Welcome to the night shift, groundskeepers. The gates of The Manor have opened for preliminary testing.
Registrations for my first Closed Steam Playtest are officially live. Before I start working on the Demo (coming January-February!), I am inviting players in to test the dynamic surface cleaning systems, early paranormal manifestations, and ticket management mechanics.
How to Register
Joining the testing pool takes a single click directly inside Steam.
On THE GROUNDSKEEPER's Steam page, scroll down to the "Join the THE GROUNDSKEEPER Playtest" banner.
Click the "Request Access" button.
And done! Your account will be added to the waitlist!
What You Will be Testing
This closed playtest is a targeted vertical slice focused on calibrating and balancing the cleaning and ghost mechanics.
Test the performance and the 'satisfying-ness' of the cleaning and powerwashing mechanic.
Experience the haunting and provide feedback on how the ghost feels: too oppressive, almost absent or just right.
Try to gather evidence and comment on the responsiveness of the evidence gear.
Manage ticket prices and test how the earnings feel in the overall progression of the game.
Testing is scheduled to roll out in waves starting in the week of Nov 10.
To ensure stability, access will be granted in batches, selected randomly from all registered accounts. If you are not selected in the first cohort, your application is still saved safely for subsequent cohorts.
Steam playtests run in a separate sandbox so there are no public reviews attached to this build. My focus is entirely on identifying bugs, balancing gameplay loops and gathering community feedback.
More information regarding the feedback process will be posted as another Steam announcement, and in my Discord server.