Changelog:
Different types of enemies now drop different values of coins.
Adjusted the overall difficulty of Presence 8.
Fixed an issue where the Tier 2 upgrade of Arzenic's Odachi-Kodachi did not increase his attack speed as intended.
Fixed an issue where Gydralionth's Energized! ability had an unusually low drop rate.
Welcome to our first proper preview of the year.
Although I'm still busy with you-know-what, I couldn't let the game sit still. In fact: we've made great strides since August 28th! As of today, everything up to Kenovice is in. That puts us just a handful of scenes away from a playable build.
I'd like to take this opportunity and present you with a prologue you might recognize. We'll focus on the story for this one, covering about 80% of InvitAtion's events. As you'll shortly see, the prologue receives what the prologue needs.
So before I retreat into the final stages of my PhD, let's talk politics and history!
Our road starts where the games began. Trachi's Eastern Checkpoint was created in 2016 – making it the oldest piece of in-world content. Suffice to say: The story and the world have grown tremendously since then. Although the Checkpoint got updated countless times, the core ingredients remained the same.
A crowd, three people and an adjutant. Two differing opinions make a disagreement. Access to the barracks requires Trachian citizenship – or at least a visa. While the Customs Office is right next door, we can't help but ask ourselves: Why?
Those that played the original were satisfied with our explanations to varying degrees. Overall, we found out politics aren't everyone's cup of tea. ANARCHY's success certainly proved that person right. On the other hand, my love for matters of state is only surpassed by my proclivity for self-sabotage.
AUTONOMY (U) is a kiss on the cheek for people that adore complexity. The revised prologue will be full of acronyms, paragraphs and terminology. After all: Our first interaction has three agents of the Ionian Intelligence Service (IIS) – itself part of the Secretariat for State Security (StateSec) – being frustrated by a Sergeant of the Trachian Republican Guard (TRG).
Most of that knowledge comes from the dialogue, but the environment plays a vital part as well.
Compare, for example, the crowd outside to the queue inside the customs office. I'm sure some of you pondered the shape of this administrative bottleneck. In the future, I'd like to reward your investigative gaze.
Remember the application form's thirteen pages? The scene's a bit tacky, but at least the protagonists fill the forms out by themselves. – Or did they, actually? My memory's a bit fuzzy. Although I DO remember wanting to make the game more interactive.
Now I obviously can't let you short-cut your way into the city. We could give you a special ⭐ for good behavior, though. Perhaps there's even a way for you to get a visa and walk into the barracks prematurely. It'd feel like winning for about five seconds, before we remember Sergeant Samuil Rybar's words: The Lieutenant's out, anyway.
Among the many things we didn't do justice in AUTONOMY (R), the legal status of the DMZ is one of the top contenders. Mind you: we're talking about an area that is internationally defined as no-man's land. In technical terms, neither the TRG nor our three StateSec protagonists are allowed to act on behalf of their governments in the DMZ.
Wearing a uniform is a big no-no – restricting free passage even worse. The TRG is guilty as charged – but what about StateSec? We don't see Atlas waving around a badge, but the deals he strikes are backed by Ionia. This kind of private / official multi-hat drifting is the basis of most agreements, although it shouldn't exist in a world subscribed to institutions.
In short, the DMZ is a place where de jure and de facto come apart. Beyond that, its remained a surprisingly quiet strip of land lodged between Amryn, Trachi and Ionia. Though the latter should already give it away that the DMZ is also the perfect hub to get things in – and get things out.
With a bit of extra context, we understand the gravity behind Lieutenant Tanner's raids. Apprehending people in foreign countries – even your own citizens – is illegal. Yet the man is holding people hostage as he's interrogating a suspect outside his jurisdiction.
Luckily, we can look to countless similar examples in our own history. Let's hear a few justifications: Security of the state, housing international terrorists – or being a bridge-head for narcotics. Turns out there's a whole buffet of reasons to pick from!
In our case, Julius Gaston was accused of smuggling. That's a felony, alright. Though we could raise the stakes just a tiny bit. Recall that arteria aims to replace Trachi's civilian administration. That makes the leadership of the TRG – or rather its Colonel – our best bet.
But what if he doesn't come through? Who else commands the respect of the city?
Technically, he's still in the Republican Guard. It makes for a better picture, you see? Heinrich is the hero who stopped a terrorist attack on Fredrick Dam. Even if you account for the fact that the operation was a false flag – the explosives were as real as the fourteen people who lost their lives.
As someone who prides himself on honesty, discipline and decency, killing isn't the thing Heinrich wants to be remembered for. I'd assume part of him always wanted the truth to come out. If only someone would stand up and admit that Trachi's independence emerged from a lie.
Until that day comes, the city needs a symbol. Heinrich provides, although he doesn't live in the city anymore. His tiny cottage sits a stone-throw away from the barracks, where Guardsmen remain in awe of him. If you ask someone in Trachi, Heinrich keeps an eye on the DMZ. On the other side, Nestville's people see Heinrich as the man who keeps the TRG in line.
Should there be an escalation, both sides will look to Major Navratil.
As you can see, Nestville is ready to defend itself. Tilian introduces himself as leader of a militia, but we never saw his crew. The armed civilians in the later stages of the game could either be from Nestville – or Ionian sleepers.
We'll maintain the ambiguity until the end, but the relationship between Ionia and Nestville deserves clarification. Recall that Nestville is a village formed by Trachian exiles. More precisely: Trachians (mostly from Rondham) that refused to give up their Ionian citizenship. It's reasonable to assume that these people want to return to the city. This would require a change of constitution – which in turn requires a change of government.
From a foreign policy perspective, Nestville's value to Ionia is hard to overstate. It stands to reason that Ionia would funnel a tremendous amount of resources – food, building materials, utilities and perhaps even weapons – into their pseudo-colony. Nestville is not just Ionia's base in the DMZ, but a bridge-head into Trachi actual.
On the civilian side of the village, we remember Kristofor De Bloom. He used to be Rondham's administrator, before being voted out – largely due to changed demographics (caused by the Ionian exodus). Although not a natural Ionian, Nestville's people naturally accepted their former administrator as head-councilor.
You can imagine that De Bloom has been in constant contact with Ionia. Beyond the management of goods and people from Trachi to Nestville to Ionia and back, he also supervised the flow of information. That includes the collation of reports on the strength, composition and movements of the TRG – and the insight provided by a long-term sleeper close to the Trachian government.
A particularly relevant piece of information arrived in spring 1923: One of the agents involved in Ionia's first attempt at the city – operation effigy – was spotted in Trachi. Contrary to earlier reports, De Bloom confirmed the sighting.
Although we can't say for sure if this triggered the Secretary for State Security's (Teron Pravoskos) decision to go ahead with arteria, it undoubtedly served as extra motivation. Even if Ionia failed to take the city, it could at least snatch / cut one or several loose ends.
Here's where AUTONOMY (R) got good. The scene holds up incredibly well – even by today's standards. And for good reason! Marina De Bloom is one of the characters that write themselves.
Granted, she's a bit pushy. Yet there's a sense of highborn politeness – not to speak of an expertly-crafted meal. Given that our StateSec detachment has been frustrated half-a-dozen times at this point, there's really no reason not to dig in.
Besides: Marina's portrait and lines expose her as extraordinary. Perhaps our (planned) venture across the DMZ is not just a public broadcast that arteria is underway, but an encounter with a person we've been looking for. That would explain why Marina poses a question to Atlas specifically.
Whether you played AUTONOMY or not: I'd like to confirm that this scene is AUTONOMY's overture. There will be references to historical events – from Calpoli to Fredrick Dam to Kenovice. The latter is especially important, as that's exactly where we're going next time.
To sum up, there's two things I'd like for you to take home. First and foremost: I broke my promise and already revised a couple of things. I hope the improvements make up for the fact that we'll ship AUTONOMY (U) as a remake straight away.
Secondly: The primary threads (trying to get into the city, Tanner, Julius, Heinrich, Tilian, Eury, De Bloom et al.) remain completely intact. We're replacing fillers and fluff within the existing conversations with a bigger focus on the politics in the DMZ – bolstered by historical references and foreshadowing. By the time you see the boat, you won't just be curious, but also informed to a much larger degree.
Most of all, I hope it's clear that I've finally started to appreciate AUTONOMY's prologue. I've more or less cried in detail about it for four years – now it's time to man up and polish until it shines. Which brings us to our most important question!
I am delighted to announce that all temporary artwork in the demo has been updated with final art, including monster artwork from Dr Wahee and some item artwork from Burhuru!
The UI has also been spruced up, and is at long last looking nice and polished.
Endless Mode has been given a couple extra features! The Bimbonomicon and Gothnomicon can be enabled, adding an additional challenge and extra transformations! More such items shall be available in the full version of the game!
With this major milestone reached, the Demo is essentially complete (bar any minor improvements and overarching features I come up with between now and full release)! I hope this is enough to tide you all over until the FULL release in Q1 2026! There is much more magic, kinky chicanery, and soft, jiggly BIGGNESS on the horizon!
Added potential fixes to bugs relating to the smartphone's state
Fixed issues with the smartphone when certain events trigger at the same time the player is using it
Added a clarifying text to the tutorial
It’s been a hauntingly exciting week in No One Leaves the Field!
Between Steam Scream Fest and Halloween, the cursed wheat has seen more visitors than ever.
Watching players wander through the fog, light their first candle, and catch that first glimpse of the scarecrow has been incredibly rewarding for our team.
We built the demo as a slow burn—a story that creeps up on you.
Seeing players experience that tension firsthand has been the highlight of the season.
The field is doing exactly what it was meant to do: draw you in, keep you guessing, and make you wonder what waits beyond the next row of wheat.
Since launch, over 900 players have added No One Leaves the Field Demo to their Steam libraries—and the brave ones are sticking around.
The average playtime is 28 minutes, showing that players are exploring, discovering secrets, and venturing deeper into the mystery before the scarecrow finds them.
Every play session gives us valuable insight into how people move through the field—where they linger, what moments hold their attention, and how long they survive once the curse awakens.
We’re currently taking part in Indie Playtest Fest, where anyone can play the demo and share feedback.
Anyone who leaves feedback during the event will be entered into a raffle for prizes!
👉 Learn more and join the raffle:
https://digitalsagas.com/playtestfest2025
Streamers will also be showcasing participating games live on Twitch this week.
Check out the featured streamers and our full showcase here:
https://indiesagas.com/indie-playtest-fest-2025/
For full event info:
https://www.indieplaytestfest.com/
We’ve begun building new environments that will appear beyond the demo.
The barn structure is now under construction, and new areas will include a windmill, a pumpkin patch, and eerie signs of those who never made it out.
These additions will deepen the mystery and expand the world—helping to uncover why, in this place, no one leaves the field.
Missed our last update? Catch the October 26 Devlog for our demo launch recap, Scream Fest preparations, and early feedback:
https://indiesagas.com/devlog-october-26-2025/
Join the Saga.
Wishlist No One Leaves the Field on Steam and keep an eye out for more updates soon.
https://store.steampowered.com/app/3652690/No_One_Leaves_the_Field/
Hi everyone!
After playing a lot this week while preparing things for the next major update, I've decided to deploy a small list of improvement and bug fixes. Here they are:
GAME FLOW
Final objective to complete a run on Year 1 can now only be complete during Transcension X
Goals menu button is now visible when you complete the game
UI
You can now click/tap through essence meter to skip dialogues
Harmony feature unlock tutorial image updated
Accelerated State of mind feedback text's lifetime in 'Fast duel speed' mode
BALANCING
Tier 1 entities are entirely excluded in the 5th realm generation (last realm before source)
Choosing a state of mind now also pauses the 'No preset' cooldown timer for entities (it used to only pause LHEA's timer)
Updated Ikenga's flute preset to increase chances of preset swapping
BUGS
Fixed: Transcension menu button appeared in the black realm map
Fixed: Camera zoom level was different in black realm map compared to all other realms
Fixed: Conflict between Defend casts and State of Mind dodge when entity cast a basic word
Fixed: Missing sound FX for preset swapping
Fixed: Wrong font size for colored words in Transcension menu
Enjoy and have a great week <3
Jo @ Soul Fuel Games
A number of changes were made this patch, primarily adding to the options window and fixing various bug fixes
Fixed out of bounds behavior with bridgeshot
Fixed pause timer overflow issues
Added basic support for a variety of monitor sizes
Added mouse sensitivity option
Added clear save data function
Added additional in-game tooltips to all game modes
Disabled checkpoints for AXIS mode
Added additional checks for preventing a slow-motion bug in gauntlet mode
Fixed issue causing level select ambience to persist during levels
Ascension: Legends (Steam Store Page)
We’re thrilled to share that we've teamed up with Stone Blade Entertainment to bring the latest Ascension expansion to Steam! Ascension: Legends adds a brand-new layer to the deckbuilding experience with Legendary Characters who grant Boons to players who earn Renown with each faction. Each game you’ll forge new alliances, unlock powerful effects, and discover countless paths to victory.
NEW FEATURES:
The Legendary Track
Advance through the four faction tracks by earning Renown. Reaching milestones along the track unlocks powerful Boons—temporary bonuses that enhance your strategy and accelerate your rise to power.
Legendary Cards
Choose from iconic Legendary Characters—each representing one of the four factions of Vigil. These Legends preside over the game and grant unique Boons as you advance on their faction’s track, offering abilities that can completely shift the balance of play.
Renown
Earn Renown each time you acquire or defeat a card tied to a faction. Every point of Renown advances you on that faction’s Legendary Track, unlocking Boons and strengthening your bond with its Legendary Character.
Legendary Status
Reach the end of a faction’s track to achieve Legendary Status, granting the ability to acquire or defeat one card from that faction for free every turn.
