Hey Backpackers, We want to give Backpack Hero more time in Early Access. A while back we announced that the game would leave Early Access and launch on consoles, with a new story mode, in May it's been a huge undertaking and we need a few months to get it in great shape. Working with you all in Early Access has made a huge difference, we'd like to keep going and share a new release date once we are confident in a great 1.0!

What's happening behind the scenes?

We're focusing on three things right now:

Core gameplay and balance

We've come a long way, Backpack Hero has gotten BIG! There's now five heroes, each with their own mechanics, and over 700 unique Items this is a huge level of complexity to test and iterate. We are incredibly grateful for your feedback so far we think there's more we can do for every hero and item to feel balanced, interesting, and fun.

Porting to consoles

Were working on bringing Backpack Hero to console players as soon as we can! Developing ports alongside Early Access is complex, but we do have support from a few talented folks. Its a team effort, but we mostly get to focus on new content and polish for 1.0. And look, here's Backpack Hero on the Nintendo Switch!

Story Mode

We're all kinds of excited to give you a closer look at the biggest update so far! This update introduces a whole new Story Mode and the village of Haversack Hill: a place to make your own, learn about the world, and discover Purse's story. Why do endless dungeons sprawl beneath Orderia? Where does the magic Backpack come from?
Above The Dungeons, you'll rebuild your own little village! Items from the dungeons are very useful in Haversack Hill use them to build up and decorate your village, expand your available pool of Items and heroes, attract new villagers, make friends, and pick up new side quests to complete in the dungeons.


Just like your backpack organization matters, the placement of buildings and decorations in Haversack Hill will add unique town effects and bonuses. Its not just what you build but where you build it!
Story Mode means a lot to us. It does the important job of expanding roguelike progression between runs and balances the learning curve for new players, two of the most requested features in Early Access. Its also a delight, a way for us to explore the world of Backpack Hero beyond The Dungeon. We know this is important: Story Mode is a lot of new stuff, but it doesn't replace the way youre playing Backpack Hero right now. We're keeping the option to launch straight into classic dungeon crawling from the main menu run challenge modes with all heroes and Items unlocked - just like in Early Access.

What can you expect next in Early Access?

Testing the Story Mode! We plan to move Story Mode development to the public testing branch before 1.0, and we want you to be involved in how it's shaped. You can also expect bug fixes and balance updates to the core gameplay. With 700 Items theres now a huge amount of content to work with, so we can focus more on the fun and depth in every single run. Things are going to be busy so come join our Discord server, share your ideas, and follow our Twitter to stay up to date. https://store.steampowered.com/app/1970580/Backpack_Hero/

[ 2023-05-29 23:27:08 CET ] [ Original post ]