15 Sep 2026Developer post

0.37

For live patch notes and details about how to try the next version early via the #nextversion branch, see Patch Notes . v0.38 is being prepared now with more bug fixes and improvements. An Early Access roadmap post is also being prepared, which will outline plans for additional c

For live patch notes and details about how to try the next version early via the #nextversion branch, see Patch Notes. v0.38 is being prepared now with more bug fixes and improvements. An Early Access roadmap post is also being prepared, which will outline plans for additional content. Thank you for your patience and support during Early Access, and please continue reporting bugs via the in-game bug report tool.

Special Note: 0.37 makes significant changes to the underlying character movement code to fix "tunneling" exploits, monsters leaping out of bounds and also improve responsiveness. Please file an in-game bug if you find any instances of terrain or ground being unwalkable that look walkable, or character movement or contact related oddities.

New Features & Polish

You can now upgrade Left Hand tools, including Shields
- Accordingly, The Freak’s Left Hand talisman’s strength has been reduced
At a certain point in the story, a cat will appear in Reliable Repairs, can be pet, and will follow Althea and Clover around town
Improve joystick responsiveness and add better accounting for stick drift
Fix judder when running sub-60fps
Ultra graphics settings optimizations
Ichor required for next level (one for body/right arm/left arm) displayed in Stats screen
Display name of body part being upgraded in level up screen
After completing Beynon House, you can now disable the HUD in the Gameplay Options
Bridge Guard now has his own boss theme instead of sharing with Mine Hag
Add a small amount of “steering” motion to Clover, most noticeable when moving backwards or sideways while locked on
Controller bindings improvements
- Fix the bindings sometimes being “forgotten” on launch (controller id changed)
- Fix the bindings sometimes being “forgotten” when controller disconnects
- Bindings are now saved per controller, so bindings for, say, a PS5 and Xbox controller can both be maintained
- Add a Reset to Defaults button to the main Input Options

Critical Bug Fixes

Significant changes to character movement intended to:
- Improve responsiveness to direction changes
- Prevent known instances of being able to glitch through fences with attacks
- Prevent monsters from leaping out of rooms
- Smooth out stair movement
- Fix instances of being stuck in terrain
- Smooth out and slightly speed up Althea’s movement
- Please be on the look out for any new glitches or issues introduced with these changes and report with the in-game bug report tool
Fix instances of Miners and Gardener Runtling spawning on top of each other or teleporting in upon entering the room
Fix Edgar or other NPCs in the flats investigation quest not appearing when they should
Fix the birdcage puzzle being unintentionally strict, and add a time/number of incorrect hits based early exit condition
Fix using necromancy during an arena battle leading to it not ending
Fix one more edge case with Curse Rot where death could occur before being out of flasks
Fix getting pinned down by ghosts in WH Basement, and stop melee attacks as soon as they’re invisible
Fix Sweetmeat not consuming the ingredients given
Fix weapon upgrades also increasing the toll in some cases
Fix a crash that could occur when entering the world map

Balance Changes

The cost of effigies at the well shop has been reduced
Talismans that add flat damage % such as the Freak's talismans now add half to non-health effects such as bleed or poise (this is the same scaling applied elsewhere, such as base scaling or weapon upgrades)
Add voice lines and telegraphed start ups to Saintswood Void Mine boss adds
Gravestone Hex now has 2 second cooldown and can be recast
Reduce hitbox of Ogre roll
Adjusted Holy Spike attacks to reduce frequency of head butt and make some attacks a bit more readable (he’s still nightmarishly aggressive)
Improve Machine Gun aim

Smaller Bug Fixes & Polish

Fix Bulletproof stamps not working properly
Fix some Cors Farwol monsters spawning in walls
Fix arm talismans appearing to affect the other arm’s tolls in the pause menu (did not actually happen in-game)
Fix holding the run button in water charging stamina toll despite not letting you run
Fortune Teller shows money required to buy
Fix endlessly respawning ghost guarding coffin POI outside of Penwyll Public Vault (may not resolve on existing saves)
Fix Haunted Dolls returning to life, being able to be farmed for ichor
Fix editing the Penhaligon Manor automatons too quickly leaving them stuck until the room is re-entered
Fix Game Results not showing on subsequent completions during the same game launch
Fix the white tick on health bars falling behind the actual bar length
Fix Flamethrower light attack audio playing even if volume is turned off
Optimize some breakable effects, such as Dancing Statues breaking apart
Fix Scroungers sometimes floating around like wizards
Fix world map still being controllable while a modal dialog is up
Fix Macrosomia hitbox issues
Small collision fixes: The Dead End

Original post

09 Sep 2026Developer post

0.36

For live patch notes and details about how to try the next version early via the #nextversion branch, see Patch Notes . v0.37 is being prepared now with more bug fixes and improvements, such as the ability to upgrade Left Hand Tools. Thank you for your patience and support during

For live patch notes and details about how to try the next version early via the #nextversion branch, see Patch Notes. v0.37 is being prepared now with more bug fixes and improvements, such as the ability to upgrade Left Hand Tools. Thank you for your patience and support during Early Access, and please continue reporting bugs via the in-game bug report tool.

0.36 9-9-2026

New Features & Polish

Old Penwyll Mine changes
- Add a small number of ghosts
- Move Ichor Shrine to before boss, but it’s guarded by ghostly hands, along with some new environmental storytelling
- Without a camera, Geordie warns the player they may not be ready
The Key Bindings editor appears on Steam Deck
Add Slow Shader Compilation checkbox to Graphics Options - this will space out the “Compiling shaders…” step at the beginning of the game, and may help older or below min spec GPUs proceed into the game

Critical Bug Fixes

Fix the Great Corpse Worm’s grab hitbox being very buggy (sorry for any frustration this caused)
Fix being able to die after defeating the Williams House boss but before completing the following cutscene and having the game enter a bad state - if you were already in this state, you should now be able to enter the portal again to complete the cutscene
Fix the Tommy Gun sometimes refusing to fire
Fix some instances of being killed with a flask still remaining due to damage conversion effects
Fix stalkers in the game, such as the one in BOI, getting stuck in walls, or refusing to follow when they should
Fix BOI monsters escaping cages when not live

Balance & Enemy Behavior Changes

Improve consistency of Lee-Enfield Rifle tracking
Fixed issues that prevented knockdown invulnerability in some cases and slightly extend window on get up
- Please note that knockdown had and still has a 10% health impact when the doll’s head hits the ground to encourage you to invest in Poise.
The Burdened Brother no longer rolls on melee attacks
Extend healing cooldown on Dryw and Preacher, prevent Dryw from attempting heal dead enemies
Reduce damage on Ichorised Witch bite attack (more adjustments may be made later to this attack)
For the purposes of The Freak’s talismans that boost Melee/Projectile/Spell damage:
- Enchanted Candelabrum secondary attack is now Spell
- Spectral Blade attacks are now Spell
- Spectral Claws primary attack is now Melee
- Initiate's Candlestick is now Spell

Smaller Bug Fixes

Fix machinegun bullets (both player and enemy) not being stopped by some barriers, such as Gravestone Hex
Fix some magic toll counting talismans, such as Four Eyes, occasionally miscounting
Fix stove collision in Althea’s apartment, and interacting with bath through wall

Original post

07 Sep 2026Developer post

0.35

For live patch notes and details about how to try the next version early via the #nextversion branch, see Patch Notes . v0.36 is expected to hit the #nextversion branch this afternoon. Thanks for your patience and support during Early Access, and please continue reporting bugs vi

04 Sep 2026Developer post

Early Access Available Now!

Withering Realms Early Access Available Now You can play the game start to credits in Early Access, with: 50+ weapons/tools 70+ talismans 110+ monsters for your bestiary There will be bugs, balance issues, and performance hiccups. Additional end-game modes and content are planned

Withering Realms Early Access Available Now

Watch on YouTube

You can play the game start to credits in Early Access, with:

50+ weapons/tools
70+ talismans
110+ monsters for your bestiary

There will be bugs, balance issues, and performance hiccups. Additional end-game modes and content are planned to release during Early Access based on your feedback.

Please see Patch Notes for details of changes and known bugs.

Early Access FAQ

Will there be bugs?

There will absolutely be bugs.

Use the in-game bug report tool, accessible from the pause menu. Alternately, you can press '/' on your keyboard at any time(even during dialog).

Reports come with a screenshot and a save game so they can be rapidly triaged and fixed.

You can also visit the Discord to discuss with other players.

After loading my demo save, my character is stuck or falling...

After loading a demo save, if your character is stuck or falling, open Gameplay Options and change the difficulty. This will reload the area. You can then change the difficulty back. The difficulty change is not persisted anywhere, and will not affect achievements or anything else.

All known critical bugs as they're found can be found here:
https://witheringrealms.com/patch-notes.html

How long will it take me to beat the current Early Access build?

Playthroughs by the community during the private beta leading up to Early Access took anywhere from 15-42 hours.

Are there achievements?

Yes, there are currently 28 Steam Achievements with more to be added during Early Access. Suggestions welcome.

Can I use my Steam Next Fest save?

It's possible, but not recommended. New elements have been added to the beginning of the game, and since it's been several months, going through the tutorial again may be helpful.

How do I get support during Early Access?

Use the in-game Support option on the title menu, or visit Withering Realms Support.

What's the point of Early Access?

I released my first game, Withering Rooms, as a fully playable Early Access game.

During the course of Early Access, I was able to see what parts of the game were working and what weren't, what elements of the story needed expanding, and where people's time was most spent. I used all the telemetry, feedback, and bug reports to make the game drastically better than it ever could have been without Early Access.

I plan to do the same with Withering Realms, although because it is already much more feature-rich and longer than Withering Rooms was when it entered Early Access, I expect the Early Access period to be shorter.

I don't like Early Access games!

The vast majority of players do not buy games while they are in Early Access, so you're in good company. Just hang tight until the full game releases! You will be playing a better game thanks to the input of Early Access players.

Do I need to have played Withering Rooms?

This is a new, independent story set in the same universe as Withering Rooms. No familiarity with Withering Rooms is necessary or expected to fully enjoy the game.

When will Early Access end?

When support for additional languages and console porting is done in 2027. Expect an announcement well ahead of time.

Original post

04 Sep 2026Developer post

Demo out now while we wait for Early Access approval

Demo available now! Ready for Early Access launch! The trailer is ready. The build is ready and has been tested for hundreds of hours by the community beta crew. But Steam is not ready... yet. Unfortunately, I still have no updates on when Early Access will be approved for launch

22 Aug 2026Developer post

Early Access Starts September 2nd

Early Access Release Date Withering Realms will launch into Early Access on September 2nd . Early Access includes the entire game, playable start to finish, with: 50 weapons and tools 70 talismans 7 large dungeons with bosses, puzzles and loot 110 monsters to fill your bestiary A

23 Feb 2026Developer post

Steam Next Fest Demo

Thank you for trying the demo! Update March 9th Thank you to everyone who tried or streamed the Steam Next Fest demo! You've given me tons of feedback to work on before Early Access launch this May. The demo has been deactivated now that Steam Next Fest is over, but a new version

Thank you for trying the demo!

Update March 9th

Thank you to everyone who tried or streamed the Steam Next Fest demo! You've given me tons of feedback to work on before Early Access launch this May.

The demo has been deactivated now that Steam Next Fest is over, but a new version of the demo will be released alongside the full game when it enters Early Access in May. If you leave the demo installed, you can continue your demo save in the full game.

Next Fest Demo Out Now!

As part of Steam Next Fest running February 23rd through March 2nd, you can try out the first-ever demo of Withering Realms right now.

Go to the Withering Realms store page and click the Download button.

FAQ

How much of the game does the demo cover?
The demo consists of the opening hours of the game. You’ll explore Beynon House (an introductory dungeon) before heading out into the Saintswood (the game’s first field area). The demo ends just before you head to the town of Penwyll. If you take a peek at the in-game bestiary, you'll get a hint of just how big the full game will be.

How long will the demo be available?
This is a special early preview of the game for Steam Next Fest, and doesn't reflect the final product. As such, it will be up for a week or so after Steam Next Fest and then taken down. Once the game launches into Early Access in May, a new demo will be released.

There's a bug! How do I report it?
Press the Slash(/) key at any time, or use the in-game pause menu. Bug reports contain:
* Screenshot, options settings, and save game
* Anonymized device info (GPU type, amount of RAM, etc.)
* Debugging information about the current game state

I have feedback! How do I give it?
You can use:
* Bug reports - having the feedback associated with your current game state and a screenshot is useful!
* Discord - click the link on the main menu to join
* Steam forums - great for posting long feedback
* E-mail - send an e-mail to [email protected] with your detailed feedback
Please note that as a solo developer, I cannot directly respond to all feedback, but rest assured I'll be looking at it.

I see title_ on the main menu and the game doesn't work right!
This was a bug that was fixed in 0.6d. If Steam hasn't updated the game for you yet, go to Options and select English as the language, and then start a New Game to fix the issue.

Will my save carry over to the full game?
That's the goal! However, if due to feedback I wind up having to make deeper changes, I may need to invalidate saves. But in that case, the opening hours will be pretty radically different anyway so it shouldn't be a problem to replay them.

The demo is too hard!
I've worked really hard to make it a fair but challenging experience, but if you're not having fun you can change the difficulty to Narrative in the Gameplay Options. Please also give feedback about anything you found too easy or too difficult.

Does it work on Steam Deck?
It runs great on Steam Deck and is playable start to finish with no issues. Note that the final movie will not play on Steam Deck, but it's just a game trailer you can watch here.

The game runs poorly on my machine!
Please file a Bug Report so I can optimize for your particular machine configuration before Early Access. You can try lowering the graphics settings. There is a "Perf HUD" option in the Graphics Options that you can turn on to see exact FPS and resolution details while changing settings.

Is there support for languages other than English?
The game will support other languages for full release, but the demo is English only.

How big is the demo?
The demo is 5 GB on disk.

Do I need to have played Withering Rooms to enjoy this?
You don't need to have played or finished Withering Rooms to fully enjoy Withering Realms. You can play them in either order and discover new story aspects in both directions.

What's next?
Wishlist the game, and I’ll see you in May for the Early Access release, or later in the year for the full release on Steam and consoles

Original post

03 Feb 2026Developer post

Play the Steam Next Fest Demo February 23

Next Fest Demo As part of Steam Next Fest running February 23rd through March 2nd , you can try out the first-ever demo of Withering Realms. Demo Scope The demo consists of the opening hours of the game. You’ll explore Beynon House (an introductory dungeon) before heading out int

08 Feb 2025Developer post

Gameplay Details & FAQ

Gameplay Details World Map From the world map, pick day or night and then select a location you've been to before or a new area you've just unlocked. Visiting areas outside the town of Penwyll at night is extremely dangerous and only recommended once The Doll has reached a high e

Gameplay Details

World Map

From the world map, pick day or night and then select a location you've been to before or a new area you've just unlocked. Visiting areas outside the town of Penwyll at night is extremely dangerous and only recommended once The Doll has reached a high enough level or has unlocked additional tools.

The Doll

When exploring in the graveyards, tombs, caves and rotting estates outside of Penwyll, you'll control The Doll, a 7 foot tall construction of wood, metal, bone, and flesh. Gameplay proceeds from a 3/4 top-down perspective in a "top-down Zelda meets Bloodborne" fashion.

Battle a huge bestiary of cultists, undead, ghosts, and witches.
Avoid traps, use explosives to blow open secret passages, and loot every sarcophagus and treasure chest you come across.
Clover, the ghost girl on The Doll's back, can cast spells or use items at any time, even while The Doll is mid-swing.
Expand the map and complete main story quests by defeating huge perimeter guardian bosses.

Althea

When exploring the town of Penwyll, you'll control daring freelance investigator Althea Crossley. What Althea lacks in combat ability, she makes up for in stealth, lockpicking, and interrogation skills. Gameplay proceeds from a mixture of 3/4 top-down and classic survival horror "fixed camera" vantage points.

Explore a bustling town with shops and expansive buildings like the Clocktower and the Mazechapel.
Use the cash and materials The Doll has found out in the world to purchase and craft upgrades for it, such as new arm tools, replacement eyeballs, and magic talismans.
Lockpick and enter doors under cover of night to uncover Penwyll's dark secret.

FAQ

Who is making this game?

Moonless Formless, a solo developer operating out of Seattle.

How do I follow along with development?

Wishlist it and follow Moonless Formless on a social media platform of your choice:
X
Bluesky
YouTube
Instagram
TikTok
Discord

When does it release?

Early Access on Steam will start in Fall 2025(closer to Halloween). A full PC and console release will happen after.

Is this a sequel to Withering Rooms?

This is a new, independent story set in the same universe as Withering Rooms. No familiarity with Withering Rooms is necessary or expected to fully enjoy the game.

Is this a roguelike?

No. Some areas and dungeons are randomized for variety upon entering them, but items, equipment and story progress are not lost upon death.

What will Early Access include?

Early Access is expected to launch on Steam in Fall 2025 with the game fully playable start to finish. However, much like with Withering Rooms, additional side quests and New Game + mode will be added in the lead-up to full launch. Additionally, game systems and balance will change based on feedback during Early Access.

Is it coming to consoles?

Yes, much like Withering Rooms, it will come to consoles for the full release after Early Access concludes. Which consoles will be announced closer to the release date.

Original post

Withering Realms

Updates & announcements

0.37

0.36

0.35

Early Access Available Now!

Withering Realms Early Access Available Now

Early Access FAQ

Demo out now while we wait for Early Access approval

Demo available now!

Early Access Starts September 2nd

Early Access Release Date

Why Early Access?

When is full release?

Do I need to have played Withering Rooms?

Steam Next Fest Demo

Thank you for trying the demo!

Next Fest Demo Out Now!

FAQ

Play the Steam Next Fest Demo February 23

Next Fest Demo

Demo Scope

Next Steps

Gameplay Details & FAQ

Gameplay Details

World Map

The Doll

Althea

FAQ