There are many other post-next-fest updates, but this one is mine. I wanted to make something nice to reward all the wonderful support I saw during the fest, so this is a big one, almost certainly the biggest update to the game yet. The primary change is the game being split into three acts of 12, 11, and 7 levels respectively. This sounds like a lot compared to the 13 levels previously, but it's not as much as it sounds. Shops are no longer playable levels, which reduces the potential number of levels played considerably, and now only elite rooms have a boss fight, which means normal levels can be completed quickly (especially in the early game).
With the new acts come new enemies, and of course bosses, and each act has been given its own final boss, taken from the old boss pool but strengthened significantly. There are also many new relics and snacks to fill out the content, and the starting relic has been turned into a choice from two random relics each play through. Full changes here, with lots more:
Acts and World Progression
Expanded runs into a three-act structure: Kingdom of Men, Garden of Elven, and Host of Heaven.
Added act-specific maps, room layouts, terrain, decorations, spawners, music, and enemy pools.
Reworked map generation so each act has its own shop, treasure, elite, and boss room distribution.
Enemies and Bosses
Added a large new enemy roster across the elven and heavenly acts.
Added new elite and act bosses, including major encounters such as the Rune Bear, Supreme Elemental, Chimera, Beast of the Sea, Great Griffin, and Phoenix.
Added new enemy behaviors including charging, swooping, self-buffing, summoning, ranged pressure, support effects, and Phoenix egg rebirth mechanics.
Rebalanced enemy progression so enemy families upgrade over the course of each act.
Improved wave spawning so waves use the current act's enemy set and scale better through the run.
Run Setup and Starting Gifts
Reworked the run setup flow so players choose a snake and starting minion, then receive a relic gift before the run begins.
Added more unlockable starting minions, including Glich, Fang, and Dante.
Improved controller and Steam Deck handling, including controller glyphs, mouse hiding while using a gamepad, and pausing when a controller disconnects.
Relics, Snacks, and Builds
Added many new relics focused on food, shops, rerolls, debuffs, shields, rare upgrade odds, scoring, and risk-reward build paths.
Expanded snack perks with new effects for critical hits, boss damage, gem drops, area damage, repeated-hit scaling, adjacent minion bonuses, and permanent temporary snack bonuses.
Improved debuff builds with longer-lasting and stronger debuff interactions.
Added free level-up rerolls from specific relic effects.
Improved store sale behavior, shop discounts, and shop offer presentation.
Achievements and Progression
Expanded the achievement and unlock system with new challenge achievements and clearer unlock descriptions.
Added achievement icons and locked achievement art.
Added local high scores and leaderboard presentation on end screens.
Improved score tracking, run records, level records, and end-of-run stat summaries.
UI and Presentation
Added a new book-style game over and victory panel.
Added confetti and improved end-of-run celebration effects.
Improved level completion scoring presentation and record callouts.
Updated tutorials for the current combat, food, key, map, elite room, minion, and controller flows.
Added new UI art, controller button icons, achievement icons, relic icons, snack icons, enemy art, and biome tilesets.
Balance and Polish
Adjusted boss health scaling, elite encounters, enemy damage, enemy health, movement, and wave density for the longer act-based run structure.
Improved enemy pathfinding, off-screen behavior, projectile behavior, attack sounds, debuff damage, and hit detection.
Improved food, shield, relic, minion, projectile, and store interactions.
Improved saving around maps, runs, scores, settings, stats, unlocks, and act progression.
Added and updated localized text for the new acts, enemies, relics, snacks, achievements, tutorials, controller prompts, maps, and end screens.