Version 0.9.5 Patch Notes: A Long Way Back

As the summer light fades over the mountain, we return to you, Pallbearers, with our largest update yet.

Since our last patch, we've turned our attention from fixing the climb to deepening it. This update is built around one simple, grim truth: the road to the summit should never be the same twice. To that end, we're introducing selectable Difficulty Modes, an all-new Retrieve system for when the departed refuses to stay in the coffin, and — at long last — fully animated pallbearers to carry the weight. We've also given the whole mountain a fresh coat of paint.

Whether you are a seasoned Undertaker or a Part-Timer taking up the coffin for the first time, we hope this new journey feels heavier, stranger, and more your own.

May the moonlight steady your hands and light the long way back.

— BROKENCIGS

Features

Difficulty Modes — Easy, Normal, Hard

• Choose your challenge for each level right from the Level Select screen.
• Every mode carries its own fine-tuned time thresholds and Corpse Integrity requirements — a C-rank on Hard is a very different road than a C-rank on Easy.
• Hard is unlocked for a level once you've completed it, and strips out checkpoint respawns entirely: a fatal misstep sends you all the way back to the start of the climb.

Retrieve Mode — no body left behind

• Dropping the corpse no longer simply respawns you. When the departed tumbles into a pit or slips off the path, a pallbearer can set the coffin down and head out on foot to bring it back.
• Recover the body, haul it back to the coffin, and re-hook it to continue the procession.
• A dedicated on-foot traversal mode with its own movement and feel — and if the recovery proves too grim, you can give up and reset.
• Checkpoint respawns are now reserved for genuine hazards and falls, keeping every setback meaningful.

Fully Animated Pallbearers

• The Undertaker and the Part-Timer are now fully animated — walking, carrying, jumping, landing, the new retrieve stride, and a proper strained posture while hauling the corpse. The trek up the mountain has never looked so alive (or so undead).

Improvements

Obstacles & Hazards

• Grasping Hands (Hard): during a retrieve, hands claw up from the earth to seize a lone pallbearer — struggle free before they drag you down.
• Breakable Tombstones: on foot, you can now punch straight through tombstones and other brittle obstacles blocking your path.

Movement & Handling

• Tuned the retrieve walker's footing on steps and slopes for a surer, less floaty climb.
• Continued polish to the weight and stability of carrying the coffin.

Multiplayer

• Full online co-op for the new systems — Retrieve, the Grasping Hands, and all corpse handling are now synchronized between host and guest.
• More reliable hosting and Steam invites, with fixes to disconnection and return-to-menu issues.

Visuals & Audio

• Overhauled the mountain's look with new terrain textures and a custom stylized toon shader, giving every level a warmer, hand-painted feel.

UI & Display

• Level Select now includes difficulty selection and clearly marks which levels have Hard unlocked.
• The Leaderboard is now reachable from both Level Select and the Pause menu, fully navigable with a gamepad, and opens instantly with no hitch.
• Failure dialogue is now press-to-advance, so you set the pace of your own eulogy.
• Assorted start-menu and screen-transition polish throughout.

Bug Fixes

• Fixed players vanishing or being flung across the level when restarting a stage.
• Fixed carry mode being unable to walk through mud.
• Fixed numerous online desyncs affecting walker movement, corpse position, and coffin re-hooking.
• Fixed leftover errors and stuck state when disconnecting back to the main menu.