole team happy. Our strict and highly professional jury spent a long time choosing the winners, but we’re finally ready to announce them! And the winners of the Great Helmet Contest are… drumroll please!
Ba-dum-bum-bum-bum-bum… FalKram, Pavel Yuzhakov and Yevgeny Rikhmaer! Ta-da-da-da-daam!
Unexpected? Yes. Deserved? Also yes. That’s just how we roll. To all the other contestants — you did great too! Please accept your loss with dignity.
Since we were giving away ten keys to Breathedge 2, all winners will receive three each (math isn’t exactly our strong suit, either). What they do with them — sell them, eat them, or gift them to aliens — is entirely up to them. But that’s not all, of course not. True masterpieces deserve more than just being pretty pictures on social media, so we plan to immortalize the creations in the game itself. With the authors’ permission (if we manage to get it, of course), all three helmet-suits will make their way into Breathedge 2 — in one form or another. Poster, collectible, character, gameplay item — we’ll decide during development. And you’ll find them in the game.
Once again — thank you all!
And of course, we should mention — with our chicken-level eyesight, there’s always a chance we might’ve missed someone’s masterpiece, secretly posted at the last minute on a private, password-protected blog.
If you happen to be that person, and we shamelessly ignored your encrypted work of genius — don’t hesitate to reach out through any of our communication channels (listed below). We’ll sort it out, cry in shame, hand out some prizes, and all that good stuff.
By the way, there was also one helmet made off the record — by one of our own developers. The idea was grand, magnificent, full of elegant technical solutions and deep philosophical meaning… right up until the moment he installed two oxygen tanks with a tube straight into his nose. Apparently, it was the wrong kind of 40-proof oxygen, because the developer disappeared for a week. When he finally came back, he just waved off all questions and quietly smiled from a corner, all puffed up like a sad pigeon. We still don’t know what really happened — but we’re now 100% sure you should always read the labels before using any product for… experimental purposes.
So yeah, that’s how things are. Oh, right — a couple more important updates!
As you already know, besides Breathedge we’re also slowly tinkering with our second project — the one we’re working on in our free time from the third project, just so the fourth one doesn’t sit idle like the fifth did after the sixth started right before the seventh.
Yes, we’re talking about Canyons. And there, we’ve seriously reworked… well, everything — from graphics to lore. We’re preparing a massive dev update that’s roughly a hundred million pages long (give or take a few million). Alongside it, you can expect a brand-new cinematic trailer for the updated version of the game — full of pew-pews, epic music, and glorious staged shots mixed with gameplay.
Oh, and right after the cinematic trailer, we’ll almost immediately share another one — a 15-minute gameplay showcase, recorded straight from a test build. No cuts, no editing! (Okay, that’s a lie. We definitely slapped a few logos on top, so technically, there was editing. You can’t fool the people. Editing happened.)
Anyway, we can talk about editing and other cinematic terms we don’t really understand later. Right now — there’s something else we wanted to mention.
You’ve been asking us about it for a while, and we’ve been lacking time/hands/brains (and probably a few other critical parts), but it’s finally happening. Media. Yep. We’re slowly expanding our presence on all those popular social platforms. We’ve got a bunch of ideas, and even some actual content — though we’re still short on time/hands/brains. Still, we’ve opened — and will soon start posting on — the following:
Twitter (X): https://x.com/Red_Ruins
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/redruinssoftworks/
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@redruins_softworks — still empty for now; we nearly broke our legs figuring out how it works, but it does work, and the first content is coming soon!
Discord: https://discord.gg/uezQcU7 — has been with us for a long time.
YouTube: — another veteran from the dawn of time.
And, of course, our traditional line of communication — email. If you need to reach us urgently, officially, or just with extra enthusiasm: [email protected]
And if you haven’t added Breathedge 2 to your wishlist yet, here’s the link — since you’re already here and probably don’t even realize it. After all, today clearly is Link Day: