We've been a bit quiet over the past month, but for a good reason. Behind the scenes, we've been hard at work on the biggest update for our demo. Instead of sharing small changes one by one, we wanted to put our heads down and focus on making the game better. And... we've changed a lot. Over the past few months we've been reading every piece of feedback we could get our hands on. Sooooo.. Here we are, with....
One of the biggest changes in this update is a complete rework of the core card system. Previously, every card had to be played as part of a chain. Before making your tactical move, you first had to solve a little puzzle just to unlock the card you wanted. Some players loved that extra layer of planning, but for many it felt more restrictive than rewarding. So we flipped the whole idea. Now you can play any card whenever you want. Instead of forcing you into a chain, the game now rewards you for playing cards of the same color consecutively. Now, do you see that beautiful rosary in the corner? Well, that's your Combo. Every matching card you play charges one of its beads, making your Combo stronger and unlocking powerful bonuses if you choose to build it up. The important part is that it's your choice. You can completely ignore combos and simply play the best card for the situation, or build around them if you want the extra rewards.
With the card system becoming much more flexible, we had room to push combat even further. We've rebalanced a huge number of cards around positioning, collisions, and summoned objects. Crashing enemies into each other, pushing them into hazards, blocking their paths, and controlling the battlefield are now much bigger parts of every encounter. And don’t forget the fences, they can be very helpful. ;)
Another thing we heard a lot was that the game could be overwhelming for new players. So we've added a series of short tutorial missions at the beginning of the game, where you and Richard will be introduced to the game's core mechanics one step at a time before the real challenge begins.
We heard you, and we went through the game and sped up many moments that players felt dragged on for too long. Turns move faster, transitions are smoother, enemies appear faster, and overall combat feels much more responsive without sacrificing its tactical depth.
On top of all that, this update also includes plenty of new abilities, improved sound effects, bug fixes, balance changes, and lots of smaller quality-of-life improvements throughout the game. We are super excited to be part of this year's Tiny Team's fest!