Northwind

Released: Sep 22, 2025
Platforms
Last updated: 09 Sep 2026, 17:16 GMT

Updates & announcements

20 posts

02 Aug 2026Developer post
Beta Branch: New Mana System Now Live!
Hello everyone! It's been a while! Our beta branch is now live, and it comes with the new mana system we've been developing. 🔎 Why we redesigned mana system We believe the current mana system has always been an issue for new players — managing it just isn't a fun part of the gam
Hello everyone!
It's been a while! Our beta branch is now live, and it comes with the new mana system we've been developing.
🔎 Why we redesigned mana system
We believe the current mana system has always been an issue for new players — managing it just isn't a fun part of the game. It caused frustration over fun and relied too much on randomness.
🃏 How the new Mana system works
Focus cards are no longer part of your main deck. They now live in their own Support deck.
Each turn, you draw 3 Support cards from that deck.
As you progress, you can upgrade your Support cards individually.
The new system is designed to be more user friendly. With Focus cards — your mana — turning into Support cards, there's more room for interesting decision-making, and we think you'll enjoy card synergy much more than ever in Northwind. Please jump in and give it a try! Though there will be bugs!
⚠️ The beta uses a separate save so you'll be starting a new game from the beginning.
🧪 How to join the beta
1. In your Steam Library, right-click Northwind → Properties.
2. Go to the " Game Versions & Betas" tab.
3. Enter the code "northwindbeta" and click "Check Code".
4. Select the beta branch and let the update download.
⚠️ Heads up: the beta uses a separate save so you'll be starting a new game from the beginning.
We hope you enjoy the new mana system! And please tell us what you think!
Share your feedback on Discord or in the Steam forums. Based on your feedback and response, we might merge the beta branch into the main branch quickly.
🛠️ What's next?
We'll keep fixing bugs, and controller support is in the works.
Thank you for your support! We are still working to make Northwind better!
– The Northwind Team, Barking Kitten Interactive
Original post
27 Jan 2026Developer post
Patch #3 Non-Faction Card Rebalancing
🛠️ Non-Faction Rebalancing Hello everyone! The January update is here. This update focuses on the balance for non-Faction cards. With this patch, broad rebalancing is now complete. Our next update will focus on the new mana system and quality-of-life improvements. 🎉 Steam Board
31 Dec 2025Developer post
Patch 3: Onboarding Improvements
🎉 Happy New Year from Northwind ! Hello everyone, and Happy New Year! 🎉 As we step into 2026, I want to sincerely thank all of you for the continued support, feedback, and playtime you’ve given Northwind . It genuinely helps us push the game forward in the right direction. 🎉 N
🎉 Happy New Year from Northwind!
Hello everyone, and Happy New Year! 🎉
As we step into 2026, I want to sincerely thank all of you for the continued support, feedback, and playtime you’ve given Northwind. It genuinely helps us push the game forward in the right direction.
🎉 New Year Sale – 20% Off
View game pageNorthwind is currently 20% off on Steam, running until January 6th.
If you’ve been on the fence, now’s a great time to jump in or to recommend the game to a friend who loves roguelite deckbuilders.
🛠️ Latest Update: Onboarding Improvements & Major Rebalancing [LIVE - DEC 28, 2025]
Alongside the sale, we’ve rolled out a large gameplay update focused on two main goals.
Better Onboarding for New Players
The Perk system is now unlockable, helping reduce information overload early on.
Added a tutorial warning for Focus cards, reminding players that Focus already grants mana when drawn and may not always be the best play.
Card Rebalancing Overview
This update includes a wide rebalancing across Duelist, Pyrotech, Gems, Gear, and Skills:
Adjusted power curves, costs, and rarities to smooth progression.
Reduced overly dominant strategies while buffing underused cards.
Simplified or clarified several effects to make decisions more intuitive.
Improved late-game scaling and reduced extreme burst cases.
🔎 Full Balance Patch Notes (English Only)
The update is live for all supported languages.
The following section contains detailed, technical card-by-card balance changes and is written in English only for clarity and accuracy.
⚔️ Duelist Card Rebalancing
Power Surge
Rarity: Uncommon → Common
Ability:Add 10 attack → Add 12 attack
Power Surge+
Add 13 attack → Add 15 attack
Wind Walk
Rarity: Common → Uncommon
Power: 9 / 12 / 15 → 8 / 11 / 15
Ability: Skip 2 non-Basic cards → Skip 1 non-Basic card
Wind Walk+
Cost: 2 → 1
Power: 15 / 20 / 27 → 12 / 16 / 20
Lunar Eclipse
Power: 9 / 12 / 16 → 11 / 14 / 17
Lunar Eclipse+
Power: 12 / 16 / 20 → 15 / 17 / 20
Training
Power: 6 / 8 / 11 → 4 / 7 / 10
Create Focus on draw pile → Create Focus into hand
Training+
Power: 7 / 10 / 14 → 4 / 8 / 12
Create Focus on draw pile → Create Focus into hand
Last Chance
Exhaust Energy cards → Exhaust any cards
Add 7 attack → Add 8 attack per card
Last Chance+
Power: 10 / 14 / 17 → 12 / 17 / 22
Add 9 attack → Add 10 attack per card
Battle Stance / Battle Stance+
Power standardized to 10 / 12 / 15
Take Control
Power: 6 / 8 / 10 → 5 / 7 / 9
Now gains Control in addition to switching cards
Push Up / Push Up+
Might gain per Basic card increased
Empower / Empower+
Overpower bonus slightly increased
Execution / Execution+
Locked cost changed to 0
Unburden / Unburden+
Changed from unequip-all to targeted Gear unequip scaling
Replicate / Replicate+
Cost: 0 → 1
Berserker Armor / Slash
Armor and Slash power rebalanced for smoother curves
Inner Strength / Inner Strength+
Reworked to recover Energy instead of discard positioning
(Remaining Duelist changes preserved as listed)
🔥 Pyrotech Card Rebalancing
Pipe / Pipe+
Mana gain reduced for better risk-reward balance
Focused Shot / Focused Shot+
Reaction now triggers on Level up or down
Gun Tricks / Gun Tricks+
Reworked from discard scaling to Skill banish payoff
Grit / Grit+
Reworked into cost-reduction utility instead of Surge looping
Reload / Reload+
Cost: 3 → 1
Bomb Throw / Bomb Throw+
Power increased slightly for mid-game viability
Rifle / Rifle+
Flow requirement reduced, Surge gain increased
Ivy Hairpin / Ivy Hairpin+
Changed to Flow-based once-per-turn Poison trigger
Scarf / Scarf+
Formerly Cursed Scarf, reworked to Ascend scaling Surge
(Remaining Pyrotech changes preserved as listed)
💎 Gems Rebalancing
Sapphire
Might +4 → Might +3
Chipped Ruby
Price: 8 → 10
Amethyst
Price: 15 → 12
Onyx
Overpower reworked, now trades attack power for debuff control
Chipped Sapphire
Price: 8 → 4
Topaz
Converted from cost modifier to Defensive Exceed utility
Thank you for your kind support! As always, the journey is far from over! More updates are coming soon!
– The Northwind Team, Barking Kitten Interactive
Original post
29 Nov 2025Developer post
Patch 2: Rebalancing Patch! Now LIVE V.0.2.3962
Hello everyone! This month’s update focuses on balancing patches ! To address balancing issues, we added the Duplicator subtype to solve the problem where experienced players could easily create infinite loops. Based on your win rates and performance data, we also buffed/nerfed s
Hello everyone!
This month’s update focuses on balancing patches!
To address balancing issues, we added the Duplicator subtype to solve the problem where experienced players could easily create infinite loops. Based on your win rates and performance data, we also buffed/nerfed several cards and adjusted the abilities of various Cards, Gems, and Relics. Fixed text on cards, relics, and throughout the game content for consistency. Fixed a sound effect volume issue that was incorrectly tied to the game settings.
Fixes!
Removed outdated icons shown in tooltips.
Fixed a bug where the player could not select certain cards while the card selector was active.
Added card FX and displayed a message when a card cannot be used.
Rebalance List!
Adapt: now has the Duplicator subtype.
Barrage & Barrage+: Damage increased to 3 / 4 / 5.
Focused Mind+: Cost reduced to 2.
Slam Shock & Slam Shock+: Cost reduced to 1; damage reduced to 3 / 4 / 5.
Spirit Burst & Spirit Burst+: Now adds damage equal to Might ×3. LV3: Uses Might ×4.
Cards with changes in their Abilities
Bull's Eye: Base power lowered to 6 / 9 / 12.
Add 1 attack power for each skill played this turn.
Reaction: This card is put to your hand by your ability.
LV3: Add 2 attack power instead.
BullEye+: Base power lowered to 8 / 12 / 15.
Add 2 attack power for each skill played this turn.
Reaction: This card is put to your hand by your ability.
LV3: Add 3 attack power instead.
Compass Ring: Cost reduced to 2.
Add 3 attack power to all Action cards put to your hand by your ability.
Compass Ring+
Add 5 attack power to all Action cards put to your hand by your ability.
Deceptive: Rarity changed to Common.
Deceptive+: Power increased to 3 / 5 / 7.
Gun Powder & Gun Powder+: Rarity changed to Common.
Trigger & Trigger+: Rarity changed to Uncommon.
Illusion: Rarity to Uncommon, subtype Duplicator.
Mimic the last card you played this turn. (except for Duplicator card)
Illusion+: Rarity to Uncommon, cost to 2, subtype Duplicator, Merged.
Mimics last 2 cards (except Duplicator) once per turn.
Injection & Injection+: Poison reduced → now applies 2 Poison.
Explosion: Cost reduced to 1, power reduced to 7 / 9 / 11.
When other card Fade, return this card from Remove Pile to your hand next turn.
LV3: When returning, Inflict 8 to front enemy.
Explosion+: Cost now 1, power 9 / 12 / 15.
Fleeting.
When other card Fade, return this card from Remove Pile to your hand next turn.
LV3: When returning, Inflict 12 to front enemy.
Dauntless+: Cost reduced to 1.
Viper Strike: Power adjusted to 4 / 6 / 8. Overpower now applies 3 Poison.
Viper Strike+: Power adjusted to 6 / 8 / 11. Overpower now applies 4 Poison.
Battlecry & Battlecry+: Now Once per turn.
Adjust & Adjust+: Subtype Duplicator; can no longer mimic Duplicator cards.
Scout: Now Exhausts; effect unchanged.
Scout+: Now Exhausts; effect unchanged.
List of Gems that were rebalanced.
Aquamarine: Card draw now Once per turn.
Chipped Aquamarine: Now draws itself when leveling up.
Relics that was rebalanced.
Chewed Bubblegum: Reaction triggers only from cards in hand.
We are humbled to be featured in these two events!
Turnbased Carnival https://store.steampowered.com/publisher/Acram/sale/Turn-BasedCarnival2025
& Be a Hero! https://store.steampowered.com/sale/be-a-hero-sale2025
Thank you so much for all the support! It’s the biggest motivation boost ever.
We’re currently cooking up the Monster Guild Engineer right now! The art isn’t ready yet, but we’ll be dropping more updates soon. We hope you look forward to it!! 🔧👾✨
– The Northwind Team, Barking Kitten Interactive
Original post
15 Oct 2025Developer post
Patch 1: Speed, Vsync, and Localization Fixes.
Hello everyone, Apologies for the wait! The first batch of fixes is here! There are many areas where we can improve the overall speed of the game. We’ll tackle them one by one, and this patch includes the first set of fixes. Speed and Settings Animation speed options are now 1x,
Hello everyone,
Apologies for the wait!
The first batch of fixes is here!
There are many areas where we can improve the overall speed of the game. We’ll tackle them one by one, and this patch includes the first set of fixes.
Speed and Settings
Animation speed options are now 1x, 2x, and 3x.
Resolution settings now have an “Apply” button.
Settings menu now includes Screen Shake controls.
Fixed: Some FX speeds were not being applied correctly.
Most UI screens now support pressing “ESC” to go back.
Added V-Sync setting.
Bug Fixes
Fixed: Minions spawned from The Hive were missing their sprites.
Fixed: Spiral Edge card caused the game to freeze when transforming.
Fixed: Using Attune while only an XCard remained in hand caused a soft lock.
Update: Attune+ no longer counts XCard.
Fixed: The Once keyword in Recycle+ now works correctly.
Fixed: Card reward tooltips now properly wrap text when reaching the screen edge.
Fixed: Event bugs
Balancing Issue
Our game designer needs a little more time to work on the balancing issues. We plan to nerf some cards and look into the difficulty levels. We’ll also explore player performance stats in more detail after Gamescom Asia and let you know about any upcoming changes. In addition, we’re planning an update to the roguelite progression system, so we’ll be reviewing that together as well.
Localization Fixes!
We’ve learned that many players were confused by the Overwhelm ability, this happened across all languages! So we’ve made some fixes: instead of “when Overwhelm,” the text now correctly uses the Overpower keyword.
Thank you for all the bug reports and feedback!
Please keep them coming! We are serious about improving the game.
Thank you kindly for your patience and support!
We be at Gamescom Asia on October 16th–20th! If you’re going, make sure to drop by our booth to grab a free giveaway!
– The Northwind Team, Barking Kitten Interactive
Original post
04 Oct 2025Developer post
Thank you first Supporter! and Upcoming Fixes!
Hello everyone! Tokyo Game Show has just ended, and we landed back home a few days ago. It’s been an amazing week! Looking through your reviews, and discussing everything as a team, we wanted to share our next steps. It’s hard to believe it’s already been almost two weeks since N
Hello everyone!
Tokyo Game Show has just ended, and we landed back home a few days ago. It’s been an amazing week! Looking through your reviews, and discussing everything as a team, we wanted to share our next steps.
It’s hard to believe it’s already been almost two weeks since Northwind launched in Early Access! From the bottom of our hearts, thank you so much for being among the first to support us.
🎁 Supporter Pack
As a small thank you, we’ve prepared a Supporter Pack!
The Supporter Pack will be available at a later date—we’ll let you know as soon as it’s ready. For now, here’s a glimpse of the design!
This special skin that will be available to everyone who purchased the game in Early Access.
The supporter skins will be available for all mercenaries, that includes the 3rd Mercenary.
🔧 Upcoming Fixes
Based on your feedback and survey responses, here are our current top priorities:
Game Speed & Flow – We heard your concerns that animations, card play, and transitions can feel a little slow and cluttered. We’ll focus on improving pacing and making the game feel smoother.
Localization Fixes – We’re aware of issues in Chinese, Japanese, and Thai. Thank you for reporting them! Any bug report and pin point in the language issue really helps, it allow us and our localization partners to fix things faster.
Balance & Bugs – Some cards are a bit too strong right now, and we’re reviewing balance carefully. Alongside that, we’ll continue fixing bugs and improving UX.
New Languages – We’re preparing to add German, Russian, and Polish to the Early Access version. If you’d like to help us with localization we’d love to hear from you!
We’ll continue releasing regular patches to address your feedback and polish the game step by step.
Thank you again for being here with us on this journey! We’ll keep working hard on improvements and are excited to see how Northwind will grow and take shape throughout the Early Access journey.
Sales end in 3 days! If you haven’t yet, grab it now! View game page
— The Northwind Team
Original post
22 Sep 2025Developer post
Northwind is now available in Early Access!
Hey everyone! Northwind is officially available in Early Access! View game page Here’s our launch trailer: The 2025–2026 Roadmap is confirmed — and there’s more to come soon! A huge thank you for supporting us throughout this journey. If you encounter any issues, please report th
19 Sep 2025Developer post
Early Access in 3 Days!
Hello everyone! Only 3 days left until our EARLY ACCESS Release ! 🎉 We’re super excited and so thankful for all your support along the way. Northwind’s Early Access launches on 22nd September at: 7:00 AM PT | 2:00 PM UTC | 9:00 PM ICT To celebrate, we’ve prepared a quick 1-minut
Hello everyone!
Only 3 days left until our EARLY ACCESS Release! 🎉
We’re super excited and so thankful for all your support along the way.
Northwind’s Early Access launches on 22nd September at: 7:00 AM PT | 2:00 PM UTC | 9:00 PM ICT

To celebrate, we’ve prepared a quick 1-minute recap video—our journey started back in 2020!
Some of you even joined our very first playtest in 2021, and we’re so grateful you’ve been a part of our development. ❤️
Watch on YouTube
Early Access is just the beginning!
We’re currently working on the roadmap, and here are a few things we can confirm:
A 3rd Mercenary
Monster Gear Engineer in Northwind Town
Controller & Steam Deck support
More content: relics, gems, roguelite unlocks, hazard levels, etc.
Visual upgrades
QoL improvements
Additional languages
The official roadmap will be announced after Early Access, but development is already underway!
Here’s a sneak peek at the Monster Gear Engineer in Northwind Town! We can’t wait for you to see how he’ll help you on each run.
Northwind is featured at Game Devs of Color and showcased at Tokyo Game Show!
We’re humbled to be launching alongside these two amazing events—check them out!
GAME DEVS OF COLOR TOKYO GAME SHOW 2025
Screaming thank you a thousand times! 🙏💖
We truly hope you’ll look forward to this new milestone for Northwind, and join us on the journey to create the best version of the game ever.
From the bottom of our hearts, thank you so much for supporting us over the years! 💕
– The Northwind Team, Barking Kitten Interactive
Original post
08 Sep 2025Developer post
Early Access Release Date and Beta Playtest Results
Hello everyone! This is a very special announcement. After the beta test and a lot of careful consideration, we believe Northwind is ready for Early Access. We’re thrilled to let you know that Northwind will launch in Early Access on 22nd September 2025! ːsteamhappyː Here is our
Hello everyone!
This is a very special announcement. After the beta test and a lot of careful consideration, we believe Northwind is ready for Early Access. We’re thrilled to let you know that Northwind will launch in Early Access on 22nd September 2025! ːsteamhappyː
Here is our Release Date Trailer!
Watch on YouTube
OMG! We'll be launching literally in just two weeks!!! As I’m writing this, we’re both nervous and excited at the same time. This is our debut title, and it’s been quite a journey. We first started developing Northwind back in 2019 as just ideas, then began prototyping in 2020. That’s 5 years ago! Our team has worked on games before as employees for other companies, but this is the first one that’s fully ours! Our vision of the game!
At the beginning, we had no idea what the game would become. But you, our players, shaped it with us. Some of you joined us during alpha, some came for the demo, some returned for the beta and many of you are discovering Northwind for the very first time. Whether you’ve been with us from the start or just found us today—thank you so much for playing.
Your feedback, your playtime, your support… all of it made Northwind what it is today. And even now, right up until launch day, we’re polishing the game as much as possible.
We’re truly humbled and excited to have our launch date revealed during the Hungry Ghost Festival!
The BETA Results
We’d like to share some numbers from the beta test (no graphs this time, just a summary):
150+ players participated in the beta.
50% new players, 50% veterans.
1000+ runs were played.
Average playtime per person: around 7 hours across the week, with 2–4 hours played daily.
About 30% of players won the game (defeated the final boss).
We honestly didn’t expect these numbers! Thank you! it fills our team with joy and drives us to give everything we have for this final push before launch.
Fixes & Updates
Here’s what we learned and what’s changing:
Pyrotech unlocks: Only ~50% of players got to play Pyrotech. We wanted closer to 70%, so we’ve made her unlock condition easier. We also fixed several of her cards that were too difficult to use or not generating enough value.
Boss encounters: Fewer than 20% of players fought bosses beyond Wolf boss - Frostfangs. Some met the Warlord, but that was still too low. We’ve adjusted boss unlock conditions so players can encounter more bosses.
Hazard system: It didn’t feel impactful enough and came across as grindy. We'll make each Hazard more impactful to climb.
Card removal service: Prices will be more expensive.
Item pricing: Adjusted, since some items were clearly stronger than others.
Event UX: We found out that many players unintentionally skipped rewards. You’ll now be able to revisit the event page and make clearer choices than before.
Compendium: Now accessible at the top-right corner of the screen.
…and many more!
Final Words
View game pageNorthwind has gone through... honestly.. I’ve lost count, maybe 5 playtest now? xD
Each one taught us so much about how to make the game better, thanks to you. The game wouldn’t be nearly as fun or as refined without your feedback and playtime.
Now, we believe we’re ready to take the next step into Early Access. The grind will still be there!! That’s what Early Access is for. We want to add so much more to the game, and we hope you’ll continue this journey with us, as we refine Northwind together.
– The Northwind Team, Barking Kitten Interactive
Original post
31 Aug 2025Developer post
EARLY ACCESS SEPTEMBER 2025
Hello everyone! BETA is Now Closed! Thank you so much for playing Northwind over the past week. The BETA ran for 9 days (23–31 August), and your support has been incredible. Over 150 players joined the BETA, with more than 30 people playing every day! ✨ This means so much to our
22 Aug 2025Developer post
🎉 BETA TEST: 23–30 August 2025 & New Screenshots
Hello everyone!ːsteamhappyː The beta date is confimed! See you all TOMORROW! BETA DATE: 23–29 August 2025 Steam keys will be delivered via email on 23 August! 🕘 9:00 PM ICT | 7:00 AM PT | 2:00 PM UTC Register for the Beta Test If you know anyone who enjoys deckbuilders, please i
Hello everyone!ːsteamhappyːThe beta date is confimed! See you all TOMORROW!
BETA DATE: 23–29 August 2025
Steam keys will be delivered via email on 23 August!
🕘 9:00 PM ICT | 7:00 AM PT | 2:00 PM UTC
Register for the Beta Test
If you know anyone who enjoys deckbuilders, please invite them!
The Registration form closes on 22 August!
Less than 24 hours before we close our registration form!
Don’t forget to join our communities for the BETA Test! We’ll be sharing updates and have our discussion so see you there!
Join our main community on Discord for discussions, updates, and feedback!
Thai Players! We’ve created the Northwind: Thailand Community Facebook group! Make sure to join and connect with fellow Thai players.
New screenshots coming soon, but here are some spoilers!
The path will now show the loot you can obtain, allowing you to make more strategic choices based on the resources you want to collect and spend in Northwind Outpost.
Card UI: We received feedback that rarity wasn’t obvious, so here you go! We hope the rarity is clear for you all in this version.
Wandering Merchant cards or Neutral Faction cards can now be smelted into the + version. Mix and match to your heart’s content! These Neutral card archetypes are badass! This means all duplicate cards can now be smelted, except for cards obtained from events.
That's it for now!
If you know anyone who might also be interested in trying the game, please invite them! We hope you’ll spend Saturday, 23rd August with Northwind!
We specifically picked the weekend! We’re very excited to hear your thoughts. Let’s goooo!! 🚀
— The Northwind Team at Barking Kitten Interactive 🐾
Original post
08 Aug 2025Developer post
Cooking BETA!
Hello everyone! 🎉 Northwind is Featured in the Debut Festival ! We’re humbled and grateful to be featured in this incredible event—thank you for the support! ❗ Demo Removal Notice The Northwind demo will be removed on August 15th! We’re not sure when it will return, so be sure t
01 Aug 2025Developer post
BETA TEST Confirmed for August!
Hello everyone! We have great news! 🎉 Our team has officially confirmed that the Beta Test will happen in August! While the exact date is still being finalized, rest assured... it’s definitely happening this month . We'll share the official start date as soon as it's ready. TL;D
Hello everyone!
We have great news! 🎉
Our team has officially confirmed that the Beta Test will happen in August!
While the exact date is still being finalized, rest assured... it’s definitely happening this month.
We'll share the official start date as soon as it's ready.

TL;DR:
✅ Beta Test confirmed for August — you can still Register! Register Form
❌ Demo will be removed before Beta starts!
🔍 What’s the Purpose of This Beta Test?
The goal of this Beta Test is to evaluate game balance and difficulty for both the Duelist and Pyrotech by giving you full access to their complete pool of cards and relics (depending on how much you've unlocked in their Mercenary rank, you can go as far as 100%).
We're also looking to learn from your experience and feedback on the game's progression especially how certain mechanics let you manipulate your map path and how the hazard system (which increases difficulty over time) affects your runs.
Any bugs you find and report will be a huge help to us! Our QA team will thoroughly investigate them.
Support Language: English and Thai
Other languages will be available in the Early Access version.

We’ll share full details soon, including the content you'll access, how Beta Tester Steam Keys will be distributed, playtest duration, feedback instructions, and how to report bugs. You’ll also notice some updates in our Discord server as we reorganize and prepare to welcome all Beta Testers!
Haven’t registered yet? Register Form
🛠️ Continued Development
Even after the Beta Test begins, we’ll continue polishing the game up until the Early Access launch. Your feedback during the beta phase will directly influence the final version.
Our Localization Team will be working on the Beta build and continuing through to the Early Access launch.
You can expect an even better version of the game at Early Access launch, along with more language support!
❗Demo Removal Notice
We’ll be removing the demo before the Beta Test begins.
The demo no longer reflects the current quality of the game, and our team is now fully focused on preparing for the Beta Test and Early Access. We'll make at least 1 week’s notice before the demo is officially taken down.
We’re working hard to make this Beta Test awesome and can’t wait to hear your thoughts soon!
— The Northwind Team at Barking Kitten Interactive 🐾
Original post
11 Jul 2025Developer post
Update: The Tavern
Hello everyone! Apologies for not updating for a while ːsteamfacepalmːbut here we are, and we're super excited to share what's coming! The Tavern & New UI Update Additionally, Localization will be moved to the Beta version And lastly, our QA team is now onboard for final poli
Hello everyone!

Apologies for not updating for a while ːsteamfacepalmːbut here we are, and we're super excited to share what's coming!
The Tavern & New UI Update
Additionally, Localization will be moved to the Beta version
And lastly, our QA team is now onboard for final polishing!
🍖 The Tavern with Food Update!
Remember this house right here?
We’d love to introduce you to our granny at the Tavern!
Now, reaching the outpost no longer heals you to 100% by default. Instead granny will make you those meals! It’s your choice how much 'YOU WANT TO HEAL'. Each food item offers unique effects, some can be helpful but comes with a price. More variety of food can be unlocked through progression.
Here are some samples of the food. Mmm! We absolutely love the designs, and we hope you do too!
We got.. Frostfangs Steak Set, Bingsu Bird Ice Shaved, Thai Crispy Pork with Basil, Onigiri, Viper Vodka, Undead Tequila — you name it!ːsteamhappyː
Ps. We've received a lot of feedback about our UI feeling unpolished and in need of improvements. Thanks to your suggestions in the feedback surveys, we’ve made major changes!
Of course, the changes apply to the entire game. We hope you're excited to see Northwind looking better than ever. Once everything is complete, we'll share new screenshots and update our entire store page (again!).
🌍 Localization Update
Originally, we planned to include localization in the demo. However, we ran into several language-specific issues. Because of this, we’ve decided to shift our localization efforts to the Early Access version instead. This means updated tools and language support will be available in the Beta build.

If you're interested in helping us with localization, please let us know!
Reach out to us in Discord and Beta Test Registration
🔧 QA
Our QA team is finally in! 🎉 They were originally scheduled to begin in late June, but we needed a bit more time to build internal debugging tools and improve their workflow. Now that everything is ready, they’ll be helping us test while we continue developing. Once they give us the green light, we’ll be inviting you in!
Thanks so much for your patience. We know it’s been a wait. ❤️ ːsteamsadː
🚀 We're So Close to Early Access!
We’ve been pouring our hearts into Northwind, you know when the QA team get serious! You can feel that we are so close to launch! We're both incredibly excited and a little nervous xD We hope you look forwar to it! Thank you so, so much for your continued support, we couldn’t do this without you all!
— The Northwind Team at Barking Kitten Interactive 🐾
Original post
02 Jun 2025Developer post
Northwind is in TurnBasedThursdayFest!
Hello everyone! ːsteamhappyː Northwind has been selected to be part of Turn-Based Thursday Fest & Southeastasia Games Showcase! We’re incredibly humbled to be featured and would love to give you more updates about the game. Here are 4 updates we’re excited to share: Neutral C
Hello everyone! ːsteamhappyː
Northwind has been selected to be part of Turn-Based Thursday Fest & Southeastasia Games Showcase!

We’re incredibly humbled to be featured and would love to give you more updates about the game.
Here are 4 updates we’re excited to share:

Neutral Card+ Version!
Challenge Node
Undead Thief
Localization
Neutral cards can now be Merged/Smelt!
After careful consideration, we’ve decided that Neutral cards should have access to + versions of their own. This adds even more depth to the game! And yes, some relics will also support Neutral archetypes!
Introducing Challenge Event
We know you enjoy those town Blacksmith and Alchemist upgrades! And what’s even better?
The chance to earn more of those currencies!
Challenge Events give you that opportunity, but you’ll have to face a penalty!
Each penalty comes in a different form, so think carefully before you pick one.
Risk it for the reward or play it safe? The choice is yours!
Beware of the Thief!
Introducing the Skeleton Thief!
A sneaky new enemy who may appear during random encounters to steal your currency!
Monster bones? Monster scales?! You’ll be in trouble if you don't take it down!
Localization Update
Thanks to our amazing volunteers, we're getting close to having localized versions of the demo ready!

German – Translated by Robin Caspers
French – Translated by Ehless
Spanish – Translated by Orián "El Gato" Holguera
Russian – Translated by Elstan Evallyo
The official date for the 100% localization update in the demo will be announced soon!
More updates are coming soon!
We’re proud to say that 100% of our Early Access content is now complete, including all the additional features unlocked through progression and hazard levels. 🎉
Though some can't be shown yet since it's ugly at the moment ːsteamfacepalmː
Right now, we’re fully focused on polishing and cleaning things up. There will definitely be a BETA test, and we’ll be sharing more details with you very soon — stay tuned! :D
If you haven’t registered yet, you can sign up here! 👇👇
Thank you so much for your support.
We can’t believe and are very excited that we’re closer than ever to launching Northwind in Early Access!
— The Northwind Team at Barking Kitten Interactive 🐾
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21 Apr 2025Developer post
Northwind is in the Strategems Event!
Hello everyone! We’re excited to be part of the Strategem Event , alongside our fellow deckbuilder devs. Into the Grid ! Here are some updates we're thrilled to share: 🎯 Our reworked targeting system is fixed! One click = one target — whether it’s your own Mercenary or an enemy!
01 Apr 2025Developer post
Northwind and Into the Grid Announcement!
Hello everyone! We're thrilled to share that Northwind , along with our fellow deckbuilder devs behind Into the Grid , are supporting each other as they take part in their upcoming events! Right now, Into the Grid is featured in the Earth Celebration Fest —and they've absolutely
19 Mar 2025Developer post
New Demo Gameplay stats.!
Hello everyone! 👋 It's been a month since we launched our demo, and as always, we're back to share some exciting gameplay stats! But before that, let’s celebrate some awesome news about our game! 🎉 Northwind now has over 10,000 Wishlists and more than 7,000 Demo Players! OMG! ː
Hello everyone! 👋
It's been a month since we launched our demo, and as always, we're back to share some exciting gameplay stats! But before that, let’s celebrate some awesome news about our game! 🎉
Northwind now has over 10,000 Wishlists and more than 7,000 Demo Players! OMG! ːdazed_yetiː
Not to mention, 27 reviews! 🎉
This means so much to us as a small team! 💙 At first, we were a bit reluctant to share this data, but your incredible support has inspired us. We truly believe you’d enjoy celebrating this milestone with us!
Without you playing our game, joining the community, and providing us with valuable feedback, we wouldn’t have come this far. So, from the bottom of our hearts... Thank you! ❤️
Demo Gameplay Stats.
This time, we see some similarities with the previous stats on the most-picked cards, but what really changed is the winning deck strategy! The meta has definitely shifted due to the boss this time around.
So, we'll focus on analyzing the winning decks.
We can really see how you all are now playing more basic card combos and synergies, which makes perfect sense! Feel free to try out some of these cards and combos if you want to defeat the boss or take on Hazard 2!

An interesting stat we found: Basic Attack is the second most forged card while also being the most removed card using the Wandering Merchant’s service! ːsurprised_yetiː
We're also noticing some fewer plays with Eager Punch cards!
One of the dev.: Initiate with Focus+ looks super awesome! How did we miss that?! ːlaughing_yetiː
We are aware that some players feel restricted by this boss's strategy, while others feel encouraged to build decks they wouldn’t have considered before—especially using basic cards.
We'll definitely look into this more! We believe one of the charms of having multiple bosses in Northwind is that each one's unique characteristics can push you to build something you never imagined, while still being flexible enough for you to defeat them with your own crafted deck!
(By the way, The Warlord was intended to be among the easiest bosses..
What are your thoughts? Do you find the challenge exciting, or does it discourage you from playing?
Let us know!)
Link to our Previous Demo Gameplay Stats! (Back then, the boss was Silverfangs, not The Warlord!)
https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/1476400/view/4193491470659656247?l=english
🔎 More Feedback & Suggestions We've Received:

Fix the Controls! – Selecting our character for some card effects feels weird. Why not auto-select or allow clicking on equipment directly if needed? = We couldn't agree more! This is at the top of our fix list.
More Juiciness, Animations, & Effects! = This is something we definitely want to improve! The level of "juiciness" depends on player expectations, but we'll do our best to enhance the experience as much as possible.
More Languages! = Yes! We plan to add more localization in the future. We’ll announce the supported languages soon!
Content Feedback: – Card archetypes, Legacy Points, and Hazard Level progression don’t feel impactful enough. = We hear you! Since this is just a demo, we haven’t revealed all of our content yet, but your feedback has given us new ideas on how to improve progression. We hope you look forward to our Early Access Version!
What’s Happening with the Demo and Early Access Version?
Our current plan is to focus on the Early Access launch, which we’re aiming for in Q3 2025! 🎉
(We need to make it happen this year, seriously!) As for the demo, we plan to keep it live for a while—possibly until the Early Access release. However, we won’t be releasing any major updates, except for localization fixes and additional supported languages.
🔥 Pyrotech Playtesting
We’ll probabyl need playtesters soon!
If you’re interested in helping us balance her out, CLICK THE BANNER TO REGISTER! 👇👇👇
Localization is about to start!
It's been delayed, but we think it will be ready by the end of March. We've been working hard to improve the quality-of-life (QoL) features for our localizers, and now the system is ready! 🎉 If you’d like to help us out, join our Discord! 💬
CLICK THE BANNER TO JOIN! 👇👇👇
Thank you! Again, we truly appreciate your support. 🙏
Slowly but surely, Northwind is becoming a game we never imagined we could create! The feedback we’ve received has been incredibly encouraging, pushing us to make it even better. 💙 Thank you!
— The Northwind Team at Barking Kitten Interactive 🐾
WISHLIST 👇👇👇
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1476400/Northwind/
Original post
03 Mar 2025Developer post
The Days of Ramadan & Women's Day Sale
Hello everyone! We're about to collect feedback and discuss it with the team! If you haven't already, please help us by filling out this Feedback Survey Form. Thanks to Southeast Asia Game Aesthetic! Northwind is part of "The Days of Ramadan" event!🎉 Check out our game and the f
24 Feb 2025Developer post
Northwind is part of Steam Next Fest!
Hello everyone! After extensive playtesting of our demo, we are now closer than ever to launch! So, we decided to participate in Steam Next Fest! (There’s still a lot of work to be done.) Thanks to our kind and very supportive community, we are now much more confident in our demo
Hello everyone!
After extensive playtesting of our demo, we are now closer than ever to launch! So, we decided to participate in Steam Next Fest! (There’s still a lot of work to be done.)
Thanks to our kind and very supportive community, we are now much more confident in our demo. It will be available on Steam Next Fest! The exact duration of the demo is still uncertain so make sure to defeat this 'Warlord' before it's not available! However once we have a removal date, we will announce it 10 days in advance.
Other Important Links:

Check out What's New in this Demo? Read list of changes here: Link
Want us to fix something before Early Access Launch? Feedback Survey: Link
Want to join our Beta Test and Play the Pyrotech? Register here: Link
Thank you so much! If you like the game, please support us by wishlisting it here:
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1476400/Northwind/
Original post