V0.2 is out and in the hands of playtesters. This build adds the things the game was quietly missing: a moment to arrive, a face or two to meet, and a difficulty curve that better reflects how people actually play.
A Place to Begin
The Workshop now opens with dialogue. The player character steps in and asks the obvious question — what is this place? — and the game begins to answer. It's a small addition, but it makes the start of a run feel intentional rather than abrupt.
Two New Characters
The Artificer is now unlockable — the shopkeeper whose wares can turn a run around if you know what you're buying. Their shop has been reworked with more breathing room and clearer card layouts.
I've also added the Archivist: a second protagonist with a particular interest in your failures. They show up to document what went wrong. Cheerful type.
Balance Pass
Playtesting feedback came through clearly on one point: movement and speed bonuses were snowballing too fast. I've reined them in — the Speed Up bonus drops from 20% to 10% per pickup, Frenzy and Slow Field stacks are down from 50% to 15%, and the HQ upgrade follows suit. The run should feel more deliberate now, and harder to accidentally break.
A Known Issue
Unicode symbols aren't rendering correctly in this build. It makes a few UI elements look a bit rough — still playable, but not how I want it. I'm working on it. Once it's fixed I'll ship v0.2.2, drop the password, and open the build up publicly.
If you're already in the playtest group, the build is live on Itch.io now. If you want in, get in touch.
More soon.
— Lionel
Published: June 2026