After having been part of the Community Vote at the DevGAMM Awards 2025, Portrait of a Torn is now in its Steam event! The DevGAMM Awards Celebration is taking place between the 3rd and 9th of November, and you’ll be able to see all the highlighted titles of the event during this time.

If you’re interested in finding out more about Portrait of a Torn, the game is currently on sale with a huge 30% discount that will last for the entirety of the event. Make sure you take advantage of this amazing offer while you still can and experience this unique and touching story!

https://store.steampowered.com/app/3059500/Portrait_of_a_Torn/

Dear SwarmTroopers,

The hive is stirring once more, and it’s finally time to jump back in! We’re beyond excited to officially announce that Closed Alpha II is going live tomorrow, Tuesday the 4th! You can still sign up for the playtest on the DarkSwarm Steam page:

SIGN UP FOR THE PLAYTEST

We’ve been digging through all your feedback since the first playtest, and we’ve been hard at work making major improvements across the board. From overhauled visuals to new features and fresh content, there’s a lot to dive into — and we can’t wait to hear what you think.

Let’s take a look at what’s new:

Chryos, our ice planet, has received a lot of graphics overhaul as well as a complete redesign of the procedural algorithms. It feels more intuitive, and we’ll keep on improving it over time.

We have added some more objectives and minigames to the game, so there’s more interesting stuff to do. Behind the scenes, we are currently working on systems to make it easier to add more like it, so every level can contain more variation.

We have added a bunch of cool social features like Steam friend invites, player kicking, private servers with password protection, and text chat. These features are all new and experimental, and we have a lot of improvements planned for all of them, as well as brand new social features that we would like to add later.

Text chat can be activated by pressing ENTER in-game. This is only supported for keyboard players, but we will add a controller interface to it later so it’s accessible to everybody.

We have made a dedicated effort for crouching to be of more tactical use in the game - especially in the narrow SpaceStation corridors, where players in front will now be able to crouch and not receive damage from their teammates behind them - unless they also crouch!

Have you always wanted to see alien arms fly off when you attack them? Well, even if you hadn’t, you still get it. Feedback is welcome, and we are planning to add more to this in the future.

A major point of concern was how the trappers were too punishing. And while we do want them to make the game more challenging, it’s always about finding that sweet spot between fun and tedious. Hopefully, you will like the changes made.

There are so many things, big or small, which have been improved upon or added to the game since our first Closed Alpha test. And, there is more to come. For now, we hope you will enjoy the game and continue sharing valuable feedback with us.

Much Love,

The DarkSwarm Team

Our latest update for the Hell Games Demo is live – and it’s hotter than ever! 😈

• Reworked Discus Gameplay – Now with blazing flame trails and explosive effects!

• Improved Graphics & Visuals – Hell has never looked this good (or this deadly)!

• Better Statistics Screen – More overview, now includes traps.

• General Improvements & Bug Fixes – For an even smoother experience.

Meanwhile, we’re working full throttle on the full version of Hell Games – with more levels, more weapons, and more power-ups.

Your feedback means the world to us! Try out the new version and tell us what you think – or what you’d like to see next in the pits of Hell. 🔥

More madness is coming soon! 😈

Hello,

• Update for the demo and full version

• Windows – 32 and 64 bit

• Linux – 64 bit

• macOS – 64 bit

• browser version

• Sandbox improvements – more control and better tools to test your patterns.

• Boss respawn in Sandbox – train against all 14 bosses whenever you want.

• New enemy: Berserker – destroys your bullets and is very durable.

• New emitter option: auto target – automatic tower rotation towards enemies.

• Improved “SPREAD” indicator – clearly shows the main projectile and directions of additional ones.

• Updated localization (90+ languages) – Sandbox, new windows and messages.

• New difficulty window – appears at the start, with a “don’t show again” option.

• “Don’t show again” in Survival – faster start of subsequent runs.

• Boss respawn in Sandbox
  You can now respawn bosses directly in Sandbox and train against each of the 14 unique bosses, with:

• their own strategy,

• unique attacks,

• distinct behaviour / AI.

It’s a great place to learn the mechanics before Campaign or other modes.

1. Sandbox fixes

   Better stability and small UX improvements to make testing builds more comfortable.

2. Note – Auto-hide panel
   Due to a previous save bug you may need to re-enable the “Auto-hide panel during wave” option in Sandbox – your previous setting may have been reset after this update.

• New enemy type: Berserker

• Can destroy your bullets.

• Is very durable, so you can’t just “click through” it with anything.

• Is meant to break overly comfortable builds and force smarter pattern design.

• New emitter option: “auto target”
  Towers can now automatically rotate towards enemies, similar to tower-defense games.
  Simply enable “auto target” in the emitter properties – any pattern can now target enemies if you want it to.

• Improved “SPREAD” indicator
  You can clearly see the main projectile and the directions where additional projectiles will be fired.
  Designing and debugging complex spreads is now much more comfortable.

• Gamepad and keyboard improvements

  Small input tweaks to make controls more consistent and predictable.

• The new SPREAD indicator shows:

• how many projectiles will be fired,

• in which directions,

• and the main projectile highlighted in yellow.

Emitters can now automatically rotate towards enemies. In the "Movement" tab you just need to enable "auto target":

• the tower automatically targets nearby enemies,

• any pattern can become a “half–tower-defense” setup without changing other parameters,

• now every pattern matters,

• useful option for beginners,

• can be combined with homing bullets, standard bullets, etc.,

• the option is completely optional – if you want, you can still play with manually set shooting directions.

• Wave trigger fix
  Fixed an issue where pressing Space could start a new wave while dialogues were still on screen.
  Dialogues are now safer from accidental wave starts.

• Difficulty selection window
  The game now asks for the difficulty level when you first enter the menu and informs you that it can be changed at any time in the options.
  You can also tick “Don’t show again”.

• Survival – “Don’t show this window again”
  The Survival window now has a “Don’t show this window again” option so you can get back into the game faster on subsequent attempts.

• Updated and improved translations for over 90 languages.

• New Sandbox options, difficulty and Survival windows are localized.

• Small fixes to text consistency and readability in the interface.

This update is not the end – I’m working in parallel on more features that will be added to the game.

• SIMPLE / ADVANCED – two editor modes
  I want the pattern editor to be:

• friendly for beginners – a simpler view / SIMPLE mode,

• powerful for advanced players – full access to all sliders in ADVANCED mode.

Goal: less overwhelm at the start and more power for players who like tweaking details.

1. New ranked mode “NO LIMIT”
   I’m working on a separate ranked mode called “NO LIMIT”, where:

2. there will be no limit on the number of projectiles,

3. there will be no limits on emitters.

Limits in the main game exist because it’s not possible to reasonably balance an unlimited number of projectiles.

That’s why “NO LIMIT” will be a separate ranked mode – pure madness, with no promise of balance, but with a leaderboard for those who want to squeeze absolutely everything out of the engine.

1. CODEX – enemies, planets, game world
   I’m preparing a CODEX, which will include:

2. descriptions of enemies,

3. information about planets,

4. other elements of the world you encounter in the game.

The CODEX is meant to be a place where you can calmly read about what just destroyed your tower.

New tutorial / training mode. I want to add a separate tutorial / training mode, which will:

1. introduce you step by step to the basics of the editor,

2. let you practice specific mechanics (SPREAD, auto target, bosses),

3. be good both for new players and for those returning after a break.

More tooltips and hints. I’m also planning more tooltips:

1. more short descriptions for sliders and options,

2. better explanations of what parameters do in the editor,

3. subtle hints in places where questions most often appear.

Thank you for playing Pattern Survivors, supporting a one-person studio and sharing your feedback.

Changelog (Current version 1.4.6 - 03.11.2025) :: Pattern Survivors: Bullet Hell

• Blossom has been reworked

  • More blossom types introduced.

  • Blossom now only halve at the END of the round.

  • Blossoms now have a max stack count.

  • Fragrant blossom now gives blossom boost.

  • A new buff 'rot' introduced, gained each time blossoms halve, and can be spent on a variety of new techniques.

  • New 'fungal' technique set introduced, that grow slowly but infinitely.

  • Seed type techniques now bloom at the start of the next round.

  • Fatal Flora now only affects the first blossom type gained after it is itself gained.

  • Many techniques deleted, reworked, or moved.

  • Rebalanced a lot of items that gave fragrant blossom.

• Quality and Hidden Potential now factor into an items cost.

• Companions now animate attacks during combat.

• Enemies in a horde animate attacks.

• You can now set multiple conditions on a stance rule on either an 'AND' or 'OR' mode.

• Combat results now show damage from DOT's too.

• Reworked custom images to be stored seperate from the save file, reducing file bloat.

• Removed the round limit on auto-battle.

• Training ground leaving is now bound to escape.

• You can now duplicate a stance. Also improved the stances list layout to be more compact.

• Fracturing tiles in the pillar grid now has a better UX.

• Tidao Feng now has animations.

• Changing stances now shows the stance name.

• The progenitor echoes are now MUCH harder.

• Gravitational Anomaly is now slightly easier.

• Power debuffs are now limited to a maximum of 90% of your power for each debuff.

• Max barrier is now a softcap. You can exceed it, but you lose half of the excess after each technique. Reduced max barrier significantly to compensate.

• Fixed a number of places that were showing excessively accurate numbers.

• Fixed background destinies when skipping tutorial.

• Fixed stats given by modded backgrounds.

• Fixed many many typos.

• Fixed many more cases of -defense to be vulnerabilty.

• Fixed many stances that were using dayspring.

• Fixed grudge plate stacking.

• Fixed alchemical synthesis mastery names.

• Fixed mastery tutorial softlock if you are lucky enough to roll max mastery tier.

• Fixed some techniques not having the flat heal mastery.

• Fixed stacking of energy resonance.

• Fixed being able to click through dialogs in the pillar grid.

• Fixed reflective curse being able to be set more than once.

• Fixed display of Karmic Reprise mastery.

• Fixed Shen henda fruit buffs not stacking by giving them each unique names.

• Fixed seeping corruption not stacking.

• Fixed Zi Liang being a madlad and patrolling into places he really SHOULDN'T be.

• Fixed an issue where end-of-round rewards always displayed as Investigator for the Ghost.

• Fixed rewards not being correctly given for being Alive and Correct Ghost Type.

• Female character now has a working ragdoll on death.

• Dead players can now use their phone to guess the ghost type.

• Dead players can no longer talk in game chat.

• The Ghost can no longer gain energy from dead players.

• Fixed a rare issue where doors could remain permanently locked — added extra safety guards to prevent lock/unlock desyncs. (Under testing — please report if still occurs!)

• Voice Chat connection is now much more stable across scenes and after rounds.

• 🪞 3 New Ghost Types: Deogen, Hantu, and Goryo.

• 🌌 1 New Evidence Type: DOTS.

• 🔦 1 New Equipment Item: DOTS Projector — place it in the ghost room to detect movement from DOTS ghosts.

Equipment Prices

• EMF: $15

• Thermometer: $30 → $15

• Canvas: → $30

• Sanity Medicine: $90 → $60

• Doll: → $30

• Camera: $50 → $25

• Crucifix: $70 → $100

Gameplay Tweaks

• Sanity Pills now restore 10 sanity (down from 25).

• Players can now bring only 1 Crucifix per game.

• Throw Cooldown: 45s → 30s

• Lightswitch Cooldown: 45s → 30s

• Door Slam Cooldown: 45s → 30s

• Door Lock Cooldown: 90s → 60s

• Hunt Cooldown: 90s → 60s

• Passive Sanity Drain: 0.06 → 0.07 per second

• Correct Guess: $50 → $100

• Correct Guess + Alive: $25 → $75

• Ghost Kill Reward: $50 → $75

(Evidence timings have been slightly rebalanced to prevent Investigators from winning too quickly before a Ghost can hunt.)

Zonor is waiting for you! Are you able to keep fighting on the beat?

Heart of Artemisa is part of the Ancient Costume Game Festival! Jump on this rhythm music battle and play our demo now!!

We currently have a 20% discount for Luminous Skies: Interstellar until November 10th.

Or you could pick up all of them up when they are all on sale and use the bundled discount. If you're unsure, the demo, A Short Adventure, would be a fair gauge if you as a player may or may not want to pick up the full games. It's free.

Discussion Board

If you have any questions, feel free to reach out to us on the discussion board. There's even a leveling guide there for Luminous Skies: A Short Adventure and Horizons. It's probably the best point of contact. I'll keep working on these games, slowly, patiently.

News Hub

Keep an eye out for Announcements and Updates, like this one, in the News Hub. It's another great place to get all the information that you need regarding sales and what kinds of updates you may see in the future.

We hope you enjoy the game and have a great day.

The TRPG Bundle on Sale 24/7 (stackable)

Interstellar DLC

Horizons DLC

The Pilgrimage DLC

Play for Free

Each and everyone of you reading this is awesome.

patch 1.12a

• fixed title screen bug

• fixed wording on signs

• added town names to map

• fixed capital letter spacing

• added more missing translations

update 1.12 changelog (besides languages)

• reworked camera a little to be less buggy

• added camera movement w/ mouse and right stick

• removed bubble behind inventory (I think it looks cleaner without)

• implemented brand new font rendering

• you can now take true-resolution pictures in free cam with LMB

Simplified Chinese is still on its way, stay tuned!

Have an Easy day!