- Inventory & Character Sheet Update - 24 June 2026
Inventory & Character Sheet UpdateThe character window has been a little bit of an eye sore for the longest time. You use it quite a lot during your run, since it has all the info of your hunters, vehicle and equipment. And as a developer you get used to the way it looks and it is easy to overlook that it might be confusing, especially to new players. Progress has been slow but over the last weeks I've been cleaning up the user interface so you can spend less time squinting and more time hunting. The inventory and character sheet got a solid visual upgrade.Here's what's new:Improved UI for the inventory and character sheetRe-did the stat point UIMade things much easier to read overallStreamlined character stat information (less clutter, better grouping)I also added a ton of new icons + smaller tweaksThese changes should make managing gear and checking your hunter’s progress feel a lot n…
- Keyboard Shortcuts And Some Other Detours - 30 January 2026
Keyboard Shortcuts And Some Other DetoursA lot has happened and Wayward Shadows is coming together nicely. Sure, it still feels like a release date is decades away and everything moves at glacial speed, but progress is happening.I actually wanted to post some more cool new screenshots from the combat rework and the new weapons, but truth is, there isn’t much to show and I have been busy with other features. While working on the combat part, I realized how much the game is still lacking in terms of keyboard shortcuts and user interface functionality. This led to a little detour and a couple of new features in the settings menu.So instead of getting screenshots of new monsters and maps you are getting a video of the settings menu. Enjoy!Boring But ImportantThe settings are in a really nice place, and the game now allows you to remap pretty much any action to any keyboard, mouse or control…
- Monster Party - 7 November 2025
Just because Halloween is over doesn’t mean we’re done talking monsters!Over the last two weeks the entire supernatural roster of Wayward Shadows has been under the knife. We’ve redrawn, retuned, and rebalanced every ugly creature that might try to kill your hunters. The forces of evil have never looked (or fought) better.Monster balancing in Wayward Shadows comes down to three simple pillars:VisualsCombatStory & CluesVisualsGetting the visuals right is exactly what you’d expect: make the monster look good and, above all, scary.In combat we use 2.5D rendering—hand-drawn 2D sprites that move across a 3D battle map. Is that as cool as having fully animated 3D monsters? Not quite, but as an indie team we can tell you: it's way more affordable ːsteamhappyːTake a look at these three supernatural creatures you might run into at your local graveyard.Combat BalancingEach monster has a ton of va…
- Modding & Tools - 15 August 2025
Modding & ToolsSo here is the good news: The editor and modding tools for the Wayward Shadows are coming along great and we have made great progress in the last couple of weeks.The bad news: Surprising no one, we have realized that providing a fully fleshed out modding kit is an enormous amount of work and that it probably won’t be available in the release version right away.That being said, the goal is to at least provide basic ability to mod the game and then expand upon that post-release.So, what is the goal for the ‘moddability’ of Wayward Shadows then? In a perfect world I’d like players to be able to mod:HuntersVehiclesMonstersEquipmentBattle MapsEventsNaturally some things are more complicated and require more work than others. While changing a hunter’s or monster’s health, name or textures is relatively easy, things like creating new maps or events is quite tricky. I think we’ll…
- Tooltips Everywhere! - 18 April 2025
Tooltips I just got done with a huge tooltip pass and there are a ton of UI elements that now have tooltips. Most screens and windows have gotten a lot of attention and do a better job at providing important information now. When I watched people playtest the game, I noticed certain areas where I saw them looking for more information but couldn’t find it. How is your hunter’s health value actually calculated? Does equipping this weapon increase any of my stats? Why is my charisma at 0? Etc. Now a lot of those places have a nice breakdown of important information displayed via a tooltip. Still more work needs to be done but it is a good start. Especially the character window and the journal now have a bunch of new tooltips. Tooltip Setting Along with the new tooltip content I also added settings to customize tooltip length, just in case players prefer super short or long pop-up times. An…
- Motels, Pawn Shops, and a Little Side Hustle - 5 March 2025
Making Towns in Wayward Shadows Feel Alive Over the past couple of weeks, I’ve been pouring a ton of work into the towns of Wayward Shadows, and I’m excited to share the latest updates. Motels and pawn shops are now (almost) fully functional, and there are brand-new ways to scrape together some cash on the side. Here’s a rundown of what’s new and improved. Pawn Shops: Gear Up for the Hunt If you want any hope of taking down a werewolf or vampire, you’ll need the right tools for the job. Every town in Wayward Shadows now has a pawn shop stocked with a rotating selection of weapons and armor. The big news? It actually works now. I’ve overhauled the inventory generation algorithm, and it’s a lot better now. What you’ll find on offer in the shops now depends on factors like the difficulty of your current case, how many days you’ve survived in your run, and a few other things. Plus, I’ve add…
- Better World Map, Bigger Misadventures - 31 December 2024
The world map in Wayward Shadows just got a whole lot better. (Yes, I know it’s technically just a map of the United States, but we’ve been calling it the world map forever. Americentrism much?) This isn’t just a new coat of paint—though it looks much better than before — we’ve also added tons of fresh gameplay features to make exploring the map more fun and strategic. Here’s what’s new: New background art for better readability Improved rendering on high resolution screens New travel line: See exactly where you’re headed and how you’re getting there. Smoother vehicle pathfinding: Goodbye, awkward straight lines. Reworked fuel mechanics: Manage your gas—or end up stranded. Lots of new location and event types to discover on the map All new world map art New travel line visualization The biggest addition besides the background art is an all new travel line that shows you where you are go…
- Combat UI Updates - 31 August 2024
The combat UI is getting better Hello hunters! Combat in Wayward Shadows is a huge part of the gameplay. No case is truly solved until the monster is put down for good. I want the combat to feel as smooth as possible and having a great and easy to use UI is a big part of that. Over the past couple of weeks lots of improvements have been made to the combat UI. Here are some of them: Improved icons for all action buttons All action buttons now have mappable shortcuts New bag mechanic to allow swapping of items during battle New highlighting states for buttons and UI sprites When a hunter in battle is selected the player is presented with all stats, action and other relevant information. This whole part of the UI has gotten a big overhaul and is much less confusing to understand now. In addition to a lot of new icons, there are new tooltips, better highlighting and functioning shortcuts (f…
- New Gameplay Trailer - 4 March 2024
New Gameplay Trailer We finally have a new gameplay trailer ready. Whoo-hoo! So far we only had the short story/intro video on the page. And while that was a pretty cool little video, it didn't really provide much information about the gameplay. The game is still a bit away from being called a proper Alpha version but at least now we have enough gameplay footage for a proper gameplay trailer. You can spot a lot of new case solving and deduction gameplay in the trailer, as well as some new battle environments. 2024 is going to be a great year and there will be a lot more cool features coming! Thank you for your continued interest in Wayward Shadows! We really hope you like our new gameplay trailer!
- Feature Spring Cleaning - 11 February 2024
Feature Spring Cleaning It has been a while since the last update, but a lot of things happened! Feature and code cleanup, rework of some of the older game systems and other un-sexy stuff. You won’t really notice much difference just looking at the game, but things are much more stable and fluid now. There are some things though which are quite visible, such as an overhaul of the case stories: Case Stories We really wanted the cases to feel more like the episode of a TV show having a better arc. This is why most cases are now divided into three chapters, each with individual challenges. While the first chapter of a case might focus on identifying the victim and the cause of death, the second chapter might focus on how to find and kill a specific monster, and so on. There have also been a lot of improvements to the case solving UI itself: There are now new highlights on the drag and drop…
- Battle, Buffs, and Throwables - 1 December 2023
Battle, Buffs, and Throwables I am still quite a bit away from putting together a decent trailer showcasing the gameplay in one nice clip but there has been a ton of progress over the last weeks. The turn-based battle mode in particular got a lot of upgrades. I got the buffs/debuffs working and attacks can now buff/debuff units. A lot of cool stuff works now: Hunters and monsters can now get buffs/debuffs in battle that last X turns Hunters can get buffs buffs that last in battel and on the world map All equipment now supports on-use buffs debuffs World map actions, hustles skill-checks can now give buffs/debuffs Critical fail/success rolls from skill-check now give special new buffs. And you can now also throw grenades and other things! Currently I only got the flashbang and a normal grenade working but the code base is done and now it is just a matter of creating more assets and effec…
- Small Town Living - 11 September 2023
Small Town Living The mysterious cases you will solve in Wayward Shadows take place in small towns all over the US. Each town is different, with a unique layout, buildings and environments. Each town you enter will have lots of buildings and locations to discover. As the case develops and you find new clues, new locations will become available to explore. Obviously traveling between locations in the town is important, so a lot depends on what vehicle you have chosen for your run. Traveling in Wayward Shadows takes time, and the clock never stops, which means you have to think and plan ahead where and how often to travel. In addition to locations which are relevant to your current case, each town always has a couple of basic buildings, such as a motel for you to rest and heal or a pawn shop to buy and sell equipment. And you can always hover over a building to get more information before…
- Can You Solve The Case? - 22 May 2023
More than fighting Monster hunting is more than just fighting and killing dangerous monsters. Gathering clues and interviewing witnesses is a big part of solving cases. Knowing what monster you face in battle and what strengths and weaknesses it has is going to be vital for your survival. While the turn-based battles in Wayward shadows are a lot of fun, the cases leading up to them are quite important too. You don't want to be unprepared and bring a wooden stake to a Werewolf fight! Your most important tool for solving a case is your journal. This is where you keep all the clues and information for the monsters that you found. Check out the work-in-progress screenshot of the hunter journal. Procedurally generated mysteries Each case you solve in Wayward Shadows is different. Not only will you be hunting different monsters, but the way to identifying and finding a dangerous monster requi…
- Items and Equipment - 13 March 2023
Items and Equipment A big part of the fun of going on a new journey in Wayward Shadows is to find and manage equipment, weapons and armor to help you in your fight against the forces of evil. New items can be found in certain locations while you are working a case or, if you are lucky, you can buy useful things at the local pawn shop, Limited Capacity You can’t bring everything, and space is always limited. Each hunter can carry two weapons, one piece of armor and a backpack. You have more space to store things in the trunk of your vehicle but only the equipment in your hunter’s inventory will be available during battle. Better make sure to pack your silver items before you face a Werewolf! And last month I finally finished work on the new backpack system which now allows you to use and manage bag items to gain more space. A simple looking feature but it was pretty tricky to implement.…
- How to build a hunting team - 17 August 2022
How to build a hunting team It’s dangerous to go alone! Better bring a partner when you go monster hunting. At the start of every new run in Wayward Shadows you’ll first have to build your hunting team. That means picking two hunters and a vehicle to travel with. Once you have made your choice and started your run, this is it. You can not change your hunters or vehicle once you are on the road. Pick Your Hunters There are 9 different hunters to choose from, all with different stats, skills and starting equipment. This allows for a lot of different team combinations to support your favorite playstyle. Not all hunters will be available right from the start though and you have to unlock them by completing various challenging achievements. Each hunter starts with one unique skill and one weapon. You can of course find better equipment and even learn new skills later, but this is what you st…
- Welcome to Wayward Shadows - 7 August 2022
Welcome to the very first update for Wayward Shadows! Thank you for being here for this this great moment! Now that the Steam page is finally live, it is time to share a bit more information about the game and what is coming next. I am still hard at work on bringing the game into a playable state but things are looking great. Check back over the next couple of months to see how things are going. I’ll be posting screenshots, videos and other updates here as the game is progressing. There are still a lot of things missing on this page. For example a great trailer showing some gameplay! The turn based combat in Wayward Shadows is a lot of fun but I want to polish things a bit more before I put out a full gameplay trailer. Hopefully in the next weeks I'll have a trailer ready to show you. Stay tuned!
