After a year and a half of development in Early Access, I’m proud to announce that my VR horror/RPG Left-Hand Path is coming to its 1.0 release out of Early Access on November 10 2017 - with a whole pile of improvements and new features!

(If you’re not aware of Left-Hand Path: it’s a Dark Souls inspired VR horror/rpg where you learn spells and cast them by drawing runes in the air. It’s also one of the rare full-length games in VR, totaling around 15 hours of gameplay.)

I’ve worked for six months after completing the story and content of Left-Hand Path primarily on polish - that’s what this release focuses on. But it’s also got a bunch of new features in it, including the long-awaited Low Terror mode!

Changes from the Early Access version include:

• Massive graphical improvements including a total overhaul of all spell effects, improved lighting that keeps the atmosphere but improves visibility, a new Grimoire, and more.
• Low-Terror Mode - allows people who love RPGs but don’t love being scared out of their wits to play Left-Hand Path with seriously reduced terror, including much more visibility and adjusted monster placement and effects.
• Story Mode - want to experience the story and the world of Left-Hand Path without banging your head against Dark Souls-like difficulty? This mode’s for you.
• Tutorial - lots of people said that the Early Access version was a little hard to get into. So a new introduction area now teaches you the basics of spellcasting and ritual, as well as filling out a bit more of Left-Hand Path’s story.
• Locomotion overhaul - I’ve gone through every area in Left-Hand Path and improved locomotion, as well as overhauling the locomotion system in general. If you prefer locomotion to teleporting you’ll find the 1.0.0 release a much smoother experience!
• Sound effect improvements - including foley effects for almost every object in the game.
• Return To Previous Zones - when you’ve defeated the greatest challenges in each area in the Well, you can now return there to find spells and story you missed.
• Destructive Power - your spells aren’t just dangerous to creatures any more! You can destroy most things in the game with arcane power, and sometimes that’ll be useful in your journey.
• New Ritual Of Husks - Find objects of meaning throughout the world of Left-Hand Path, and leech their treasured - or horrifying - memories dry for power.
• Many, many, many bug fixes - I wouldn’t be surprised if the bug fix list is in the thousands of bugs. It’s certainly well into the hundreds. From difficult-to-navigate areas to weird spell interactions, I’ve been on a fixing frenzy. (Big thanks to the many Redditors who contributed to this, as well as my crack beta-testing team).

The release version of Left-Hand Path will be available at 11am on the 10th of November - British time, in case you’re wondering.

See you there!