- Patch v1.4.1 - 31 October 2024
This was supposed to be a bigger update, but it became big in an other sense, I suppose. Initially, another Hangout was planned to be implemented, but while working towards that, we have found some bugs and issues that really needed squishing. In fact, some of these issues have been plaguing us for a long time now, but no more. Implemented new graphics options: You can now turn the scanlines of the CRT Filter on and off, as well as Chromatic Aberration. CRT Filter Adjustments: Adjusted the filter settings to be easier on the eyes. Fixing multiple potentially game breaking bugs Fixing a multitude of smaller issues Next patch, we will really be expanding the roster of potential Hangout sessions with our resident bookworm. Stay tuned for that! Thank you for supporting the development of Code.Breaker()
- Patch v1.3 - 26 July 2024
This is a relatively small patch, but it packs some very neat features! Improved CRT Shader: New shader that adds a nice CRT effect, complete with chromatic aberration and a mild, authentic flicker. Difficulty Settings: You can now select between multiple difficulty settings! Difficulty is set at the beginning of the game. Loading older save states may cause issues, sorry for the inconvenience. Easy Mode: The puzzles too hard for you? Play easy mode had have an easier time getting through the game. Hard Mode: Not difficult enough? Try hard mode and put your hacking skills to the test. Story Mode: Just here for the story? Try story mode. Be forewarned, though, some branches of the story are locked behind the hacking mini game and can't be reached in Story Mode. Achievement Menu: In preparation for our release on other platforms, we added an in game menu where you can look at all the achi…
- Code.Breaker() Release! - 23 May 2024
It's the big day! It has been a long road, but we finally made it! Our first game, Code.Breaker(), finally has its v1.0 release on Steam! This is what you can expect from the full game release: All three acts of the story Hanging out with Jay and/or Kate Chatting with four of your colleagues at Akiyama CyberTech 23 Achievements to unlock A multitude of different endings to discover Glossary feature that unlocks lore to read up on as you play As previously mentioned, we have more content updates planned in the coming months, which will come in the form of free updates, of course. Thank you all for following the development of Code.Breaker()
- We have a release date! - 19 May 2024
It’s finally happening! Code.Breaker() will have its full release on Steam, May 23rd this year! We are so happy to announce this finally. With the release, we will go out of Early Access as well. Everyone who has bought the game during Early Access will be able to play the final game, of course. The game will update on the 23rd, adding the third and final act, as well as the ability to hang out with Jay. Aside from that, you might have noticed but, the game also has achievements now! Currently, you can't unlock them, of course. However, in the release version, you will be finally able to unlock all of them. This has a long requested and teased feature, and we are really happy to finally provide it. Is this the end then? Not quite! As previously mentioned in another update post, we aren't quite done. There are still some features we wished to implement, but couldn't for one reason or ano…
- End of a road, Beginning of another - 7 December 2023
Hello everyone, Long time no see, huh? ...well... Sorry about that. We are game devs first and foremost. Community management and writing blog posts like this isn't really any of our strong suit. This might be a bit of a long one, though, so I'll maybe get the things most people want to know right out of the way. So. What is happening with Code.Breaker()? Well, good news. Yes, we are still alive. Yes, we are still hard at work. Like I explained in a previous post, we can only really work on the game part-time, so it's taking us longer to finish it. But. Act 3 is around the corner, in with that the conclusion of Code.Breaker()'s main story. Yes, finally, you can play the game through to the end! To give you a peak behind the curtains, there are just two major scenes that still need to be implemented in the game, as well as the actual ending (or endings, rather) and another hangout sessio…
- Update - Patch 0.4 - 21 April 2023
Hello everyone! While we wanted to bring Act 3 with the "next update", we are still hard at work on it. Instead, we have a nice little in-between Update for you with a few neat additions. Added Extra Menu to title screen Added Tutorial to Extra Menu Added Glossary to Extra Menu Added Minigame. You can practice your codebreaking skills from the title screen. Look how high you can get your high score! The minigame is accessible through the Extra Menu. Added life to the subway Some Bugfixes Most of the sprites required for Act 3 are now done, so we moved on to writing the dialogue for it. We don't have a specific date when it'll be ready (since we are working on the game part time and all) but we'll make sure to keep you posted. Thank you for supporting the development of Code.Breaker().
- Happy Snapshot Saturday! - 1 April 2023
Hello everyone! I was feeling particularly inspired and hammered out a whole new Hangout scene for our favorite timid cat boy, Xiao Hei Xu! This hangout isn'r ready to be fully implemented into the game proper just yet, so we decided to make a little preview build for everyone to enjoy. It features new dialogue, a bunch of new sprites, and some interesting revelations about Akiyama CyberTechs loveable System Admin. Sadly, It's not as easy to share these sorts of Snapshot builds on steam (at least we couldn't figure it out in time), so we had to upload the build externally. You can find it on the game's brand new itch.io page, right here. The Preview Build is available for free, of course, so go check it out!
- Happy New Year! - 1 January 2023
We hope you had a good start into 2023. Let's hope '23 is gonna be a good year. '22 was a busy year for us at HokaBento Studio and a lot has happened since Code.Breaker() first started into Early Access last December, both good and arguably bad. But hey, we are still here and still working on the game. Our top resolution for this year is, of course, finishing the game. We were planning on finishing by december, but as the live of indies who are just starting out usually go, things are rarely that simple. Something is bound to come in the way. But, while we are still trying to find our new groove on development now that we are basically only able to work on it part-time, we are on the final stretch now, so here's hoping. We'll keep you posted. Of course, we already have plans, hopes and dreams for future titles, and we hope we can start working on a new game this year, but Code.Breaker()…
- Merry Christmas everyone! - 25 December 2022
Hello everyone! It's us, your HokaBento Studio Team, coming to you with Christmas cheers! We've been hard at work on Code.Breaker(), despite us only being able to work on it part-time now. Of course, everyone has to take time off once in a while, especially at time of year. So, it's time for some good ol' R&R for us. Don't worry though, we'll be back to work in a couple of days. Currently, we are grinding away at the new sprites for Act 3. We aren't really able to share WIP, because most of it would be spoilers, but we can share this nice little artwork Ellie whipped up for you all. Merry Christmas, everyone. I hope you find some rest this time of year. Thank you for following the development of Code.Breaker().
- Update - Patch 0.3.9 - 4 November 2022
Hello everyone! It has been a while since our last update. A lot has happened since June, but I don't want to bore you with the details. We showcased Code.Breaker() at multiple Anime Conventions, and were hard at work, both on Code.Breaker() and on keeping our company above water. Being an Indie-Dev is hard sometimes. Anyways, the patch. While we couldn't work on the game full-time for the past few months with everything going on, we did manage to bring you some neat features today. New and improved UI Glossary Feature, explaining Lore and In-Universe Terms. New words added to the glossary are underlined. By clicking on them, the glossary will open up and show you the entry for this term. Encounters! You can now have run-ins with several characters in the coffee kitchen. There is even a secret encounter you can find. Improved Hacking Tutorial Added Message Sounds Each Character has thei…
- UPDATE - ACT 2: Infiltration - 10 June 2022
We are happy to share what we were working on for the past few months. A lot has happened since then, both with the game and at our studio, but through trials and tribulations we finally got to this point. Act 2 has a lot more content than Act 1 offered. In the current build, you'll be able to walk around the office, have a run-in with Xiao, go out for a drink with Kate, among other things. Of course, you'll also be able to play all the way through to the end of Act 2. There are more branching paths this time around, so we hope you'll go back and check everything out. We are already planning future patch content, which is set to arrive before Act 3 is released. Among the planned updates are: Some UI enhancements and Quality of Life features Encounters with more people (Amber, Martina, and maybe more) Steam Achievements Hangout Sessions with Jay Adaptive Difficulty Chapter Select And mor…
- Patch v0.3.2 - 9 March 2022
Hello everyone! Another small update, implementing more of the feedback we have gotten so far. Changelog: - Trimmed down tutorial - Implemented Sandbox Mode, allowing you to practice hacking without pressure - Overhauled and expanded Kate's Dialogue - Fixed some grammatical and spelling errors - Some minor fixes We'll be back in the near future with Act 2 and more content. Thank you for supporting the development of Code.Breaker().
- Patch v0.3 - 27 February 2022
Hello everyone! We've been busy the last couple of weeks, both on the game and outside of it. We were able to show the game off at a convention in Berlin, and gathered a lot of valuable player feedback. Our current focus is on fixing as many issues as we can and providing the best experience we can, so this patch includes more of that nature. Change Log: - Fixed an issue where text would be displayed blurry, implemented pixel perfect fonts - Fixed some grammatical and spelling errors - Improved the input for player gender - Improved the hacking UI Visuals - The hacking minigame is now playable with the keyboard We are working on more fixes already, implementing some of the feedback we got so far. Act 2 is already in the works, so stay tuned for that. Thank you for supporting the development of Code.Breaker().
- Patch v0.2 - 17 January 2022
Hello everyone! After taking a break over the holidays, we are back with our first update. Small Update this time, but don't worry. We are hard at work on the next patch already. Change Log: - Game now defaults to correct fullscreen resolution - Added facial expressions for Kate, Jay and Xiao - Fixed some grammatical and spelling errors - Added a prompt to enter the main characters last name - Some minor fixes - You can now quit your job We’ll be back with more content in the near future so stay tuned. Thank you for supporting the development of Code.Breaker().
- Early Access Launch! - 20 December 2021
We are proud to announce that Code.Breaker() has finally hit early access with the first act of the story! This is a big moment for all of us at HokaBento Studio, as this is our first official game release. We are happy to finally be able to share the fruits of our labor with you! The current build contains the first act of Code.Breaker(). We are planning to release the game Act by Act over the course of the coming months. Buying an early access copy will also include all future updates and acts. The next act is due to be released in the coming month. In the meantime, we'd like to update the game with new features and fixes. There are some issues that turned up during the test period that we couldn't patch out in time for the early access launch. We want to address these as soon as possible. There are also some features we felt would improve the overall experience significantly. The fol…
