Hello there! This is an important one. The game is pretty much ready for the 1.0 launch barring some minor stuff (as those of you following the latest beta branch cycle know), and I finally have a release date:
Escape from Mandrillia will leave Early Access on September 15th, 2025.
Its been quite a run! I started this dumb little game as a learning experience (and it shows) - I never expected for people to actually play it, let alone like it. These 5 years have been... interesting, but in the end I'm deeply grateful for the experience.
Now, let's check what's new in this final update.
WHAT'S NEW
NEW GAMEMODE: BRIEFCASE EXTRACTION
For a long time, the gameplay loop in Mandrillia has been the "find keycards > use them on gate consoles > get higher clearance keycards > use them all on the final escape zone". It's a fine mode, tailor-made to work on the base versus multiplayer, but it could get repetitive (especially for solo and coop challenges).
On the last update, I spiced things up a bit by adding some variations for the countdown setting (survive for X time to win) and also adding the first "elimination" solo challenge (The Nightmare), where the goal was not to escape but to clear the level of Mandrillians.
For this update I went one step further and added a brand new gamemode: BRIEFCASE EXTRACTION. This mode is more geared towards Coop mode (but can of course still be played in Solo and Versus), while also taking advantage of some under-used areas.
In Extraction, your goal is also to extract (duh) a high-value AXIOM briefcase with you. To find it, you must first find scanner laptops that will point you to the next area (with its own laptop), until the last one points you towards the Briefcase location.
Once you find it, you must secure it to the elevator, while being careful for it not to break (its HP is displayed as a small bar near its handle). It's sturdy enough to bash a Mandrillian over the head with it, but that might not be the wisest choice...
This mode brings a bunch of big changes to the regular gameplay. The laptops can be in many different locations, bringing some variety to the usual 4 choke points of the base game. The laptop minigame (where you have to quickly "type" to fill up a "scanner" bar) requires way more commitment than the regular console gate minigame (it's meant to get the VR player fully occupied while the drone/s protect the area), and the final briefcase run brings a nice change over the regular elevator call-and-wait.
This mode also has its own new Match Modifiers, with Laptop Ping making it possible to play Extraction mode in a more stealth-focused way. This setting is in fact active in one of the new Solo Challenges. Speaking of which...
NEW CHALLENGES
The previous update came with two new challenges (The Nightmare, a solo challenge where you had to find a way to kill a single, powerful armored Mandrillian, and Debug Team, an action-packed 10-minute survival mission using the special Infected modifier for Coop). This update comes with four: two Solo, and two Coop. There's also been a re-shuffle of most of the cosmetic rewards, to give them more consistency and fitting "theme".
SOLO CHALLENGE: EXTRACTION
A stealth-first take on the Briefcase Extraction mode for a single-player experience. Cloaking and sneaking is a must, and the scanner laptops have a limited noise range (as well as their minigames being downtuned from Coop). Completing this challenge rewards you with the Bandana.
SOLO CHALLENGE: SEARCH AND DESTROY
Finally, a challenge making use of the Warrior skin. You have to kill 30 Mandrillians, and you have 5 minutes to do it. You have two plasma guns (more on that later) and a grenade launcher. Oh, the Mandrillians also have plasma guns and dynamic spawn, so good luck! Completing this challenge rewards you with the new Armor chest gear.
COOP CHALLENGE: HI-TECH
The "standard" Briefcase Extraction Coop experience. Find and operate the scanner laptops and make your way into the Research Labs to extract the Briefcase, then run to the elevator while protecting it. Teamwork is heavily encouraged here, with Drones protecting the Robot during the laptop minigame. Completing this mode unlocks the Coop Drone "Test Subject" paintjobs.
COOP CHALLENGE: DATA BREACH
The final challenge, and the first with the "Extreme" difficulty tag. This one is really meant to be played with 2 friends, and it's a brutal Briefcase Extraction match with a non-stop horde of Mandrillians coming at you with random upgrades and dynamic spawn. However, you are armed with akimbo Plasma Guns, as well as an infinite-ammo minigun (just be careful not to overheat it!). The Warrior skin lets you block and counter Mandrillian attacks, which is something you will need. Completing this mode will unlock the new Coop Drone "Spike" cosmetic.
NEW WEAPON: PLASMA GUN
Present in two of the new challenges, this final addition to the firearms is here by popular demand. It is pretty much a variation of the regular Handgun, but with regenerating ammo, making it great for the akimbo setting as well as for more action-oriented gamemodes. Because of its disruptive nature, it is not present on the random sidearm roster, but you can directly select it for use in Versus mode anyways.
FINAL TWEAKS AND ADDITIONS
DRONE QOL TWEAKS
Coop Drones have gotten a bit of a QoL pass, focusing mainly on the camera controls when using gamepads. Until now they were using pretty much a 1:1 translation from joystick movement to camera movement, which made horizontal rotations pretty awkward, often ending in unwanted vertical camera movement. I've added some stick curves to it, as well as a vertical deadzone that should make aiming left and right way more satisfying. I've also added a quick 180 turn by pressing down on the D-Pad.
Besides that, Coop Drones now have more noise indicators on their minimap for stuff like Mandrillians doing their dynamic spawn entrances, as well as pings when they're near Laptop Scanners and the Briefcase.
FINAL MATCH MODIFIERS
I've added some final Match Modifiers to give you as much freedom as possible when customizing your matches. Besides the new gamemode-related ones, there's now also an OPEN GATES modifier to completely bypass the console minigame in normal matches, and to go straight for the briefcase in extraction mode.
CUSTOM MUSIC
This was an unexpected one I bet. You can now load your own background/battle music by putting .ogg files named "normalmusic" and "battlemusic" on the game's StreamingAssets/Music folder. You can use just one of the two (if you want just a single continuous tune, or no music by default with battle music kicking in at intense moments), as well as both of them (just make sure they're either the same length or a multiple of each other).
MANDRILLIAN BOT FINETUNING
I've fixed some corner case bugs with Mandrillian Bots, as well as fine-tuning some of their behaviors to be less frustrating. The navmesh has gotten a full polish pass, and I've added cooldowns for upgrades like the Plasma Gun and Scanner when used along Dynamic Spawn (to prevent them from instantly jamming/firing at you as soon as they spawn from the ground). I've also tweaked the way the "heat level" and "urgency level" of the match reacts to stuff like neurotoxin countdown.
AND THEN, WHAT?
I've spent the last 5 years working on this game, so my intention is for 1.0 to be the final version. Of course, I will keep a close eye on it to fix anything that needs fixing and tweaking (there's always stuff to fix and tweak).
Besides that, I think I need a break and to take a step back from gamedev. I miss being able to work on smaller projects that don't require a 5 year long commitment. I also miss earning more money ngl
Of course, if you really, REALLY like my work, there's a way you can give me some extra support...
THE SUPPORTER UPGRADE
One thing I promised was the game wouldn't change its price once it was out of Early Access. As any self-respecting businessman would do, I've found a loophole: the Supporter Upgrade! (coming soon)
Jokes aside, this will just be a way for the few of you that feel like giving me some extra support to throw 5 bucks in my direction. It will be a small cosmetic gold-themed pack (head gear, face gear, chest, hull, and a bonus Coop Drone paintjob). There will be no gameplay impact, and in fact if you don't buy it it won't even be mentioned in the base game. I feel kind of dirty doing my own take on the Horse Armor DLC but hey, I added the Coop Mode for free and it wasn't even on the roadmap! I'M NOT A BAD GUY OK I JUST WANT MORE MONEY
Of course, the easiest and cheapest way to support the game is to leave a review, which doesn't really do much but it gives me the dopamine of seeing a funny number go up. Consider doing it if you haven't already!
FULL CHANGELOG
- Added new gamemode: BRIEFCASE EXTRACTION
- Added new sidearm: PLASMA GUN - it has regenerating ammo (can overheat)
- Added new solo challenges: EXTRACTION, SEARCH AND DESTROY
- Added new coop challenges: HI-TECH, DATA BREACH
- Added new match setting: MODE (to switch between regular and extraction modes)
- Added new match setting: OPEN GATES (to have all console-operated gates open on start)
- Added new "Armor" chest gear cosmetic
- Added new "Spike" Coop Drone cosmetic
- Added three new achievements: HANDYMAN, JOLLY COOPERATION, A NECESSARY SACRIFICE
- Very big rework of the Mandrillian/Drone camera behaviour, specifically with controllers. Added a vertical deadzone to avoid accidentally aiming up/down when turning left/right, drastically reduced vertical sensitivity, and added a slight sensitivity curve to help making small adjustments.
- Added quick 180 for the coop drones (when using controller) by pressing d-pad down
- Nerfed damage dealt to Coop Drones by Mandrillian Bots' firebomb upgrade
- Added safeguard for Mandrillian Bot dynamic spawn that will prevent them from spawning on top of the VR Player (drones don't get that privilege, so stick together)
- Added initial cooldown for Mandrillian Bots when using dynamic spawn so they don't use their Jammers and Plasma Gun upgrades straight away as they start digging out of the ground
- Slightly increased final elevator's "weight limit" trigger to avoid freeloading coop drones joining
- Tweaked some patrol/spawn points on Warehouse that could cause Mandrillian Bots to spawn partially inside a fallen container
- Mandrillian "X" death marker on minimap/multitool no longer disappears when you blow them up; it will stay there until they are ready to respawn
- Tweaked dynamic spawn logic to be affected by the current "heat level" of the match
- Shuffled cosmetic rewards now given for completing different challenges and achievements
- Added some checks on the ragdoll logic to hopefully avoid breakdowns on very rare corner cases
- Fixed bug that would cause a wrong waypoint ID read when entering non-extended extra zone areas. This bug was not a big deal for normally-spawning Mandrillian Bots but would completely break them if dynamic spawn was enabled
- Fixed EXTRA ZONE match setting resetting to default on menu load
- Fixed some wrong colliders on the Research & Development area
- Fixed many corner case bugs regarding the land mines cloaking by themselves in certain situations
- Made the ancient cloak/inventory cloak system a bit more robust, hopefully fixing some corner case bugs