Introducing Spicy Mode and Much More
Hey everyone, Patch 0.2.9 is live, and while we put out big updates regularly, this one feels more revolutionary than incremental. Before we get into it, we want to say thank you. The feedback we've had from you over the past few months, both the praise and the constructive criticism, has been incredibly useful. We've read every review, every Discord message, every bug report, and every thread on Steam. A lot of what's in this patch comes directly from things you've told us. The recurring theme from more experienced deckbuilder players was that the game can feel a bit too easy and too repetitive once you've learned the systems, and that there isn't much pulling you back in once you've cleared the final biome. We took that seriously. This patch is our response, and there's more coming. Here's what's changed and why.
🌶️ Spicy Mode
Spicy Mode is a harder version of the campaign aimed at experienced players who want a real challenge. Two key things change: potions and seasonings no longer persist when you die, and biomes scale up in level when you revisit them during the same run. So if you keep grinding that level 1 Grendel, he gets stronger and stronger. It pushes you to commit to runs, manage resources more carefully, and stops the safety net of stockpiling consumables across deaths. There are also new achievements tied to Spicy Mode for anyone who wants to chase them.
👹 Horror Moves Rework
One of the most common pieces of feedback was that Horror fights start to feel the same once you've seen them all. We've reworked how Horrors behave from the ground up. Moves are no longer chance-based: Horrors now follow attack patterns, and several have multiple phases. Move intentions are split into separate categories so you can read what's coming more clearly. We've added a long list of new moves, from Tremor (which replaces dishes with rock cards) to Cookware Curse (which disables all your cookware) to Spice Hit, Drain Life, Siphon, Resistance, Infect, and many more. The result is that no two fights play out the same way, and you have to think more carefully about how to respond.
🍲 Dish Abilities Rework
Another piece of feedback: there wasn't enough reason to upgrade your dishes, and deckbuilding felt shallow. We've locked new mechanics onto dishes and introduced a wide set of new abilities, with more on the way. Dodge, Sidestep, Elusive, Plated, Sustain, Hearty, Reheat, Forage, Indulge, Banquet, Apothecary and a lot more give you real reasons to think about how your deck synergises. Dishes still have an empty slot for seasoning upgrades on top of the locked ability, so you're not losing flexibility, you're gaining depth.
🧂 Seasoning Changes
Tied into the dish rework, we've also overhauled seasonings. Hunger, stamina, and flavour seasonings no longer take up a slot on a dish, and they now stack. So if you really want to push your Roast Potatoes to 100 hunger or beyond, nothing's stopping you. Seasoning levels (Mint II, Elderflower III, etc.) are gone. Existing ones convert automatically (Mint II becomes 2x Mint in your inventory). Some seasoning effects also stack now, and chests can drop multiple seasonings at once.
🍳 Culinary Modifier
For the "nothing to do after the last biome" problem, we're starting to roll out new run modifiers. The first is Culinary mode, where dishes are actually consumed when served. Run out of dishes in your deck and you draw Pottage. Horrors drop ingredients to compensate, so you have to keep cooking and adapting. It changes the rhythm of a run completely.
👨🍳 Gourmet Modifier
For players who want a more strategic, less RNG-driven experience, Gourmet mode removes the random taste rolls. You know all Horror preferences from the start, so every decision is on you, not the dice.
🎮 Vanilla Mode
We don't want to alienate anyone who loves the game exactly as it is. That's why we've introduced Vanilla Mode. It includes the Horror and dish reworks but keeps difficulty close to where it's always been. All your existing saves are automatically set to Vanilla, so nothing changes for you unless you want it to.
That's the headline stuff. There's also a long list of changes, balance tweaks and bug fixes that didn't fit here. Full patch notes:
This patch came out of your feedback, and we want to keep that going. If you've got suggestions, ideas, or things you want to see next, come join us on Discord: Join here. We read everything. Thanks again for sticking with us through Early Access.