Greetings, defenders of the realm!

We’ve been actively preparing the build for the closed playtest. September turned out to be a busy month. We made progress in the technical side, visuals, and gameplay mechanics. We’d like to share the main changes and additions we’ve made. Save System

• As the amount of content grew, it became necessary to revisit the same situations to test balance. So we implemented a save/load system,  now you can replay specific episodes and try them again with different decisions.

Temporary HP

• Previously, players could “stack up” too much health and made the game less challenging. Now most abilities grant temporary HP, which disappears at the end of the night. This makes the game more tense and strategic. 
  
  
• Also, we changed how health is displayed, previously, HP was shown for all units at once, which cluttered the screen. Now it appears when you hover over a unit or over the one taking damage. The screen is cleaner, and the information is easier to understand. 
  
  
  Graphics & Animations

• We added graphics for all enemies that were necessary for the closed playtests and created animations for the effects of the base deck. Battles now look more dynamic and alive. Another important detail, enemies now bleed, which enhances the atmosphere and makes battles more visually striking.

Villages

• We reworked the village ability system. They’re no longer universal but more useful and unique: each ability can unexpectedly come in handy in certain situations and greatly impact your strategy. We’ll make a separate post about this later. ;)

AI & Allies

• Enemies no longer pile up on spawn points. Previously, you could summon multiple companions at once, but now you summon only one at a time, though you have the option to use them multiple times in a single turn. This shifts the focus from “mass summoning”  to strategic/careful use of your valuable allies.

New Boss Trick

• Godfrey has gained a sneaky ability, when he takes damage, he can change his move. This breaks the old tactic of “defeating him with one big strike” and forces players to find new solutions. Plus, this leads to many fun situations during fights. 
  
  

Object Sorting

• A technical but important improvement: objects now overlap less often. We’re especially proud of the bushes, which consist of four parts. Those took the most effort, getting them right was frustrating at times. 
  
  

Conclusion These changes brought us much closer to closed playtests, and we can’t wait to share the game with you! In October, we’ll keep refining the balance, adding new cards, and preparing the build for the first test runs. 

If you want to be among the first to hear about our playtest and get regular updates on the game, join our Discord!

Don’t be a stranger, let us know what you think of all the improvements! Stay Vigilant and Wishlist The Vow on Steam!