Hey guys! I know we've been kind of quiet over here at Neox Games in regards to news and updates to the game. But that's because we have been stuck in the lab, cooking up some very exciting gameplay changes we'd like to present to you - right now, in fact!

So without further ado we want to announce to you: OrbWars goes rogue!

Over the months OrbWars spent in Early Access we collected player feedback and did a lot of introspective thinking. And what we realized is, that the level-centric OrbWars we've known and loved for so long simply wasn't the best OrbWars could be. Completing a level, aside from the ones containing boss encounters, simply didn't feel quite rewarding and accomplished enough. Cool gameplay features got introduced for one specific level to make each of them feel more unique, but in turn depriving players of exactly these cool gameplay features in subsequent levels. The puzzeling and exploration aspects suffered from annoying backtracking passages.

So we decided to throw all that under the bus.

Instead, OrbWars' main game mode will be a brand new cooperative roguelite dungeon crawling experience! Each attempt at defeating the Monster in the Dark is now unique, thanks to randomly generated levels and enemy encounters from a still hand-crafted and thought-through set of possibilities. But that's not all! Down below is a list of all the major features you can try out and enjoy right now in the newest patch of OrbWars:

• OrbBoost overhaul: As is turns out, making your Orb do cool and crazy stuff is fun. Which is why OrbBoosts are now bigger and there's more of them! Pick up one of ten Boosts, each with a unique passive, active and melee effect - and once you're done with it, simply pick up the next one and start blasting again!

• Wait - melee attack?: Yes, melee attack! You read that right. OrbWarriors can now perform a quick close quarters attack in a full circle around them, that deals a smaller amount of damage and knocks enemies back. This attack is made even more powerful by your currently equipped OrbBoost, as mentioned above.

• Better perk up, 'cause Perks are here: Perks have become somewhat of a staple in the rogue genre, and for good reason. As our main form of temporary player progression, you will now get to pick one of a set of randomly picked perks as reward for clearing some rooms, granting you major buffs and letting you further customize your OrbWarrior towards specific directions.

• New and improved Trick Rooms - now extra tricky: With the pre-conceived levels, including their puzzle and backtracking elements gone, we put on our thinking hats and designed a wide variety of rooms to challenge your maneuvering skills and your quick thinking, rather than your combat proficiency.

• Bigger and better bounces: Last but not least! When I started this list I mentioned that making your Orb do crazy things is fun. And I'll end this list on the same topic. Which is why we're introducing Flipper Objects! These nifty little devices will be placed throughout all the rooms and offer special interactions with our Orb if hit, from adding some extra punch to teleporting it to another place and more, so stay tuned to see them in action!

But wait, there's still more! Now, unfortunately we weren't able to get these features ready quite in time for this patch, but you can expect to see them soon the next couple of updates:

• Player progression reaches the next level: Along with better temporary player progression through perks we want to offer you better permanent player progression, too. Which is why we're introducing Talents! Don't worry, PowerChips aren't going anywhere, but they have been redesigned to now truly contain only the most impactful of skills, while Talents are here to let you tweak and enhance particular stats and abilities of you OrbWarrior to guide them more towards offensive, defensive or utility paths.

• Elite Mob Encounters are here to toughen you up: Of course, not only the OrbWarriors have become stronger. The Monster in the Dark never hesitates to think of more nefarious ways to bolster it's forces fighting capabilities. Which is why there are now special Elite Mobs you can encounter, possessing entirely new traits and abilities. Be careful of these ones!

And there you have it! Of course, there have been many more, smaller changes beneath the hood and we'll keep you informed on those in our Patchnotes, but this is the bulk of what we've been working on. I hope you're as excited as we are about this new direction for OrbWars and wish everyone lots and lots of fun sharing this coop roguelite adventure with their friends.

Sven "Svole" Friedrich,
Head of Design