This weekend was incredible. We just wrapped up presenting NeverLight at POLARIS Convention in Hamburg (October 10-12), and honestly, we're still processing all the amazing feedback.
Playable Early Alpha at POLARIS
We set up booth at POLARIS with a single gaming PC running our early alpha prototype. No co-op yet—we wanted to nail the core solo experience first before throwing multiplayer chaos into the mix.
The setup was simple: two of us from the team, one PC, and a constant stream of curious players ready to face the apocalypse. Each play session lasted about 10-15 minutes — one full in-game day plus the extraction sequence. Just enough time to explore, fight some monsters, experience the night phase, and (hopefully) escape before the apocalypse storm consumed them.
Over three intense days (Friday through Sunday), more than 50 players dove into the ruins. Some came back multiple times. A few even dragged friends and family over saying "you HAVE to try this." Those moments? That's why we make games. 🤗
The Feedback (45 Feedback Forms Collected)
Here's the beautiful part: 95% of players who sat down took the time to fill out our feedback form. That's 45 detailed responses packed with insights we can actually use.
Big thanks to everyone who filled the forms! 💓
We've carefully reviewed all the forms, aggregated and would like to present the results:
Overall Reception 📌
How fun was it? 4.5/5 ⭐
Core Idea Rating (co-op roguelite extraction ARPG): 4.73/5
What They Chose 🧙♂️
Knight: 18 players
Ranger: 20 players
Mage: 20 players
(Some did multiple runs)
What Worked ✅
Character Design: 4.28/5
Character Visuals: 4.31/5
Visual Effects: 4.27/5
Controls Intuitiveness: 4.15/5
What Needs Work ⚒️
World/Level Visuals: 3.94/5
Enemies: 3.93/5
Difficulty Balance: -0.1 on the scale from -1 (too easy) to 1 (too hard)
How Many People for Co-op? 🫂
One of our biggest questions: how many players do you want in your squad?
57% would play solo
71% would play duo 👥 (most popular!)
44% would play trio
20% would play 4-player co-op
PvP or nah? ⚔️
66% said NO to PvP
33% said YES, mostly as an optional mode
This confirms our design instinct: NeverLight is now PvE-first, but we're keeping notes on optional PvP for post-launch discussions.
What We Learned (The Real Gold)
Sure, we got 100+ wishlists during the convention—amazing! But the real treasure? The feedback.
You told us exactly what needed fixing + seeing you play gave us a lot of ideas on what to improve!
Top 5 Priorities Based on Your Feedback:
Smarter, Scarier Enemies – Improve AI and make encounters more challenging
More Content – Expand biomes, POIs, and enemy variety
Polish the Environment – World visuals need more atmosphere and detail
Bug Fixes, Polishing & QoL – All those little rough edges
Gamepad Support – Many of you asked for it, so it's happening
What's Next: Playtesting Begins in November
Here's the plan:
Until November 2025: Implement all major improvements based on your feedback
Early November: Start offline playtesting (small groups, controlled sessions)
Late November: Open up online playtesting to our community
We're shifting into a more community-driven development phase. Expect more frequent updates, behind-the-scenes posts, and opportunities to get your hands on builds.
Thank You
To everyone who:
Played NeverLight at POLARIS
Filled out our feedback form
Wishlisted the game on Steam
Joined our Discord
Came back for a second (or third!) run
Found hilarious bugs we never imagined
You've given us clarity on what works and what doesn't. You've validated the core concept. And you've reminded us why we're pouring our hearts into this dark, demon-infested world.
The apocalypse storm is coming. We'll make sure you're ready for it.
(Yes, I'm taking this banner home. No, I don't know where it's going to fit :D)
Funny story: QA Who Broke It in 60 Seconds
Here's what happened: A QA guy sat down, opened the Trading NPC interface, and simply drag-dropped items from the trader directly onto the ground. Then he closed the window and picked them all up. Free legendary loot. Game broken.
We couldn't even be mad—that's exactly the kind of creative chaos we need to find before launch. And yes, that bug is now fixed. Probably. Maybe. We're 90% sure. 😅
Want to join the journey? 💬 Join our Discord 🐦 Follow us on Twitter/X
Stay tuned for our next dev update!