Heartbound

Released: Dec 24, 2018
Platforms: WindowsLinux
Last updated: 04 Sep 2026, 05:42 GMT

Updates & announcements

20 posts

01 Sep 2026Developer post
Patch 1.0.9.657
This is the monthly update build for August 2026. This month I focused on the Frost Pipes and Throne Room for Niflheim. These rooms are mirrors of the Muspelheim environments with completely different characters, art, and storyline. I was planning on working on the Slums for Musp
This is the monthly update build for August 2026. This month I focused on the Frost Pipes and Throne Room for Niflheim. These rooms are mirrors of the Muspelheim environments with completely different characters, art, and storyline. I was planning on working on the Slums for Muspelheim this month but I think it's a better direction to keep both Niflheim and Muspelheim at the same level progression-wise. It's been a lot of fun doing design for all of this but next month is more storyline and mechanics heavy.

Known Issues

Russian language has not been updated past Fern/Rhode in Animus.
English is the only language past the Mossbacks.
There are missing mini-games in the fight with The Aspects.
There are missing visual assets in Niflheim.

New Content

Rebuilt the Firedoors and Frostdoors environments to make sure the view into the next environment matched. Also improved the particle systems and audio levels in these places. It's important to me that in any environment where you can see through a door or portal that view matches the next environment. Stuff feels disjointed otherwise.
Added the Frostpipes environment to Niflheim. This area is a mirror of the Firepipes environment in Muspelheim and sets the stage for your encounters with the denizens of Niflheim. I also have a good workflow now for making this mirror world which helps speed everything up for the entire chapter.
Added the Frost Throne environment to Niflheim. This area will have your first true encounter with Snifl. We're planning to have both him and Muus in at the same time.
Added a bunch more Niflheim machines, Greebles, and flavor doodads to use around the chapter which brings it up to par with Muspelheim.
Due to workflow changes you can expect both Muspelheim and Niflheim environments to launch in the same monthly update. This was hard to get the hang of at first but we've got it down now.
Added some new hints to the ARG to help teams catch up to the front running packs.

Bug Fixes

Fixed a softlock when choosing Shelly pre-picnic and treating her badly but not too badly.
Fixed a number of softlocks during The Aspects encounter.
Fixed piping errors in the Niflheim Frostfall environment.

Bug Reporting

Please report any issues on our official Discord at https://discord.gg/piratesoftware
There is a channel called #heartbound-ticket where you can report stuff!
Include a screenshot, it makes things much easier to fix!

Upcoming Content

Muspelheim/Niflheim Throne environment polish and storyline.
The Aspects encounter polish.
Here are a few pieces of concept art for Niflheim and the overall feel of the differences between Niflheim and Muspelheim. Hope you enjoy them!
Original post
01 Aug 2026Developer post
Patch 1.0.9.656
This is the monthly update build for July 2026. This month I focused on the Throne Room of Muspelheim. This room will be your first interaction with Muus and will set the stage for the rest of the world. Story in this chapter is a lot more straight forward than in Animus so it's
This is the monthly update build for July 2026. This month I focused on the Throne Room of Muspelheim. This room will be your first interaction with Muus and will set the stage for the rest of the world. Story in this chapter is a lot more straight forward than in Animus so it's going to go fast. Most of my time spent in this world is in environment design and slapstick humor. It's so much easier to make this place overall.

Known Issues

Russian language has not been updated past Fern/Rhode in Animus.
English is the only language past the Mossbacks.
There are missing visual assets in the fight with The Aspects.

New Content

The Muspelheim Throne Room is now completed. This environment has a ton of greebling and some environmental story telling with the Flipper Five. Trying some new stuff with visuals to give more interesting depth options. Should add a lot of visual detail to this chapter and give more exploration options later on.
Wrote out the entire storyline for the Flipper Five. Much like with OScar these characters were meant to be a side gag and have transformed into the main story beat. It's been a lot of fun writing them and feels natural for the progression of the chapter overall. Lots of stealth, puzzles, and some combat along the way. Hope you guys like it.
Designed the combat system for Muspelheim and worked a bit on the fight with Muus. This encounter is based around cards while the mirror encounter is based around dice. Posted some art for all of this down below. I'll have more to share on that in a month or two.
Added unlimited greebles. No, seriously.
Extended the ARG to keep up with the front-running teams again. If you'd like to start it yourself you can find the ARG trailhead on https://gopiratesoftware.com/games/Heartbound/ by clicking the crack in the bottom right corner. To see where the general community is you can also find their wiki here. https://heartbound.pirate.wiki/ARG

Bug Reporting

There is no longer a softlock when choosing Shelly pre-picnic and treating her badly but not too badly.
Please report any issues on our official Discord at https://discord.gg/piratesoftware
There is a channel called #heartbound-ticket where you can report stuff!
Include a screenshot, it makes things much easier to fix!

Upcoming Content

Muspelheim Inner Gate and Slums.
The Flipper Five introduction.
The Aspects encounter polish.
Original post
01 Jul 2026Developer post
Patch 1.0.9.655
This is the monthly update build for June 2026. This month I focused on finishing the first room for Muspelheim as well as internal tooling. The "Firepipes" room is now completely done as a result and I now have tools for localization to help into the future. Also added a bunch m
This is the monthly update build for June 2026. This month I focused on finishing the first room for Muspelheim as well as internal tooling. The "Firepipes" room is now completely done as a result and I now have tools for localization to help into the future. Also added a bunch more animations for the Penguins which will be used throughout the chapter.

Known Issues

Russian language has not been updated past Fern/Rhode in Animus.
English is the only language past the Mossbacks.
There are missing visual assets in the fight with The Aspects.

New Content

Finished up the Firepipes environment in Muspelheim. This environment now has a number of different penguins, new interactions, new lines of dialogue, and all of the environment polish is finished. When I start work on Niflheim it will be the blueprint for that mirror environment as well. This also sets the tone for environments in this zone going forward.
Made some new internal tools to help work on language management for the future. This lets me take snippets of any text in the game and display it in all localizations quickly and easily. Should make our localization team faster overall and will work both in Heartbound and on future projects.
Added all new animations for the Fire Penguins which can be seen below. Each penguin now has walking and standing animations in NSEW directions.
The fire penguins now have names and an overall story has been written for their group. Hope you have fun with the Flipper Five.
Extended the ARG to keep up with the front-running teams. This update ties back into the game client so you might need to do some digging. If you'd like to start it yourself you can find the ARG trailhead on https://gopiratesoftware.com/games/Heartbound/ by clicking the crack in the bottom right corner. To see where the general community is you can also find their wiki here. https://heartbound.pirate.wiki/ARG

Bug Reporting

Please report any issues on our official Discord at https://discord.gg/piratesoftware
There is a channel called #heartbound-ticket where you can report stuff!
Include a screenshot, it makes things much easier to fix!

Upcoming Content

Muspelheim throne room and combat system.
The Flipper Five introduction.
The Aspects encounter polish.
Original post
01 Jun 2026Developer post
Patch 1.0.9.654
This is the monthly update build for May 2026. Most of my work this month was doing implementation for some of the penguins and feeling out how they should interact. I really like how their language style came together and plan to expand this throughout the chapter. Known Issues
This is the monthly update build for May 2026. Most of my work this month was doing implementation for some of the penguins and feeling out how they should interact. I really like how their language style came together and plan to expand this throughout the chapter.

Known Issues

Russian language has not been updated past Fern/Rhode in Animus.
English is the only language past the Mossbacks.
There are missing visual assets in the fight with The Aspects.

New Content

A new language called PengWings has been added for the penguins to communicate. They speak in image glyphs and say concepts and actions rather than words. This is pretty limited currently but will be a lot of fun to flesh out over time.
A new environment has been put together in Muspelheim and it's a bit barebones right now but I think it sets the tone well. Check it out and let me know if you like the direction. This entire area is filled with machines, lava, and of course... penguins. I plan to have some baseline penguins for each zone and then a few that follow you throughout the chapter. Think of them like characters from the Tower vs the Shades on Floor 1.
The ARG has been expanded again. One of the teams has reached the previous timegate so new content has been added. Looking forward to seeing how quickly you guys can solve what I put out. If you'd like to start it yourself you can find the ARG trailhead on https://gopiratesoftware.com/games/Heartbound/ by clicking the crack in the bottom right corner. To see where the general community is you can also find their wiki here. https://heartbound.pirate.wiki/ARG

Bug Reporting

Please report any issues on our official Discord at https://discord.gg/piratesoftware
There is a channel called #heartbound-ticket where you can report stuff!
Include a screenshot, it makes things much easier to fix!

Upcoming Content

Muspelheim throne room.
The Aspects encounter polish.
Original post
01 May 2026Developer post
Patch 1.0.9.653
This is the monthly update build for April 2026. Most of my work this month was on fleshing out characters for Chapter 4 and making more content for the ARG. For those not interested in the ARG we have some penguin animations you can see below and while these little dudes are unn
This is the monthly update build for April 2026. Most of my work this month was on fleshing out characters for Chapter 4 and making more content for the ARG. For those not interested in the ARG we have some penguin animations you can see below and while these little dudes are unnamed right now they have enough personality that I am making them into primary characters in Chapter 4. For ARG solvers there have been three teams that hit the time-gate and I have now added more puzzles for them. Good Luck!

Known Issues

Russian language has not been updated past Fern/Rhode in Animus.
English is the only language past the Mossbacks.
The Aspects fight is missing polish and mini-games.

New Content

The ARG has been greatly expanded. Three teams solved the available content in this last month and hit the time-gate. The ARG is a massive set of cryptographic puzzles that start on the website and continue throughout the game unlocking additional content and routes. If you'd like to start it yourself you can find it on https://gopiratesoftware.com/games/Heartbound/ by clicking the crack in the bottom right corner. To see where the general community is you can also find their wiki here. https://heartbound.pirate.wiki/ARG
For those stuck on the current ARG step here is a hint for you. Digging through the trash can be difficult if you don't know what you're looking for. You already used the needle but forgot to use the haystack!
New animations have been added for a number of different penguins and we're going through all of them to give them style and character. These are going to be used all over muspelheim and niflheim which are the two halves of Chapter 4. As of now these penguins don't have names and were planned to be more background workers. I spent this month working on storyline ideas for them to make them matter a bit more than that. In the past this is exactly how OScar was made as he was originally intended to just be a normal computer. Hoping you guys like their designs and the silly routes you get to experience with them. You can see them below.

Bug Fixes

All dialogue lines in The Aspects encounter now fit inside the textbox and no longer go behind talky animations.
Fixed an animation speed issue with Shellys distorted talky animation.
Fixed an animation speed issue with Sheldons distorted talky animation.
Thanks for reporting these on the Discord!

Bug Reporting

Please report any issues on our official Discord at https://discord.gg/piratesoftware
There is a channel called #heartbound-ticket where you can report stuff!
Include a screenshot, it makes things much easier to fix!

Upcoming Content

Muspelheim pipeworks interior.
The Aspects encounter polish.
Original post
31 Mar 2026Developer post
Patch 1.0.9.652
This is the monthly update build for March 2026. Worked on fleshing out a lot of the alternate routes for The Aspects encounter. There is a ton more I want to do here so I will be polishing it up off and on. We got a lot of new assets in for the first room in Muspelheim as well.
This is the monthly update build for March 2026. Worked on fleshing out a lot of the alternate routes for The Aspects encounter. There is a ton more I want to do here so I will be polishing it up off and on. We got a lot of new assets in for the first room in Muspelheim as well. Need to spend more time designing out the puzzle in this room as my idea for it just didn't work well. I may actually just drop having a puzzle here and make it an introduction to some of the Penguin faction characters. I've added some screenshots of the assets in that room to give you guys an idea of the general style of the new chapter. It's heavily inspired by Act 1 of Secret of Evermore if you're familiar with that game.

Known Issues

Russian language has not been updated past Fern/Rhode in Animus.
English is the only language past the Mossbacks.

Pricing Changes

Steam has added support for Purchasing Power Conversion for steam game prices. This changes the price of the game for regions other than the US to something that makes sense based on the purchasing power of your currency rather than just direct exchange rates. This is something I have been passionate about for a super long time and I love that Steam is now supporting this.
The prices for both Heartbound and the OST were set manually previously. I did a lot of research for different regions to determine what a good cost was. This included looking at average cost of living in that region, talking to people who lived there about normal levels of income, and then determining a proper price based on what they could have left over for entertainment. With this new feature Steam handles ALL of that for me and you end up getting the game for cheaper in every single region. I could only focus on a few regions previously because of the amount of work involved. Now nobody gets left behind.

New Content

Combat with The Aspects has been updated with new dialogue.
Dialogue lines for Emelio added in The Aspects encounter.
Dialogue lines for Rhode added in The Aspects encounter.
Dialogue lines for Fern added in The Aspects encounter.
Dialogue lines for Avocado added in The Aspects encounter.
Dialogue lines for Shelly added in The Aspects encounter.
Dialogue lines for Sheldon added in The Aspects encounter.
Distorted Talky animation added for Avocado.
Distorted Talky animation added for Shelly.
Distorted Talky animation added for Sheldon.
Alternate timeline paths added for The Aspects encounter.
Shelly can now give you a treat that shows up in your room in a cursed timeline.
Shelly now reacts to whether or not you stole a treat in The Clash.

Bug Fixes

Fixed a softlock with the The Aspects when you are on a completely Darksider route.
Minor typo fixed with Avocado in The Clash.

Bug Reporting

Please report any issues on our official Discord at https://discord.gg/piratesoftware
There is a channel called #heartbound-ticket where you can report stuff!
Include a screenshot, it makes things much easier to fix!

Upcoming Content

Muspelheim introductions.
The Aspects encounter polish.
Original post
01 Mar 2026Developer post
Patch 1.0.9.651
This is the monthly update build for February 2026. This one adds a ton of polish and new art to the final combat scene in Animus. It also sets up all of the components to work on new areas in Jotunheim. Next months update will be focusing on Muspelheim which is the lava area acc
This is the monthly update build for February 2026. This one adds a ton of polish and new art to the final combat scene in Animus. It also sets up all of the components to work on new areas in Jotunheim. Next months update will be focusing on Muspelheim which is the lava area accessible by being more curious throughout your run and choosing the world on the right during world selection. I will also be adding a number of routes, minigames, and new dialogue to this combat encounter as we go forward as soon as Shaye finishes the art for it.
I wanted to do a lot more this month but I hurt my back quite badly. Had to take over a week off of doing anything and just lay in bed like a slug. Sorry if you don't find this content to be enough of a patch as a result. Stay tuned for next month.

Known Issues

Russian language has not been updated past Fern/Rhode in Animus.
English is the only language past the Mossbacks.
There are missing mini-game variants in the fight with The Aspects.

New Content

Combat with The Aspects has been updated with new dialogue.
Misery now has a health indicator animation in the fight with The Aspects.
Misery now has an idle animation in the fight with The Aspects.
Misery now has a charge up animation in the fight with The Aspects.
Misery now has a laser animation in the fight with The Aspects.
Mania now has a health indicator animation in the fight with The Aspects.
Mania now has an idle animation in the fight with The Aspects.
Mania now has a charge up animation in the fight with The Aspects.
Mania now has a laughing animation in the fight with The Aspects.
There is now health border art in the fight with The Aspects.
The fight with The Aspects has been split into three major phases to better introduce the characters.
Setup tracking components for all of the choices in The Clash to make them matter for characters showing up during the fight with The Aspects.
Redesigned the puzzle beyond the Great Iron Gate in Muspelheim.
The ARG has been updated with additional content.

Bug Fixes

Fixed a softlock during combat with The Aspects when dying during the same combat action as winning the encounter.
Improved combat performance by reducing the number of objects allocated for damage when total damage is 100 or more.
A minor texture error was fixed for the shadowed version of Mania.
Properly spoiler tagged this months update for those who wanted it done.

Bug Reporting

Please report any issues on our official Discord at https://discord.gg/piratesoftware
There is a channel called #heartbound-ticket where you can report stuff!
Include a screenshot, it makes things much easier to fix!

Upcoming Content

Muspelheim initial exploration and puzzle room.
Additional mini-games in the fight with The Aspects.
Here are some ancient bonus doodles of Muus and Snifl from the upcoming chapter. Been looking forward to sharing their stories with you for a long time now. With Animus wrapped up we can finally get moving on this. Don't forget the penguins either.
Original post
31 Jan 2026Developer post
Patch 1.0.9.650
This is the monthly update build for January 2026. It focuses on the final combat scene in Animus between Lore and The Aspects . Really excited to finish this off and get moving on Jotunheim soon. February will be the final month of Animus development and this chapter will be clo
This is the monthly update build for January 2026. It focuses on the final combat scene in Animus between Lore and The Aspects. Really excited to finish this off and get moving on Jotunheim soon. February will be the final month of Animus development and this chapter will be closed outside of bug fixes.

Known Issues

Russian language has not been updated past Fern/Rhode in Animus.
English is the only language past the Mossbacks.
There are missing visual assets, narrative, and mini-games in the fight with The Aspects.

New Content

The Clash is now finished and fully implemented.
You can now do battle with The Aspects in a prototype form.
This encounter is not finished as there are many missing combat mini-games and narrative. These will be added during February in patches I will launch throughout the month. There was simply too much art and implementation work to get this done in a reasonable time. This month was setting up and designing all of these mini-games so we can build them all. It's a bit imbalanced and has programmer art at the moment but that's ok.
The ARG has been updated with additional content.

Bug Fixes

Fixed a softlock when progressing through The Clash using an old save file set to the end of the Mossbacks section.
Terry now fades out in The Clash after Emelios cutscene.
Manias axolotl form talky is now aligned on textboxes.
Sheldons soundtrack in The Clash no longer plays after he leaves.
Breaking one of Ferns flowers in The Clash must now be intentional.
The correct weapon is now thrown during combat with Rhode during the Slash minigame.
The texture page for Rhodes combat now only contains textures from that scene.

Bug Reporting

Please report any issues on our official Discord at https://discord.gg/piratesoftware
There is a channel called #heartbound-ticket where you can report stuff!
Include a screenshot, it makes things much easier to fix!

Upcoming Content

Animus final fight scene.
Original post
01 Jan 2026Developer post
Patch 1.0.9.649
This is the monthly update build for December. It focuses on setting up the final section of Animus and wrapping up all of the storylines in this region at once. The final component to build now is the fight scene between Lore and The Aspects . With this out of the way I can focu
This is the monthly update build for December. It focuses on setting up the final section of Animus and wrapping up all of the storylines in this region at once. The final component to build now is the fight scene between Lore and The Aspects. With this out of the way I can focus entirely on systems design and combat which is something I greatly enjoy. Looking forward to updating again in January with that in mind.

Known Issues

Russian language has not been updated past Fern/Rhode in Animus.
English is the only language past the Mossbacks.

New Content

The final encounter introduction scene in Animus has been implemented. This scene directly precedes the combat encounter endcap for Animus. It changes dramatically based on your interactions throughout the chapter. Next month I will focus entirely on this final combat encounter and Animus will be functionally complete. From there it's just polish and working on Jotunheim which is Chapter 4.
Animus Resolution has been implemented. This is the scene directly after the final combat encounter in Animus. This changes based on your resolutions from The Tower, Animus, and Jotunheim. It also changes based on which order you did these chapters in.
Animus no longer resets your progress when finished and a selection placeholder has been added to choose your route. This placeholder will be removed once the combat encounter is completed for this section.
The ARG has been updated with additional content.

Bug Fixes

Fixed a softlock in The Tower based on your Factus state when proceeding from Animus directly to The Tower with The Factus.

Bug Reporting

Please report any issues on our official Discord at https://discord.gg/piratesoftware
There is a channel called #heartbound-ticket where you can report stuff!
Include a screenshot, it makes things much easier to fix!

Upcoming Content

Animus final fight scene.
Original post
01 Dec 2025Developer post
Patch 1.0.9.648
This is the monthly update build for November. It focuses on adding storyline to The Picnic in the form of a number of routes for Shelly and Sheldon. As always, writing is the lions share of work left in the game. It takes time but I will keep releasing monthly updates until it i
This is the monthly update build for November. It focuses on adding storyline to The Picnic in the form of a number of routes for Shelly and Sheldon. As always, writing is the lions share of work left in the game. It takes time but I will keep releasing monthly updates until it is done.
You can reach The Picnic by progressing through the Mossbacks storyline without killing them. If you're having trouble finding this section of the game reach out on the official Discord and talk to people in the #Heartbound channel. You can reach this channel by selecting the Heartbound role under #channels-and-roles. There are a ton of routes so it can be unwieldly to find specific areas at times.
With this update The Picnic only needs some minor polish and route changes. After that I will be working on the final fight scene for Animus. This may take more than one update to complete so I might release new environments for Jotunheim while working on it.

Known Issues

Russian language has not been updated past Fern/Rhode in Animus.
English is the only language past the Mossbacks.

New Content

The Picnic is now accessible.
The Picnic now has multiple routes as detailed below.
You decide to yell at the Mossbacks.
You decide to not yell at the Mossbacks.
This is a capstone scene that adds a final choice for the Mossbacks..

Bug Fixes

Tightened up the door lighting model in Emelio's house.
Tightened up the door lighting model in the mines.
Fixed the Time system in Animus to no longer hang at midnight.
Fixed the Pocketwatch hand speed when skipping time.

Bug Reporting

Please report any issues on our official Discord at https://discord.gg/piratesoftware
There is a channel called #heartbound-ticket where you can report stuff!
Include a screenshot, it makes things much easier to fix!

Upcoming Content

Jotunheim puzzle rooms.
Animus final fight scene.
ARG Update
Original post
31 Oct 2025Developer post
Patch 1.0.9.647
This is the monthly update build for October. It focuses on adding storyline to The Clash in the form of a number of routes for Sheldon. As always, writing is the lions share of work left in the game. It takes time but I will keep releasing monthly updates until it is done. You c
This is the monthly update build for October. It focuses on adding storyline to The Clash in the form of a number of routes for Sheldon. As always, writing is the lions share of work left in the game. It takes time but I will keep releasing monthly updates until it is done.
You can reach The Clash by treating The Mossbacks terribly. If you're having trouble finding this section of the game reach out on the official Discord and talk to people in the #Heartbound channel. You can reach this channel by selecting the Heartbound role under #channels-and-roles. There are a ton of routes so it can be unwieldly to find specific areas at times.
With this update we can draw The Clash to a close. Animus now only needs The Picnic and the final fight scene to be completed. The Picnic will be next up and shouldn't take much time at all. The fight scene is more complex but it's all mechanics with low narrative requirements which makes it much faster to implement. Hope you all enjoy.

Known Issues

Russian language has not been updated past Fern/Rhode in Animus.
English is the only language past the Mossbacks.

New Content

Sheldon is now accessible in The Clash.
Sheldon now has multiple routes in The Clash as detailed below.
We abandoned the Mossbacks.
-> We followed Shelly.
-> We followed Sheldon.
We didn't abandon the Mossbacks.
-> Stroll Darkness was at maximum.
-> Stroll Darkness was at more than none but not maximum.
-> We had no Stroll Darkness.
--> We had the stroll with Shelly.
--> We had the stroll with Sheldon.

Bug Reporting

Please report any issues on our official Discord at https://discord.gg/piratesoftware
There is a channel called #heartbound-ticket where you can report stuff!
Include a screenshot, it makes things much easier to fix!

Upcoming Content

The Picnic is next up and contains a scene with Sheldon, Shelly, and Ramul.
This will require you to treat either of them well during their strolls.
It will lead into The Clash and allow for alternate routes through it.
This is the last environment that needs to be completed for Animus.
Original post
30 Sep 2025Developer post
Patch 1.0.9.646
This is the monthly update build for September. It focuses on adding storyline to The Clash in the form of a number of routes for Shelly. As always, writing is the lions share of work left in the game. It takes time but I will keep releasing monthly updates until it is done. You
This is the monthly update build for September. It focuses on adding storyline to The Clash in the form of a number of routes for Shelly. As always, writing is the lions share of work left in the game. It takes time but I will keep releasing monthly updates until it is done.
You can reach The Clash by treating The Mossbacks terribly. If you're having trouble finding this section of the game reach out on the official Discord and talk to people in the #Heartbound channel. You can reach this channel by selecting the Heartbound role under #channels-and-roles. There are a ton of routes so it can be unwieldly to find specific areas at times.

Known Issues

Russian language has not been updated past Fern/Rhode in Animus.
English is the only language past the Mossbacks.

New Content

Shelly is now accessible in The Clash.
Shelly now has a new hurt animation.
Shelly now has a new disintegrate animation.
Sheldon now has a new hurt animation.
Sheldon now has a new disintegrate animation.
Shelly now has multiple routes in The Clash as detailed below.
We abandoned the Mossbacks.
-> We followed Shelly.
-> We followed Sheldon.
We didn't abandon the Mossbacks.
-> We followed Shelly.
--> We were bad to Shelly during our stroll.
--> We were good and bad to Shelly during our stroll.
--> We were good to Shelly during our stroll.
-> We followed Sheldon.
--> We were bad to Sheldon during our stroll.
--> We were good and bad to Sheldon during our stroll.
--> We were good to Sheldon during our stroll.
Any -> We stole a treat in the Mossbacks home.
Any -> We didn't steal a treat in the Mossbacks home.
The Factus now carries over into The Tower.

Bug Fixes

An Animation pop with Ferns disintegrate was fixed.
An Animation pop with Avocados disintegrate was fixed.
Rhode now disintegrates while standing in The Clash on certain timelines.
A Mlemosaurus will now always appear in The Clash when it's supposed to.
Lore now talks on the correct side of the screen in The Clash when you are silent instead of telling Avocado a joke.
The Artifacts desaturation effect now disappears in The Clash when you are silent instead of telling Avocado a joke.
Fern no longer starts with Emelio's text in The Clash on certain timelines.

Bug Reporting

Please report any issues on our official Discord at https://discord.gg/piratesoftware
There is a channel called #heartbound-ticket where you can report stuff!
Include a screenshot, it makes things much easier to fix!

Upcoming Content

The Picnic is next up and contains a scene with Sheldon and Shelly.
This will require you to treat either of them well during their strolls.
It will lead into The Clash and allow for alternate routes through it.
This is the last environment that needs to be completed for Animus.
Original post
28 Aug 2025Developer post
Patch 1.0.9.645
This ones a bit late as I went on vacation for the first time in years. Hope you enjoy the new stuff! This is the monthly update build for August. It focuses on adding storyline to The Clash in the form of a number of routes for Avocado. As always, writing is the lions share of w
This ones a bit late as I went on vacation for the first time in years.
Hope you enjoy the new stuff!
This is the monthly update build for August. It focuses on adding storyline to The Clash in the form of a number of routes for Avocado. As always, writing is the lions share of work left in the game. It takes time but I will keep releasing monthly updates until it is done.
You can reach The Clash by treating The Mossbacks terribly. If you're having trouble finding this section of the game reach out on the official Discord and talk to people in the #Heartbound channel. You can reach this channel by selecting the Heartbound role under #channels-and-roles. There are a ton of routes so it can be unwieldly to find specific areas at times.

Known Issues

Russian language has not been updated past Fern/Rhode in Animus.
English is the only language past the Mossbacks.

New Content

Avocado is now accessible in The Clash.
Fern now has a new hurt animation.
Fern now has a new disintegrate animation.
Avocado now has a new hurt animation.
Avocado now has a new disintegrate animation.
Avocado now has multiple routes in The Clash as detailed below.
We didn't visit Judgement.
-> We hurt Avocados feelings.
--> We tell a mean joke.
--> We tell a flat joke.
--> We tell a nerdy joke.
--> We tell a punderful joke.
--> We tell no joke.
-> We became friends with Avocado
--> We tell a mean joke.
--> We tell a flat joke.
--> We tell a nerdy joke.
--> We tell a punderful joke.
--> We tell no joke.
We visited Judgement.
-> We didn't make things right with Avocado.
-> We made things right with Avocado.
--> We have the Factus.
--> We committed bed crimes.

Bug Fixes

There is no longer a softlock when talking to Terry in The Clash on a specific Guardian route.
Menus now work correctly in windowed mode on some Linux flavors.
Fixed a minor PTBR translation error in The Tower.
A crash no longer occurs if you somehow fight Rhode with an axe.

Bug Reporting

Please report any issues on our official Discord at https://discord.gg/piratesoftware
There is a channel called #heartbound-ticket where you can report stuff!
Include a screenshot, it makes things much easier to fix!

Upcoming Content

The rest of Animus (Chapter 3) is being actively developed.
Original post
17 Jul 2025Developer post
Patch 1.0.9.644
This is the monthly update build for July. it focuses on adding storyline to The Clash in the form of a number of routes for Fern. As always, writing is the lions share of work left in the game. It takes time but I will keep releasing monthly updates until it is done. You can rea
This is the monthly update build for July. it focuses on adding storyline to The Clash in the form of a number of routes for Fern. As always, writing is the lions share of work left in the game. It takes time but I will keep releasing monthly updates until it is done.
You can reach The Clash by treating The Mossbacks terribly. If you're having trouble finding this section of the game reach out on the official Discord and talk to people in the #Heartbound channel. You can reach this channel by selecting the Heartbound role under #channels-and-roles. There are a ton of routes so it can be unwieldly to find specific areas at times.
For the ARG community a new puzzle was added a few days ago. Finish that one and it will lead you somewhere new. Good luck!

Known Issues

Russian language has not been updated past Fern/Rhode in Animus.
English is the only language past the Mossbacks.

New Content

Fern is now accessible in The Clash.
Fern now has multiple routes in The Clash as follows.
You went to lunch with Fern.
-You went to Judgement
--You told Fern you wanted things to be this way.
---You followed through and hurt the Mossbacks.
---You didn't follow through and treated the Mossbacks well.
--You told Fern you didn't want things to be this way.
---You didn't follow through and hurt the Mossbacks.
---You followed through and treated the Mossbacks well.
--You went to judgement but told Emelio you didn't want things to be this way.
---You didn't follow through and hurt the Mossbacks.
---You followed through and treated the Mossbacks well.
-You didn't go to Judgement
--You told Fern to follow her Heart.
---You had three baskets filled.
---You did not have three baskets filled.
--You told Fern she better play it safe.
---You had three baskets filled.
---You did not have three baskets filled.
You went to lunch with Rhode.
-You went to Judgement.
--You killed Rhode.
--You didn't kill Rhode but you won.
--You lost to Rhode but moved.
--You lost to Rhode but never moved.
-You didn't go to Judgement.
--Rhode asked Fern out.
--Rhode was too afraid to ask Fern out.
A big part of this update is for the ARG crowd.
With that in mind... soon is no longer soon. Good luck!

Bug Reporting

Please report any issues on our official Discord at https://discord.gg/piratesoftware
There is a channel called #heartbound-ticket where you can report stuff!
Include a screenshot, it makes things much easier to fix!

Upcoming Content

Finishing The Clash and Picnic areas.
Moving on to Muspelheim and Jotunheim when finished.
Original post
28 May 2025Developer post
Patch 1.0.9.643
With this updated I polished the Emelio and Rhode interactions during The Clash section of the game. These previously had no facial expressions, contained missing dialogue, and the textboxes were all static. It's now much more emotionally impactful and feels correct. Next update
With this updated I polished the Emelio and Rhode interactions during The Clash section of the game. These previously had no facial expressions, contained missing dialogue, and the textboxes were all static. It's now much more emotionally impactful and feels correct. Next update will be Fern's entire section for this part of the game. This room is the second to last for all of Animus so there is a lot that needs to be done here.

Known Issues

Russian language has not been updated past Fern/Rhode in Animus.
English is the only language past the Mossbacks.

New Content

Facial animations have been updated for all interactions in The Clash.
Textbox positioning has been updated for all interactions in The Clash.
A new facial expression for Emelio has been added.
Music timing has been updated for Emelio in The Clash.
SFX timing has been updated for Emelio in The Clash.
Rhodes interactions in The Clash have been updated.
Emelios interactions in The Clash have been updated.
The Factus can now make an appearance during The Clash.
Combat timing for Rhodes Breakdown has been changed to be slightly faster when Hometown interactions are negative.
New Music has been added to the Heartbound OST.

Bug Fixes

Updated Heartbound to Steam SDK 1.6.1 which should help with Steam Deck issues. If you're unable to play on this platform please use Compatibility mode found in Library > Heartbound > Properties > Compatibility. Proton Experimental option seems to work for most systems.

Bug Reporting

Please report any issues on our official Discord at https://discord.gg/piratesoftware
There is a channel called #heartbound-ticket where you can report stuff!
Include a screenshot, it makes things much easier to fix!

Upcoming Content

The rest of Animus (Chapter 3) is being actively developed.
Original post
02 May 2025Developer post
Patch 1.0.9.642
With this update I have added a number of routes for Rhode in The Clash section of the game. This area is accessible after The Mossbacks if you take a more negative route. If you need help reaching this location please contact me via the Discord ticketing system detailed under Bu
With this update I have added a number of routes for Rhode in The Clash section of the game. This area is accessible after The Mossbacks if you take a more negative route. If you need help reaching this location please contact me via the Discord ticketing system detailed under Bug Reporting.

Known Issues

Russian language has not been updated past Fern/Rhode in Animus.
English is the only language past the Mossbacks.
Facial expressions in Emelios Clash scene are missing.
Some audio queues in Emelios Clash scene are missing.
Facial expressions in Rhodes Clash scene are missing.
Some audio queues in Rhodes Clash scene are missing.

New Content

New routes have been added for every possible interaction path with Rhode during The Clash. This section is exceptionally complex due to your choice to skip her entirely, fight her in the dark world, fall out of the dark world on Emelio, or go to lunch with fern instead. As such this took quite a bit longer to write so apologies for that!
We went to Judgement and told Emelio we wanted things to be this way.
-> We went to lunch with Rhode
--> We fought Rhode and won in combat.
---> We killed Rhode.
---> We did not kill Rhode.
--> We fought Rhode and lost in combat.
---> We never moved during the encounter.
-> We went to lunch with Fern.
We went to Judgement and told Emelio we didn't want things to be this way.
-> We went to lunch with Rhode.
--> We treated her badly.
-> We went to lunch with Fern
--> We treated her badly.
We didn't go to Judgement.
-> We went to lunch with Rhode.
--> We treated her badly.
--> We treated her well.
-> We went to lunch with Fern
--> We treated her badly.
--> We treated her well.

Bug Fixes

The Steamdeck version no longer crashes on startup under some configurations.
The Linux version no longer crashes on startup under some configurations.

Bug Reporting

Please report any issues on our official Discord at https://discord.gg/piratesoftware
There is a channel called #heartbound-ticket where you can report stuff!
Include a screenshot, it makes it much easier to fix!

Upcoming Content

The rest of Animus (Chapter 3) is being actively developed.
Original post
22 Apr 2025Developer post
April Update - Moved
Was going to drop the update the last week or so but a lot needed to be changed and I was very busy with our ferret rescue work. Thankfully I have everything written and implementation is a breeze so that's not going to be an issue. With that in mind here are all the routes in th
03 Apr 2025Developer post
Upcoming Patch 1.0.9.642
The next update should drop this week. I was going to launch this on the 1st but the dialogue with Rhode just didn't hit right. She previously didn't discuss any of the timelines in which you went to the Dark World and fought her. This made those routes feel incredibly disjointed
02 Mar 2025Developer post
Patch 1.0.9.641
With this update I am mostly looking for feedback on story direction for the end of Animus. If people find Emelio's actions here to be compelling then I will continue pushing this area until completion. Known Issues Russian language has not been updated past Fern/Rhode in Animus.
With this update I am mostly looking for feedback on story direction for the end of Animus. If people find Emelio's actions here to be compelling then I will continue pushing this area until completion.

Known Issues

Russian language has not been updated past Fern/Rhode in Animus.
English is the only language past the Mossbacks.
Facial expressions in Emelio's Clash scene are missing.
Some audio queues in Emelio's Clash scene are missing.

New Content

The Clash is now accessible after the Mossbacks scene all goes wrong. This area has a number of different routes based on how you played through the entire chapter. It also dynamically changes based on how you act through this room. Most things in Animus work like this but this room has a lot more complexity to it as it's the culmination of every potential route. For now Emelio's section is the only one available.
Dialogue has changed for the Artifact in some areas.
Some things in Animus are now remembered.
All memories have been forgotten.
All changes from Patch 1.0.9.64 have been merged into the public branch.

Bug Fixes

Text has been updated to reflect you carrying a singular duck in a bathroom.
There is no longer an incorrect audio check when music has ended.
Steamdeck will now be more stable when dealing with audio assets.
Steamdeck will now be more stable when dealing with large texture pages.

Bug Reporting

Please report any issues on our official Discord at https://discord.gg/piratesoftware
There is a channel called #heartbound-ticket where you can report stuff!
Include a screenshot, it makes it much easier to fix!

Upcoming Content

The rest of Animus (Chapter 3) is being actively developed.
Original post
01 Feb 2025Developer post
Patch 1.0.9.64
Had to take a year and focus on everything else as seen here: Going forward we're doing monthly update builds on the first of each month. These are going to be done on a separate build which you can read about below. These builds will be highly unstable at times so please put in
Had to take a year and focus on everything else as seen here:
https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/567380/view/516325480311292020?l=english
Going forward we're doing monthly update builds on the first of each month.
These are going to be done on a separate build which you can read about below.
These builds will be highly unstable at times so please put in bug reports.
Depending on the severity of issues I will put out additional builds throughout the month.
Anyway, have fun!

Monthly Development Build

The code to gain access to this is "PirateSoftware".
You can access this by using that code on Heartbound > Properties > Betas within the Steam Library.
This build is for WINDOWS ONLY.
Make sure your Steam client is fully up to date to get this build.
Hitting Shift will allow you to add/remove some blend layers.
Hitting Alt will allow you to add/remove the greyscale shader.
Hitting Ctrl will allow you to enable/disable graphical information.
Hitting Space will allow you to save the game wherever you are standing.
There is a Keyboard/Controller input display on the top left that shows last hit key.

Known Issues

RURU language has not been updated past Fern/Rhode in Animus.
Our translator lives in Moscow and cannot be paid due to the war.
Once we have a way of fixing this the RURU translation will move forward.

Changed Content

# has been added to the Heartbound font.
Sheldons storyline has been extended.
Country Locale codes have been replaced with localized language names.
A Quit button has been added to the menu with an "Are you sure?" option.
An end is no longer the end.

Bug Fixes

The Pocketwatch is no longer on the wrong layer after a sequence in the mines.
It is no longer possible to softlock by talking to Sheldon while he leaves the house.
It is no longer possible to softlock by answering a question in the same frame it was asked.
The credits text no longer fail alignment if you pause during it.
Fern no longer talks outside the box when it all goes wrong.
# in names no longer cause newlines on the credits screen.
A textbox in lunch rush no longer breaks out of bounds
The pause menu no longer shows the room behind it along the edges while moving.
Lighting no longer remains on characters when a light is turned off while they stand in a lightsource.
The game no longer crashes on September 2nd every year.
The achievement "Engage Headbutts" can now be obtained.
Multiple names have been changed in the credits per request.
The client no longer crashes during Rhodes bite mini-game.
Fixed audio memory issue in numerous rooms.
Fixed lighting related memory issue in Act 1.
Fixed lighting related memory issue in Animus Mines.
Lore can no longer get stuck in a loop intermittently in Animus.
Fixed multiple performance related issues on Steam Deck.

Bug Reporting

Please report any issues on our official Discord at https://discord.gg/piratesoftware
There is a channel called #heartbound-ticket where you can report stuff!
Include a screenshot, it makes it much easier to fix!

Upcoming Content

The rest of Animus (Chapter 3) is being actively developed.
Original post

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