The wait is over... our biggest content update yet has finally arrived! 🥳

We took extra time to polish every detail, and instead of cutting corners to meet the deadline, we pushed ourselves to deliver everything we promised and more. Act II brings a whole lot of new content:

• Bigger, more diverse locations to explore

• New enemy types to test your survival skills

• More loot and discoveries

• Fresh challenges and rising tension around every corner

• And most importantly: your very own permanent underground shelter with full base-building mode!

This is the world of The Dead Await, expanding like never before. Dive in, claim your shelter, and shape your survival story.

With over 50 unique cubes at your disposal, it’s time to design and shape your own underground shelter. One cube at a time, construct a shelter that fits your playstyle - whether that means maximizing production, fortifying defenses, or creating a safe haven for survivors.

• Automate resource production and manage workers, power, and supplies

• Build layered defenses to hold back relentless hordes

• Expand with five cube categories: Production, Base, Defense, Storage, and Decoration

• Unlock new cubes and upgrades as your shelter rating grows

Watch the teaser: https://youtu.be/sxkBWnd8Jdw?si=5aVvyeDJdlmenmq8

But survival doesn’t come easy, the sound of machinery and construction risks drawing the dead closer. Keep your armory stocked by transferring spare weapons and gear, ensuring others are ready to fight when the walls are tested. And when the horde falls silent, send out scavenging expeditions to bring back resources and loot to keep your shelter thriving.

You and your crew are finally ready to head out to Westwood Hospital. But what’s really left of the place? Has it already been picked clean, or is something worse waiting inside?

You’ll find some answers there, but every answer only raises new questions. This chapter takes the outbreak in a direction you haven’t seen before.

The hardest part isn’t just surviving, it’s figuring out who people really are when the masks come off. Can you still tell who’s a friend, and who’s a threat?

You’ve faced zombies and bandits before... but in Act II, a new kind of threat emerges. Locals call them psychos, clowns, the deranged.

Maybe the end of the world broke their minds… or maybe they were always like this, and the apocalypse just made it clear.

Either way, it’s up to you to figure out what they really are and if there’s any sense to be made at all! 🤡

In Act II, we’ve expanded on everything you enjoyed in Act I - there’s just more of it all!

You’ll find hours of new content to dive into: bigger areas to explore, new types of enemies to fight, more loot to grab, and plenty of fresh challenges to test yourself against.

And once food, water, and fuel stop being your biggest worry, you can finally kick back in your shelter, customize it, and plan ahead for what’s coming next. The world is still brutal, but now you’ve got more ways to face it.

We know the wait for Act II felt long, and we hear your feedback loud and clear. The Dead Await is a massive project for our small team, and we’ve been pushing hard to stay true to our promises, building it with care and dedication. ❤️

Your feedback has already helped shape the game into something better for everyone. Looking back at past updates and changelogs, it’s clear we’ve made real progress together with your support.

This update is mostly about new content, but we’ve also fixed a few long-standing issues the community mentioned:

• You can finally skip long cutscenes 🎉

• Trader reputation now increases properly instead of barely moving

And about the road to 1.0:

• Act II: Final will wrap up the new zone with the rest of the content and locations

• Act III (1.0 update) will be smaller and focused on the final main quest

Stay tuned for more updates, and thanks for being part of this journey. 🙏

We hope you enjoy the update! 😇

If we haven’t responded to your feedback yet, please bear with us a little longer. Thank you for your patience 🤍

v.0.9.0.0 - Act II: Origins Update (NOTE: the changelog doesn't list all the new content that's been added in previous betas but were restricted, see previous updates for that.)

• New Feature: Base Building is here! Design, expand, and customize your underground shelter.

• Added Communicator.

• Added Scavenge Mode.

• Added Production Tab.

• Added Horde Defense Mode.

• Added Armory.

• Added Shelter Tutorial.

• New Shelter Tips added to the Journal.

• New Main Quest: Our New Home

• New Main Quest: Hard Work

• New Main Quest: Meow

• New Side Quest: The Resurrection of Mr. Longs

• New Side Quest: Sophia’s Bag

• New Side Quest: Finding Abyss

• New Side Quest: Antiphobic

• New Side Quest: Cheese Run

• New Side Quest: Numbers

• New Event: The Laughing Blockage

• New Event: Roadside Toll

• All Act II content is now accessible.

• Added enemy spawns in Act II.

• Added Act III restriction fog (teasing the next stage).

• Trade Reputation: now increases by 0.2% per 100 coins (up from 0.01%).

• Fixed: Two Man Job quest end event not triggering if combat is avoided.

• Added: Skip Cutscenes (hold ESC).

• Changed: Loading screen background.

• Fixed: Crash caused by Narcamax-E when attempting to auto-refill in camp storage.

• Changed: Max level cap increased to 15.

As a small indie team, there are so many ways you can help support us and the game.

• If you buy the game, please consider leaving an honest review on Steam! Reviews have a massive impact on indie games and we'd love to see your thoughts and experiences through a review.

• Sharing the game through word of mouth with family and friends or on social media with your followers can really help spread the word and give others a chance to discover their next adventure. So many indies are discovered with a simple share or casual discussion.

• Join the amazing community in our Discord and follow us on Twitter to share in the excitement and get to know other great gamers looking to survive.

Good luck surviving!
- Shotx

Lesser Key Studios is bringing their debut title, Apothecurse, to PAX for attendees to experience their first taste of the eldritch city of Port Gelour.

Come on by the New Zealand Center of Digital Excellence booth (#1840) to play the demo and get an exclusive art print.

There is a sickness in Port Gelour, and it's your job to find out why. Leon, a fledgling alchemist, has been sent on his first mission by the alchemists' guild, and he has no idea what the oceanside city of Port Gelour has in store for him.

Craft potions to help you on your journey, use them to battle strange fish monsters and try to befriend the quirky locals before they turn on you in this eldritch mystery side scroller.

Find ingredients throughout the game and combine them into potions with custom effects. Be careful, some ingredients have negative effects on Leon, so strategise and plan your attacks carefully.

People are disappearing, and shadowy figures are seen hiding in the city's alleyways. There is a darkness growing in Port Gelour, and it falls on you to uncover it.

With a narrative inspired by eldritch horror fiction from centuries past, Apothecurse seeks to combine spooky vibes with a fun cartoony art style.

You can wishlist Apothecurse now. Follow the journey on our socials.

Version 1.2

Hi everyone!
Thank you so much for playing the Chowdown Kitty Demo and sharing your feedback. We’ve been watching your playthroughs and reading your comments closely, and this update includes several fixes and improvements to make your cozy cat-matching experience even smoother.

Patch Highlights

• 🐱 Fixed: Escape key now correctly opens the pause screen.

• 🏅 Fixed: Results screen no longer gives incorrect ranks.

• 💡 Adjusted: Hints now appear 2.5× slower to give players more time to think.

• 🏠 Improved: Early cats will now automatically populate the lounge.

We truly appreciate everyone who’s taken the time to try the demo, leave reviews, and share adorable cat combos online. Your support helps us shape Chowdown Kitty into the best experience it can be.

Thank you again for playing, and don’t forget to feed those Chonks! 💕

Unity has posted that a security vulnerability exists in all builds as far back as Unity 2017. As such all Grindwheel Games titles are being updated to Unity 6 to remove this loophole. This should not introduce any issues, but please feel free to contact us for support if you discover any bugs as a result of this change.

Now that I have gotten the release build issues out of the way I have some changes in the pipe. There's another potion incoming. Stone potion. Beyond a light armor and damage buff it makes you immune to the effects of windy rooms.

I also finally got around to fixing the mini map. This is what you can look forward to with the next minor update.

Hi guys, Neøn here!

I'm super happy to announce the release of Chief Miner's demo today!

It's been quite a while in the works, and I feel it's in a good place now to showcase the core loop and provide ~20-30 minutes of fun gameplay.

P.S. Do shoot me your feedback (pun intended), I'm actively developing the game and will happily consider it. :)

Happy mining!

--Neøn

Hi! I'm back! After some time, I've finished the Academy. New players can now train with the Captain through short lessons to learn how to master the game.

Next stop: Tournament Challenges. I'm going to work on a SOLO MODE tournament system to bring progression and a Career Mode to players, allowing them to advance without needing to play online. Tournament Challenges will let players accumulate XP to rank against others globally and in their country, as well as unlock new Roomballs, accessories, arenas, and more championships. Stay tuned!

Any feedback you’d like to share is more than welcome! :)