Hello there, so here's an update! The main addition is the Custom Game Menu, so you can replay levels/the full game with weapons/spells/upgrades/gameplay modifiers you've unlocked.
To unlock levels you have to finish them in the regular game mode, if you've completed the game already before this update just replay the last save in the last level, finish the game and you'll have all levels unlocked in the Custom Game Menu. If you don't have the next level finished when playing a custom game, you'll be kicked back to the menu upon completion of the current level. You can also enable a cheat menu, so if you pause the game you have access to a menu to give weapons/ammo/spells/health/mana etc.
As well as this a bunch of bug fixes and gameplay balances are in. Notably:

• Super shotgun upgrades carry between levels now
• Saves made at the start of a level are now separate and aren't saved over at save shrines
• Siphon mana spell gives the player more mana
• Weapon numbers can now be bound in the key rebinds menu
• Spells now have quick switch buttons (F1-F6 by default, can be rebound)
• Added a quick-switch button to change to the previously selected spell (Z by default)
• Crossbow now does higher damage to armored enemies
• Pyre spell particles have increased, making it easier to burn enemies

[ 2025-03-13 15:39:12 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hey, just another update. The biggest change is the addition of Steam achievements. Along with this comes changes to gameplay balance:

• Crossbow cripples enemies more easily
• Crossbow does more damage to armored enemies
• Beekeeper health has been greatly reduced
• Bees can be burnt easier with the pyre spell
• More ammo has been added, specifically special ammo (poison bolts, nailbombs etc.)
• Added more secrets to the castle level

Also made a bunch of bug fixes, too many to list. As always if you find anything posting on the bug thread on the steam forums is a great help Merry christmas! Enjoy!

[ 2024-12-18 17:08:59 CET ] [ Original post ]

Just another small patch addressing some bugs. Patch notes - changed "beer devoured" to "beer quaffed" - brightness is now saved properly - added option to disable view tilt when strafing - fixed e1m5 to use correct music - added tutorial in e1m5b - fixed an issue where enemies would stop reacting to the player - fixed start of level checkpoints not working properly

[ 2024-10-28 00:58:43 CET ] [ Original post ]

Just a wee quick fix for a few bugs. Mainly: - A mesh in the church in e1m1 which the player could get stuck on has been fixed - A soft-lock which was possible due to an item not saving in the town level. - Fixed up the journals menu on the pause menu, as it wasn't saving journals correctly. That is all. Thank you all for playing <3

[ 2024-10-25 04:34:08 CET ] [ Original post ]

COVEN is out now in early access! This initial release consists of the first episode, which contains 10 blood-soaked levels for you to eviscerate and eat your enemies in. I'll be releasing regular updates with fixes, more content etc. So aye, enjoy! And as always drop any feedback/bugs into the steam discussions and I'll reply ASAP.

[ 2024-10-24 15:25:57 CET ] [ Original post ]

Just some bug fixing, quality of life stuff etc etc. In the update: - minor bug fixes - removed checkpoints, added save shrines - replaced the shite old weapon/spell wheel - added key rebinding - UI improvements Enjoy!

[ 2024-06-22 15:50:45 CET ] [ Original post ]

So a new build is up with some fixes - Journals are now displayed properly on the pause menu - Money is carried over into the next level - Weapon mods are carried over as well - Some minor level fixes Enjoy!

[ 2024-06-09 12:58:35 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hello again, so the new demo is now up on Steam. It's still called "Summer 2023 Demo" as I'm waiting to get the name changed but you have to go through Steam support to do so. But aye, you can now play the new demo. Enjoy! And thank you all for the continued support.

[ 2024-06-09 10:59:07 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hello everyone. So I have a new demo right here but I have to wait for steam support to get back to me before it goes live. For now the demo is available on itch here: https://gatorshins.itch.io/coven It should be up on steam in the next day or so if Steam support get back to me.

[ 2024-06-08 18:01:52 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hello everybody, just an update here regarding Coven and the future of the game. So I lost my job! The games industry is a bit of a shit show (putting it lightly) currently and I've ended up being fired due to this. Which sounds like bad news but it's actually good :D From the end of May I'll be jobless so I'll be moving to working on Coven full time for a good few months. I'll be living on savings and the goodwill of my partner so I can put in as much time into Coven as possible. For the last few years Coven has just been worked on in the evenings after work, well into the late hours and on most weekends/vacations. I'm very excited to be able to work on it full time and see how much progress can be made. Here's some tasters of where the game is heading:

Massively overhauled visuals:

I recently upgraded engine as well as the render pipeline so I've been able to add more visual effects and generally just improve the overall visual quality. I've also been upgrading a lot of assets which were pretty old and outdated compared to the newer ones I've made.
Upgrading the render pipeline means I have better access to shaders, so expect better water, volumetric fog/lighting/clouds, better post processing etc.
I've also been improving the particle effects for weather, explosions, blood, water, weapon impacts etc.

Improved AI/Enemy behaviour:

As well as all of this I've been improving enemy AI, allowing enemies to block your attacks as well as giving them the ability to dodge/jump out of the way when you're aiming at them or attacking.
If you'd like more regular updates I post often on the following pages: Twitter: twitter.com/GatorShins Patreon (a mix of free and paid posts): patreon.com/imaenith As always any support via patreon is massively appreciated, it helps me to fund development whether it's buying plugins for unity, sound effects or at this point just feeding myself

[ 2024-04-23 13:23:45 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hello everyone, So aye I'll be changing the release date from Halloween this year for Early Access to "when it's done" basically. Working full time and then on Coven in my spare time has gotten to be a bit problematic in terms of having a life and not being burnt out constantly. If I could drop my day job and just work on Coven I would of course but bills have to be paid steamfacepalm The delay won't be too long, not like a year or anything. Most likely release in the first half of next year, possibly earlier. Just wanted to let you all know so you're not disappointed on Halloween when there's no release. The original plan was to just crunch and pretty much not sleep for a couple months to get it out for Halloween but I've decided against that for two reasons. One being that I'd most certainly end up burnt out and going into early access already burnt out isn't great for me or the game. The second reason is that I don't think the quality would have been up to the standard that I want it to be if I was to work under those conditions and I'd really want the game to release in the best state possible even if it's an early access release. So... The first episode will be out before summer next year, not 100% on when. It could be earlier in the year or closer to summer. We shall see. - The first episode will consist of 10 levels set in the 1600's (at latest Summer 2024 release) - The second episode will consist of another 10 or so levels set not too long after the first but in a different place entirely, so the general vibe and colour palette will be different. Will include new spells and weapons. (Q4 2024) - The third episode will be set hundreds of years in the future and again consist of around 6-8 levels. Will combine old weapons from the first episodes with a bunch of newer modern weapons. (2025 release) That's the road map for now. Thankfully with the way I've set up the gameplay systems, adding new weapons/spells and making changes to the player abilities isn't a massive ordeal so I can change things up and improve the gameplay while I make new levels. It's still quite a lot of work of course but certainly manageable. I've also been toying with releasing some interlude levels as well, which would be the odd standalone level here and there in between bigger releases to flesh out the universe and just give people some more Coven to play while they wait for the next episode. Again, sorry for the delay but in the end it will make the game better and keep my mental health from falling into oblivion hunted

[ 2023-10-14 10:18:23 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hello there, just letting folk know that there is a new update to the new demo. Some small bug fixes but also some new modifiers for the new level select/custom game menu.

• Rainbow blood (each blood drop is assigned a random colour)
• Hardcore mode (harder game mode with no checkpoints)
• Big head mode (all enemies have huge heads)

These modifiers become unlocked on finishing the third level so if you've finished it already just give it another playthrough and you'll unlock them.

[ 2023-08-08 12:08:52 CET ] [ Original post ]

I recently released a demo update for a bundle with 2 other games on itch: https://itch.io/b/1977/the-dark-and-gory-shooter-bundle The demo bundle features demos for COVEN, KVLT and DARKENSTEIN 3D. So now I'm bringing the update across to Steam. Updates: - A new level - Old levels have been updated both visually and in terms of gameplay (enemy placement, secrets etc) - Dual-wield magic and weapons - Necronomicon and spell additions - New level select menu (allows you to replay previously finished levels with weapons/unlocks) - Full body presence (look down and see witchy toes) - Dark sight/secret improvements - New enemy animations - Numerous bug fixes - Improved performance

[ 2023-08-07 09:11:12 CET ] [ Original post ]

To celebrate Halloween I'm releasing an update to the demo to coincide with this years Scream Fest event. Included in the update:

• New areas
• Weapon damage/rate of fire tweaks
• New weapon select system with the scroll wheel
• New spell for the necronomicon - "Gallows"
• Sound effects for burning/hanging enemies
• Compendium added to the pause menu
• Pistol axe melee/magic attack
• More stuff I can't remember right now...

As always, feedback is welcome. Happy Halloween!

[ 2022-10-24 06:43:32 CET ] [ Original post ]

Hello there, I'm just pushing a small update to fix a crash which happens when you eat the remains of the spear/shield enemy. That is all. Thank you guys for playing <3

[ 2022-09-18 14:51:09 CET ] [ Original post ]

The Realms Deep 2022 update for the Coven demo is now live!

There is a reworked melee combat system, new enemies, ammo types, journals, secrets...
We also now have native Linux builds so you can play on your Steamdeck without messing around with proton. There is a controller layout I've uploaded called "The Official Coven Steamdeck Layout".
Destroy your enemies and eat their flesh!

[ 2022-09-16 17:20:53 CET ] [ Original post ]

Just a small patch for the demo to fix some bugs and to make some minor changes to the level. - Fixed player getting stuck in holding state if the object they're holding breaks - Made doors easier to use - Added a new tutorial - A bunch of minor e1m1 changes

[ 2021-10-31 20:43:36 CET ] [ Original post ]

Achievements weren't triggering after the player had died then reloaded the level. This is now fixed! Apologies to those who missed out on achievements because of this. I guess it's an excuse to play again.

[ 2021-10-28 10:11:29 CET ] [ Original post ]

The Halloween Demo is here! Rise from the grave and exact revenge on those who wronged you! Eat their flesh and bathe in their blood. In the demo: - Utilize 6 different weapons to devastate your enemies - Movement is key - dash, jump and slide in order to survive - Eat the flesh of your enemies to regain health so you may continue on your path of rigorous vengeance - Uncover the dark history of the world by hunting for secrets
Any feedback would be super useful so if you have something you'd like to see improved or added to the game just drop a comment.

[ 2021-10-27 09:57:30 CET ] [ Original post ]