Hello shoppers!
Happy New Year! Many new shoppers visited Present over the winter holiday season and we wanted to give a big welcome to you all.
Since launching Storebound last year, we have put out patches that focused on bug fixing and adding Steam Achievements into the game.
The time for Episode 3 and Episode 4 is getting closer! We will be sharing the exact release date soon enough.
Listening to Community Feedback
Development of Episode 3 and 4 are well underway, but today we wanted to breakdown how we approached the development of these new Episodes with community feedback in mind.
We read everything here on Steam, on our Discord, and through the feedback form we shared to help give us a true understanding of what is working for players and what isn't.
First, let's start with the positives!
What You Liked Most
From the survey responses we got:
32% liked Puzzles, Co-op, & Teamwork the most
27% enjoyed the Aesthetic, Vibe, & Art Style the most
20% liked Horror, Monsters, & Tension the most
11% loved the Lore & Story the most
and 10% liked the Mechanics & Utility the most
From reading reviews here and conversations happening on Discord, we think this lines up very well with what players overall liked about Storebound.
For Episodes 3 and 4, we are putting more of a focus on teamwork and puzzle solving.
As we listened to players talk about the game and watched streamers play, we noticed that many of the best moments came from them trying to solve puzzles and work together while managing their walkie-talkies. We want to put a bigger focus on those elements.
We are still going to have plenty of tense moments and horror, but we want to lean on our strongest mechanics to deliver the best gameplay we can.
Storebound is at it's best when players have to work together to solve a puzzle with a sense of tension keeping them on edge. We are building Episodes 3 and 4 around that to create more of those great moments that make the game fun to play.
We are also designing a new monster for Episode 3 and 4! We looked at what players enjoyed and are developing the new monster in a way that will make those situations more tense. We have gotten a few requests for more monsters, so we hope to surprise you with the next monster you'll find in Present.
Many of you loved the atmosphere and vibe of Present, so we're making sure to keep up that level of quality. We're adding the same level of detail to the environments of Episode 3 and 4 and keeping our puzzle design integrated into structure of Present.
The story of Episode 3 and 4 will bring a new perspective on the horrors of Present. You'll be playing as a different cast of characters and seeing new locations within the store.
What Missed the Mark
From the survey responses we got:
23% wanted more content and said the game was too short.
17% had problems with bugs and stability.
16% had issues with the main monster mechanics.
10% cited specific issues with Voice Chat not working correctly.
9% had issues with game flow and unclear objectives.
6% wanted 4 or more players to be possible.
19% brought up other varied issues.
We wanted go through each of these points to share we have done and what we are planning to do to address each of these issues. Early Access for us means we listen to players and try to fix as many issues as possible before our 1.0 launch, so here's what we are doing to help improve the game:
Not Enough Content: Episode 3 and Episode 4 are coming and their release date will be announced soon. This will double the content in the game. There will still be more content to come after that and we'll share what our plans are after the new episodes drop.
Bugs and Stability: We have put out two major bug fixing patches since launch (here and here) that have helped fix many of the issues in Episode 1 and 2. We are always taking in bug reports here on Steam or in our Discord, so please keep reporting them!
Employee Mechanics: In previous patches, we have tuned the Employee AI and mechanics to allow for more outplay potential and give players more time to react.
Voice Chat issues: We have put out specific patches to help fix this issue, but we still see reports of players who are having issues getting Voice Chat to work in game. This seems to be much higher in certain regions (like Russia), and the team is working on new solutions to help solve this issue.
Game Flow and Unclear Objectives: Our previous patches have focused a lot on these issues. This included us completely reworking parts of the maps to make objectives more clear and we are taking this mentality with us as we develop future episodes. We are also adding checkpoints during episodes in a future update!
Bigger Teams: We didn't get a lot of survey responses with this, but we see this a lot in reviews and conversations about the game. We know many of you want to play with larger teams. We designed the gameplay around teams of 3 for the right amount of tension. The team is still discussing team sizes, so please let us know your thoughts!
The Ending of Episode 2: A few players said they were caught off guard with the ending. It might have been abrupt for some players, but we think it really cut deep, don't you think?
We hope this shows how we are listening to all feedback, both positive and negative, to help shape Episode 3 and 4 and the future content of Storebound. Early Access gives us the time to make these improvements so we can make 1.0 the best experience as possible.
Thank you to all of our shoppers for playing and to everyone who has submitted a bug or given us feedback about the game!
We'll be back soon with more info on Episodes 3 and 4!
See you soon, shoppers.
Nikko
Community Manager @ Embers
