I want to start this patch note with an honest status update regarding the content update. On Christmas I announced that a new map would be coming very soon™. I originally gave myself another month after Christmas to finish it, but by the end of January it still wasn’t ready. I kept working on it, another month passed… and it still wasn’t done. At this point the map is largely playable. There are two boss encounters, several new enemies, some events, so the 20 minutes are generally filled, but it still needs more testing, polishing, and all the extra pieces like new achievements and other finishing touches.
Then I ran into another major issue: Unity changed how save files are serialized between versions, which would have corrupted everyone’s save file after updating. Fixing that safely took additional time.
So after all that, it’s now the middle of March, and realistically it would still take me a few more weeks to finish the map properly. Releasing a large content update for a Christmas game in spring doesn’t really make sense, so with a heavy heart I’ve decided to postpone the new map until the next holiday season rather than rush it out now. I sincerely apologize to everyone who has been waiting for it, and I truly appreciate your patience.
That said, I still want to provide you with an update that includes a lot of the other things I had worked on. Bug fixes, quality-of-life improvements, and a few new additions, including a new player character Robot Santa with a unique skill card of flying drones. There is also a new ability for all player characters: a spin attack that helps deal with nearby enemies or open presents more easily and also has its own skill card to level up that is now part of the starting deck and does not need to get unlocked. I'm especially curious how this new melee attack will be received. More details can be found below.
Fixed
Excessive log file creation
Some collectible and counter achievements were resetting unnecessarily
Burn skill was blocking other damage for bosses and some enemies
Camera movement frame independent now (may require you to reset your sensitivity settings again)
Improved translation for controls and settings in some of the localizations
Controller only: Fixed bug that could cause the game to start with the wrong weapon or player stats
Changed
Improved camera handling during dashes and when pressing to aim during other activities
Smoother transition back to the game after the level-up screen.
Updated shaders for barrels, presents and some present items to improve visibility; backpack becomes see-through when the camera is too close
Increased health of Horny Demon and Mammoths
Custom warning sign for Mammoths
Added impact VFX for runner enemies like boars and mammoths
Increased iFrames for the dodge roll
Improved skill card text layout, also cards get larger now in the Collection decks
New
New player character: Robo-Santa S-800 with a unique skill card
New unique skill card: Mechanical Elves doing drone strikes, initially only available with the new character but once maxed out can be used by any other character as well.
Melee attack: A spin attack usable by all characters when not aiming. Useful against nearby enemies and for opening presents. Starts with minor damage but when leveled up with the new skill card Tinsel Tornado can deal a lot more damage and push enemies back.
3 new achievements (for the new character and 2 skill cards)