It's been a big week.
8-Bit Adventures 2 is finally out on Steam & GOG, and we've had an incredible outpouring of support from so many. I've been genuinely touched by the number of kind, considerate, and uplifting messages folks have sent me, and reading them has absolutely made the last 7 years of work feel worthwhile.
Especially since my dear grandmother has had to go into a nursing home this past week, due to Alzheimer's, and that's taken a big emotional toll on my family and I (along with all the work involved). She was always one of my biggest supporters, and it's been a little sad to have finally reached the release of 8-Bit Adventures 2, but with her now unable to understand what I've done.
So with that going on in the background, receiving your messages has been especially meaningful for me, and it's made me feel very appreciative of our community. From the bottom of my heart, thank you for all of your kindness and support - it genuinely means the world to me.
https://store.steampowered.com/app/733110/8Bit_Adventures_2/
I'm also thrilled to say that we've had over 1000 sales, and have nearly recouped the cost of the game's development! We've even made it onto the top of the JRPG New and Trending list this week 😊 That's a wonderful start and I'm immensely grateful to everyone who's bought a copy of 8-Bit Adventures 2.
We've still got a long way to go to make the game a success and earn enough money to fund future projects, but I'm confident that we'll get there in the long-run. I've already seen lots of people sharing the word with friends and followers, and that sincerely means a lot! Word of mouth is an indie developer's biggest support 😁
The only other thing I'd ask is that if you're enjoying the game, then please consider leaving us a review. If we can get to 50 positive reviews, we'll earn the Very Positive status - and that's a big help on Steam!
Anyway, with all that out of the way, I wanted to talk about what's going on at the moment, and tease the future of 8-Bit Adventures 2! (The Free DLC Tease is further below)
Updates and Fixes
Unfortunately like any game launch, there have been some bugs which snuck through our rigorous testing. I'm sincerely sorry for these issues, and for any impact they may have on your experience with 8-Bit Adventures 2.
I've updated the game every day since launch, and am trying to respond to issues as quickly as possible. The same goes for our fantastic programmer Sufyan, who's worked to fix some of the particularly nasty issues! Please check the Patch Notes for a rundown of what's been fixed so far.
Pictured above is the good ol' humping glitch. This was fixed years ago, but is still one of the funniest bugs we encountered!
If a problem arises, we'll do whatever we can to fix it. So please let us know if you run into any issues via the Steam forums, Twitter, or our Discord (linked at the bottom of this post).
Soundtrack Available Everywhere!
While I'm sure everyone knows that you can purchase the 8-Bit Adventures 2 Soundtrack on Steam, you may not have realised that you can also listen to the Soundtrack on Spotify, Youtube Music, iTunes, Deezer, Pandora, Facebook/Instagram, TikTok, iHeartRadio, and more!
The Soundtrack includes 78 songs pulled from the game, plus 7 dramatic orchestral arrangements - all composed by the wonderful Sebastian "Carfonu" Cruz!
So wherever you listen to music, please check it out and show him some love 😊
More Reviews!
Since my last post, there have been even more reviews for 8-Bit Adventures 2. If anyone's still on the fence, please check them out, as I think they're all very well-written & interesting looks at the game.
Steam Deck
Since I've had a lot of people ask me about Steam Deck, I just wanted to explain the situation.
Essentially, Valve wouldn't give me access to the Steam Deck tools, or consider approving the game for Steam Deck. And since I live in Australia, I can't buy a Deck to test the game on myself. As such, I relied on the testimonies of a couple of reviewers, who both very kindly gave me feedback on the performance and informed me that the game has issues like lag, frame drops, and long loads.
But now that it's out, I'm hearing reports from players that the game is actually running quite well. We have fixed a couple of memory leaks around launch, so that could be helping with the Deck performance as well.
So if you'd like to play on Steam Deck, my recommendation is to try the free demo, and see how it performs for you. Hopefully I'll be able to get an official stamp of approval from Valve sometime in the future!
Trading Cards and Community Items
Valve requires that newly released games reach a certain number of players and be out for a certain number of days before Trading Cards and Community Items can be implemented.
I'm happy to say that Valve have just today granted me the ability to send our Trading Cards and Community Items to them for review, so they should hopefully be added to the game this week!
A New Place to Buy - Itch.io!
At the suggestion of a good friend, I've now made 8-Bit Adventures 1 and 2 available on Itch.io! So if you prefer that storefront, then please check it out.
8-Bit Adventures 1: https://criticalgames.itch.io/8-bit-adventures-1
8-Bit Adventures 2: https://criticalgames.itch.io/8-bit-adventures-2
8-Bit Adventures 1 + 2 Bundle
Due to requests from players, I'm working on an 8-Bit Adventures 1 + 2 Bundle which will sell for a small discount and include both games.
This bundle is scheduled to launch on Steam and GOG on the 10th of February at 6am PST!
Free DLC is on the way!
Finally, I wanted to offer a small glimpse at what’s to come. As some of you may know, I’ve been planning and developing some Free Post-Game DLC for 8-Bit Adventures 2.
While I’d wanted to get the Free DLC released only 1-2 months after release, there’s still a lot left to do. And to be completely honest, the last couple of months have been extremely intense, ‘round-the-clock work with constant late nights; so I feel I need to recharge and take it slow for a little while. Seven years is a long time to go without a break 😅
(Check our Twitter for the animated version - Steam's file size restrictions wouldn't let me upload it)
The Free DLC begins with you discovering a new location, sequestered deep in the woods. Called the Shrine of Slumber, it will force you to face foes old and new in high level challenges – all while unravelling a story from the ancient past, long lost to conscious memory.
There might even be a hint to the Free DLC hidden in the game already 😉
Thanks for reading everyone - and for all of your support! I'll have even more news soon, so please keep an eye out for it 😊
For more information and updates, please:
