Hello all,

First off, I know it's been a very long time since my last update. I apologize. I'd been waiting for my Playdate to arrive (Group 5) so I could properly test the game on its intended hardware. Well, good news: Panic was kind enough to expedite my order and I’ve been playtesting away on my new yellow friend for weeks now! Woohoo! So, here’s what I’ve been working on:

Bug Fixes / Changes:

Main Game: 

• Issue where the Snake was duplicating upon re-entering area, blocking the ladder.
• Ghost in Manor library dropping key a second time.
• Piano near staircase now plays a tune from bottom half as well.
• Basement puzzle: certain pipes being swappable that should not be.
• Basement puzzle: pipes resetting after reload.
• Ghosts in Attic can now be “rescued” before solving the portrait puzzle.
• Ghost in bathroom reappearing upon return from portrait preview.
• Butterfly Room puzzle: bug wherein you can pick up infinite dresses.
• Hearing voice in attic now triggers only once, as intended.
• Mirror reflection disappears after picking up the dropped note. 
• Already completed bridge segments now appear before new bridge raising animation.
• Already discovered portrait segments now appear before new one.
• Fixed a glitch that occurs when transitioning between the Shed and Mansion entrance areas when outside the fence, causing you to float.
• Fixed a glitch in the final boss phase where it wasn’t tracking the rescued family members correctly.

Epilogue:

• The car trunk would close after leaving area.
• Boat no longer appears at the floating dock before being fixed.
• Slowed down Greves in Maze - I realize pressing buttons rapidly on the Playdate is much more difficult than on a keyboard.
• Fixed glitch in which you could enter the Garage area from the staircase in Abigail’s house.

Finally, and most importantly: I discovered (to my great embarrassment) that the game was not resetting all of the event and item pick-up triggers upon starting a new game, which would cause numerous, game-breaking bugs. This should no longer be the case. Now, when you start a new game, it should truly be a fresh restart without carrying over any “baggage” from previous playthroughs. 

But that’s not all! It wouldn’t be a proper “major update” without some more content, right?

New Content:

• Many, many dialogue box tweaks and some minor dialogue changes.
• Some visual tweaks and improvements to certain rooms.
• New car animation when pulling up to Mansion’s Gate.
• Improved the background art for all three “under the well” areas.
• The Spiritualist now tracks portal progress.
• Clearly demark where Epilogue begins if playing straight from main game.
• Edwin now more clearly directs to the player where to go after visiting Greves in the Garden.
• Music puzzle: interacting with the record player now shows the notes to play.
• There’s a new “How to Play” option in the main menu that explains how the save system works.

Achievements / Gallery:

I’ve added an “achievement” system to the game called “Gallery,” which is accessible from the main menu.

There are 24 achievements in total. Most you will unlock from progressing the story. 3 achievements are related to the different endings. There are also 2 secret, easter egg achievements!

Upon unlocking an achievement, you’ll see a “Gallery Unlocked” pop-up at the top of the screen and a new pixel art portrait will be unlocked in the Gallery. 

Guide Book:

Last, but not least, I’ve put together a “guide” of sorts to help players who may be stuck on where to go next or simply want to see everything the game has to offer. The guide covers the entire game, including the epilogue. 

Warning: do not read it unless you are absolutely stuck as it contains a ton of plot spoilers!

I’ve intentionally not included the actual solutions to puzzles, only hints, but if you read the manual closely, I’m sure you won’t have much of a problem.

It also has a nice, new, fake box art for the game (drawn by yours truly)!

That’s it for now! Thank you so much to everyone who's played this little game of mine. I appreciate all of the great feedback.