I'm happy to finally share some bigger news about the upcoming demo and share the new looks and styling that has developed over this past year.
NEW GAMEPLAY:
Last gameplay footage featured core gameplay around weapons and radar types. During testing, I found the most fun was had in the scrounging for gear, looking for new items, looting and exploring, rather than the stealth action all on its own. This left me wanting create something different, that focused on those survival and on-site-procurement elements. I added the procurement of flashlights, shields, and knives which will offer a variety of passive benefits to the player, while paired with primary weapon and items, and that will be used by enemies as well. NEW (OLD) VISUALS:Visuals have shifted as well since last year, focusing on optimization and streamlined workflows so that the game can run on weaker hardware as well. I wanted a newer-gen look but maintaining the retro game charm of 2000s stealth games. The result is a sort of 'PS2+' look in geometry and textures, while keeping nicer reflections and shadows, which I think balances the looks of old and new gen games. Cinemas and radio dialogue systems have also developed out as well, and the demo offers full voice acting (even if some is still placeholder voice audio until other actors are brought on). DEMO DETAILS: With only a few weeks left before the October 2026 NextFest, and the demo release, I'm racing to finish up the final features and debug any issues I can find in the gameplay to hopefully give you all a solid taste of what's in store for the complete game. The demo is currently slotted to have 4 story missions, and 4 extra operations levels that take place across 3 unique maps, and include a boss fight. For extra ops, you can cycle time of day, and weather conditions, which affect enemy loadouts and ability to spot you, bringing the level variations up to... what is that... 22 different level experiences to explore? Cross that with unlocking weapons, gears, and outfits that will affect how you can approach levels, how fast you move, and how any reloads you carry, it should offer a decent variety to explore. While the rest of the game continues through development. Keep your eyes out for more to come, and mark your calendars for the demo release on October 19th!