Hi everyone!
The team has kept a strong update cadence ever since release, responding to your input and putting a lot of love and effort into evolving the game.
For this first content update, we’re delivering a few of the things you’ve been asking for, which are also things the team has wanted to add for a long time. It’s a humble start to what’s ahead, as we plan to keep expanding the game even further going forward – including our biggest update yet coming in June.
We’re so excited to finally share the additions we've included in today’s release. Alongside several smaller improvements and fixes, here’s a summary of the free, new content included in our very first content update today:
Game Modes
Introducing 3 difficulty modes
When we originally launched the game, we knew we wanted it to be challenging and, to some degree, punishing. Having said that, there are many different ways to enjoy the world of Samson, and with the introduction of 3 difficulty levels, you now have more choice in what kind of experience you want. More details below:
Crook
Caters to a slightly more casual play style, with lower level enemies, more generous loot drops of Painkillers, and losing less cash when knocked out (50%). All Mission Retries are free (0 AP.) In this mode you can expect to more easily defeat enemies, and to have plenty of Painkillers at hand from fallen foes. The free Retries also mean that you can generally keep trying if you fail a Mission. But Tyndalston is still a dangerous place, so don’t relax too much.
Hustler
The difficulty mode that most closely matches the original design of the game. Enemies and loot drops and Mission Retries are unchanged. In this mode, you now lose 75% of your hard earned cash when knocked out (original design was 100%).
Enforcer
A truly brutal experience if you want to challenge yourself above and beyond: Higher level enemies, less loot drops, and 100% cash lost when knocked out. Also, in this mode, Mission Retries are only ever allowed in Street Trials, so make those Action Points count! We added a new Achievement for celebrating when you manage to become debt free and complete all Chapters in this mode.
A general note on cash lost when knocked out. This can be alleviated by the four “Hidden Stash” skills that stack for 10-40% cash kept safe when knocked out. There is also one Night specific Perk that can save you from losing some amount of cash on top of this. It can also often be a good idea to take the most dangerous Jobs early in the day to minimize the amount of cash at risk.
Combat
The combat camera is now getting a major and very welcome upgrade. One of the biggest pieces of feedback from players has been readability during larger fights, especially when surrounded by multiple enemies in tight spaces. This update is our first big step toward making every brawl feel more controlled, more cinematic and far more intense.
The camera now dynamically pulls back during larger encounters, helping you keep track of incoming threats, enemy positioning and the overall flow of the fight. The goal is not just to make combat easier to read, but to make every punch, dodge, takedown and desperate street fight feel bigger, heavier and more satisfying.
Samson has always been built around brutal close-quarters combat and chaotic urban brawls. We want fights to feel raw, dangerous and messy without becoming frustrating or visually confusing. This new camera work is designed to support that vision and lay the groundwork for where we want to take combat in future updates.
And this is only the beginning.
We are continuing to work on combat feel, responsiveness, enemy behavior, pacing and overall presentation. The combat camera will keep evolving alongside those improvements. Your feedback has already helped shape this update and it will continue to shape the next ones.
Jobs
Three new Jobs have made it to Tyndalston. The new Jobs have wilder setups and combine features from previous Jobs into a more interesting, high risk, high reward package.
Jack: Skulls and Crow Lanes
You know those skull jacket scumbags. Word is they’re meeting some Crow Lane trash for a tradeoff. Hot goods for stepped-on product. Find 'em, tail ’em, see if it’s true. If it is, wreck the deal and take everything.
Beatdown: Upstarts
Goons from Crow Lane are muscling in on our turf. Show them what happens when you mess with the Ditch.
Contract: Not ACAB
Every cop in South End is crooked, except Max Riley. He wants White Whisper gone and he’s feeding us intel to do it. Problem is, his cop buddies can’t know. Rough him up a little, make it look legit, and he’ll “drop” the leads. And relax: You ain’t working for the cops. You’re working against ’em.
Debt Collectors
St. Louis is getting even more restless, and debt collectors are no longer exclusive to your apartment and the parking lot. They can now turn up in various locations across the city if you fall behind on your payments.
Stability/Bug Fixes
Overall stability and performance improvements, to help reduce crashes and offer a smoother experience.
We've also done a lot of work on fixing various bugs.
There are more updates to come soon! Don’t forget to keep the dialogue going in our social channels, we’re always reading, both on Steam forums and our Discord server:
https://discord.com/invite/xPHpQgKUwG
Thanks for playing.