On the road to having Steam achievements, I wanted to make them more than just a little popup and a picture saying you did this or that. I wanted achievements to be built into the lore of the game and part of the meta - and thus, instead of achievements, you have MEMORIES. Memories are just that, the Custodian remembering bits of their past incarnations, and applying them to their current campaign for effects. Memories and achievements are entirely identical - you unlock them by doing a specific thing in game, and then, in future games, can activate that Memory for some small bonus. The number of Memories you can have active at once grows slowly over time, and a few DANGEROUS memories will allow you to turn on more memories at once in exchange for some penalty. Along with that come TOASTS! The traditional way most games notify you about stuff any more is through toasts, but doing that in a way that meshed with Endless Dark was a little interesting. I decided to keep a separation between the Custodian and the Toast - a toast notification is data that is sent to the player, not the Custodian, and the Custodian will therefore never react to a toast. So far, only a few things will provide a Toast - unlocking a memory, building modules, passengers unaliving, and a few other things, while we work out what the best combination between informative and not intrusive. Full patch notes for 0.6.3: * 25 MEMORIES/ACHIEVEMENTS are now available to unlock through in-game actions * MEMORIES can be activated in later runs to change the behavior of the game * Toast Notifications will now appear for a variety of events * The bot no longer spins randomly in New Game selection * Selecting narrative arcs also now shows you which bots have completed which arcs * An overhauled Paperdoll now shows you your full inventory including schematics and modules * Paperdoll now adds another column if you have a huge number of effects * A few minor bugfixes

[ 2023-06-29 21:12:26 CET ] [ Original post ]

A refreshing twist on roguelite and storytelling, Endless Dark is a psychological horror game about the pressures of monotony and the purpose of existence.

You, the Custodian, are a sentient machine onboard a sleeper colony ship, charged with keeping it intact. No combat, enemies, or NPCs await you - only a myriad of system failures and the decay of your own sanity as you whittle away the decades in isolation. Hundreds of story events and a deep narrative keep each iteration of you intrigued. Customize your own chassis, repair the ship, and keep your passengers alive long enough to win... something. Can you uncover the intent behind your own creation before you slip into robo-dementia?

STORY MODE

The ship is shadowy in more ways than one. Ancient agreements and long-forgotten understandings conspire against you to keep you in your place. Doing your work. For however long the long-absent conspirators wanted.

Explore a deep narrative that evolves over multiple playthroughs, and choose how you deal with each new revelation. Not all truths will set you free, and some things are better left unsaid.

ENDLESS MODE

For a more mechanical challenge, try the optional endless mode. In this mode, the only objective is to propel the ship as far as you can before you inevitably lose your passengers, your mind, or both. Contend with the confusing oddities of the ship and its myriad catastrophes with a specially written CRISIS CYCLE. Three impending crises, promising grievous and irreparable damage, will be shown to you. Use your intuition, born of your intimate awareness of your vessel, to discern which two crises are lies, and which one is the true threat! Choose wisely - the Crisis will not be gentle if you fail to prepare for it.

PLAYABLE...

Endless Dark has been designed from the start to be eminently playable for Custodians with their own histories. The game has a specially chosen color palate to be visible for numerous kinds of colorblindness, even full monochromacy. Large, clear text makes messages readable at a glance. All Custodians need only bring their willingness to do, explore, and grow.

Busy Custodians also need not fear; distinct, bite-sized turns with effortless autosave allows for drop-in, drop-out play.

Control things your way; the game is fully playable with a gamepad only, keyboard only, or mouse and keyboard.

...AND REPLAYABLE

With over 50,000 words (and growing!) of random events, spread over dozens of dilemmas, and a finely tuned Director that applies just the right amount of pressure, Endless Dark is designed to never present the same situation twice. Fight and overcome, or struggle and succumb, the next time will always be different.