Welcome
Hey! I've just released an update to the Dreadwinter demo! There's a lot of gameplay and Quality of Life updates, as well as some new content.
I would highly recommend making a new save if you've played before, as the save file has changed a lot since the last update.
If you'd like to see a more detailed explanation of the changes made, and the rationale behind them, I'd recommend checking out the monthly devlogs I've been releasing!
With that being said, let's get into the patch notes! ːsteamhappyː
Hotfixes (As of 3/4/26)
Fixed an incorrect setting when starting the game for the first time, causing it to crash (!!!)
Fixed clothes on zombie customers and interaction highlights not appearing
Cutscenes in the cafe that trigger at night also trigger in the early morning (12am - 5am)
Drinks no longer sell for 0 Ls
Fixed some character schedules that were not being carried out
Fixed a bug that caused the victory screen to not appear after defeating an enemy
Fixed a bug that caused the game to crash when spawning ghost or zombie customers
Fixed some incorrect stats in menus
Added a fade in to cutscenes that did not have it by default
Content Updates
There are now 18 NPCs you can meet in town (Increased from 12). New NPCs include:
Vanille
Kazuho
Kiya
Hana
Usagi
Pyogi
You can now go inside all of the houses in Lunara, although some may be locked at first! This includes:
Dread & Winter's home
Kazuho's home
The Taikoji family home
Mayor Moon's manor (not all rooms, though)
Chocola & vanille's apartment
The bath is now accessible
Townspeople have more active schedules
Added the book shop
Buying recipe books will be available in the full game
Gameplay & QoL Changes
There are now 3 settings for day length (1 day = 12, 18 or 24 minutes)
Previously, a day was equal to 24 minutes
Currently, you can only set this during character creation
In a future update you will be able to change this in game
Revamped existing tutorials and added new ones to make gameplay clearer
Added an indicator when you can interact with an object
Added highlighting when you can interact with NPCs and cafe machines (grinder, cauldron etc.)
This may be extended to all interactable objects in the future
Added manual saves
You can save and reload from any point (outside of cafe shifts and dungeons)
This is currently experimental! There shouldn't be any issues, but I can't guarantee it.
Some shops are open for longer
You can enter people's homes between 7am and 9pm (I don't actually think there was a time limit before)
Additional controller support and controller icons added to the UI
Cafe Gameplay Changes
Dreadwinter opens from 8pm at night
Revamped the Recipe Book to be easier to understand (and better looking)
Changed some skills and moved some around
The cauldron can now be unlocked earlier
Mixing coffee beans has been changed to focus on price increases
Adding multiple beans to the grinder is now unlocked by a skill
Additional coffee beans will unlock based on interest & loyalty rank
This is more for the full game
Customers will have an indicator if they are being served by Winter
Spaced out the positions of machines and seats by the bar
Customers and machines shouldn't overlap now
Increased the speed of brewing and grinding
Combat Changes
You now gain money (and potentially items) when you win a battle
Running from battle no longer counts as a defeat (no more clinic visits)
You can attempt to run from battle once per turn
You have a 50% base chance of escaping, which can change depending on skills and enemies
You will now be warned before you battle a powerful enemy (such as the Lumbering Jack)
Closing Notes
Good job on making it to the end! There's been a lot of bug fixes alongside these changes, but there are also probably bugs that have been introduced in their place! ːsteamfacepalmː
If you find any bugs or have any issues, let me know (discord or steam community is fastest), and I'll do my best to resolve them!
There will likely be one more major update to the demo just before the full release, but I can't say when that would be yet. For now, though, it's back to the grind!
Have fun, and thanks for reading!
-Alex