Update 0.5.2 - Lanternless

greetings lantern wielders, this update contains a batch of features, adjustments, and improvements that I have been working on while making the upcoming larger 0.6.0 update.

See below for a summary:

New Stuff and Area Adjustments

• a new trial "Crypt Circuit" is now hidden in the Crypt.

  • for it to appear, make sure you have gotten all Crypt key fragments and unlocked the first few regular-sized locked doors there. save at a lantern post to refresh it.

  • note that there is no reward for completing this yet.

• the Depths area now has a cliffside path for getting back to the rest of the world more simply.

• the Depths and Cistern areas now have a simple connection between them. still WIP.

• there is a new utility bracelet hidden in the Basin. the bracelet's function is janky and needs polish, but it is already working well enough to be cool, so I added it in early.

Lanternless Mode

• for those looking for a challenge, you can now get the Early Access ending while Lanternless.

• to begin, start a new game and do not pick up the Lantern Hook.

• reaching the ending like this is not straightforward, you will need to look for alternative routes.

  • certain sections become surprisingly challenging to traverse.

  • doors and switches are updated to be openable (or not if it has the glowing white ring on it).

  • lantern posts cannot be used as checkpoints without the hook.

• besides playing completely Lanternless, you can now do a finger snap at any time if you unequip your lantern. this was planned a long time ago so I am glad it finally made it in.

Movement Adjustments

• some sounds for player moves have been added and adjusted.

• slide hops increase speed more, especially down slopes.

• downhill slides collide with the ground more consistently.

• grapple pulls can now be buffered by holding down the "Burden" heal input.

• most of the player moves Recollections now have images as a visual aid.

Enemy and Boss Adjustments

• surfing on a Wyvern in the air will allow you to glide like a plane, use the forward and backward move keys to pitch up and down.

• the Axeleton enemy has been reworked to be throwable and its art has been touched up.

• most boss fights are rebalanced slightly. weakpoints have been added to two bosses.

• two additional boss fights are now replayable.

Improved Trial and Leaderboard Features

• a separate Lanternless category has been added to all relevant trials, ranked separately from the Standard board. simply unequip your lantern to compete in that category.

• equipment used for a trial is now shown next to its leaderboard score. might give a clue into your next strategy.

• a quick-restart button for trials is shown as a gold-chain in the pause menu.

• ammo is now temporarily refilled when attempting certain trials.

• since there have been a lot of movement changes and exploits fixed, leaderboard scores have been reset. the previous version's rankings are archived and viewable in the leaderboard menu.

• leaderboards can now be viewed from the main menu (load a game and save once to make it show)

Other Changes

• addressed some overpowered aspects of the Claw lantern

• map menu controls improved and interface improved

• various bug fixes and minor optimizations

refer to the previous news post for the latest Roadmap!

I had hoped to get all this patched in sooner but I decided to take a bit more time to add the Lanternless mode. The next major update is coming along well but there is still more work to be done. I am now pivoting away from adding features to focus on the upcoming levels. I hope you can all try out some new areas soon. Thank you for playing the game in the meantime, enjoy the update!

Full change notes: