The Drain 0.2.0 Early Access Update (Previously Kaisa: Resurrection)
Hello everybody!
Holy crap, we have been working hard! Today we're releasing 0.2.0, probably our biggest update yet. A lot has changed, even the name of the game!
New stuff!
(Slight spoiler warning)
Tally's Upgrade System, Overhauled
The upgrade system has been rebuilt from the ground up. Instead of buying randomized upgrades, you now directly upgrade the body parts you selected before being birthed.
The old system made upgrades feel disconnected from your actual body. We think this version makes finding body parts and upgrading them much more fun, just the way it should be. We have been having a lot of fun playtesting and there is much more to come!
Body Parts, Now Condition-Based
We have added and changed a lot of the body parts for the better. Body parts used to be mostly stat increases. That felt like something was missing, so now many of them are condition-based. For example: your first special attack after the Shadow looks into the room deals 200% more damage, upgradable 5 times. Or one of my favorites: Snake Tongue, it makes you better at lying and decreases your dodge cooldown. Stuff like that. We'll let you discover the rest.
Corpse Outlines
You no longer have to drag a corpse all the way to the well to find out if it holds a body part. Green, blue, and golden outlines now tell you immediately if the corpse has some goodies, and yes, it hurts extra when the corpse-eating Roomba runs over a golden one.
Shops
The shop now has an out-of-stock mechanic. Buy too much of something and it runs out. This is a balance measure, not a punishment, but plan accordingly.
Night Bites now correctly delivers at night, as it always should have, and can be used strategically. There are also new stuff in the tv shop and at the bartender.
Enemy Readability
Enemies have been tweaked and their attack telegraphing has been improved.
Boss Placement
Non-Kaisa bosses have been moved to between rounds 4 and 5, rather than the day before the Resurrection attempt. The pacing feels better this way.
Player Inventory
The inventory screen has been reworked for clarity. Press I or Up on your controller to open it.
Visual Upgrades
Body parts and various elements have received visual improvements throughout.
Daytime Threat!
You'll see.
End Game Scene
Has been changed and has a new functionality that you will discover. More exciting things will be added to this scene but that will be for coming updates.
Lie System
The first solid version of the lie system has finally been implemented correctly. Also, when talking to the bartender, other things are for sale as well.
Hunger Levels
A difficulty system that we have been working on for many versions is finally in the game. Well, the first 3 levels of it. It will be receiving tweaks and additions depending on our plans and your feedback.
Creation Scene
We have greatly improved the readability and rearranged the UI where you assemble your character. Something that might be confusing at first is that weapon damage now reads vertically instead of horizontally as it was before.
New Bosses
Good luck.
Skippable Introduction to Mechanics
If you decide to start a new save slot you will now get the option to skip past the introduction to how to play and go directly to the drain. But if you are a new player, please play regularly as you will miss some important stuff if you don't. This is great for players who have played a lot, and also if you run into any strange problems playing on a pre-0.2.0 save file, try making a new one if you have an empty slot. If all has gone to plan this should not be an issue but... this is Early Access after all. Please show us mercy.
Side Note
Things that are closely related to this update but did not make it and will be added in the coming ones are:
Endless Hunger, which is a very fun alternative game mode we are working on. The final difficulty levels including Hardcore mode.
A Note on the Skull
Something that has not gotten any love yet in this update is the Skull sitting on the bench in the main room. He is there to explain things to you but he is lacking like crazy right now. He will be worked on next, we promise.
Feedback and Suggestions
As this is a pretty huge update that has its tentacles in many of the game's mechanics and systems, if you run into any bugs or craziness, please let us know in the Steam forum or our Discord. We will get on any problem as soon as possible.
And with that said, have fun trying out the new stuff and we'll start working on the next update, which will take less time than this one did.
And last but not least... THE NAME CHANGE!?
The name Kaisa: Resurrection once had a bigger purpose but as the game evolved it became more and more clear that even though the creature in the drain is called Kaisa, the name of the game should be The Drain.
It is much easier to say and to remember, and we also feel like it fits the type and size of the game much better. A lot of the inspiration for the game stems from 80s and 90s campy horror movies so "The Drain" is bang on target. Finally taking the plunge and changing it felt like a huge relief. Everything feels much more streamlined now and it has energized us like crazy. We hope you like it as much as we do.
Minor updates:
Patch: 0.2.1 Bug fix
Patch: 0.2.2 Bigger bug fixed and some smaller ui improvements.
Thank you for playing!