- BIRDCAGE Update 1.1.2 - 3 August 2026
Hey folks!Today BIRDCAGE reaches 1.1.2, a minor update which brings the game up to spec for Steam Deck Verified status.• Increased text size• Fixed a minor score attack bug• Other stability fixesAs ever, if you encounter unusual behavior in the game, please try verifying the integrity of the install files!Barry & Giannis
- BIRDCAGE Original Soundtrack Physical Release Announcement - 30 January 2026
Listen up, Pilots!We've teamed up with Black Screen Records to bring Barry Topping's BIRDCAGE Original Soundtrack to vinyl and MiniDisc!The hyper-electronic sounds of CAGE, beamed onto a disc you can hold in your hands, like a beautiful, precious egg.Pre-order now!ffm.to/birdcage🎵🥚Thanks, everyone!
- BIRDCAGE Update 1.1.0 - 29 January 2026
Hey everyone,It’s Barry and Giannis here and today BIRDCAGE version 1.1.0 launches, bringing with it; scoring changes, balance tweaks and bits and pieces of new content! While a lot has changed as you’ll see from the below patch notes, this is a refinement of what we set out do with BIRDCAGE, its mechanics and its systems. If you experience any new, or strange bugs, it’s always worth verifying your installation files, as this has fixed quite a few people’s issues in the past. Without further ado, let’s see what’s changed… Doth thou desire the SCORE?Our intention with BIRDCAGE is that scoring mechanics are complementary to one another and give the player a degree of freedom in finding out where scoring utility lies. While we wanted 1CC on every difficulty to be attainable, we felt the true peak was in a full chain; getting from the very start, to the very end, without losing your chain.…
- BIRDCAGE Update 1.0.8 patch notes + Holiday Scoring Event! - 12 December 2025
Hey everyone,It’s Barry and Giannis here with some holiday cheer, some bugfixes and some information about future plans for BIRDCAGE!HALCYON \First up, we’ve added a limited time holiday overlay to Score Attack! Featuring treat filled presents, new time-limited Score Attack Leaderboards, new window border artwork and a musically frost-tinged remix of our Score Attack music, HALCYON.Please enjoy responsibly and try not to overdo it on the coins.Secondly, as we approach the one-month anniversary of BIRDCAGE’s launch, we’d just like to again thank everyone that’s taken the time to play our game! The reception to BIRDCAGE has really exceeded our expectations and it’s been amazing hearing from so many players across the spectrum.Thank you so much if you’ve taken the time to leave us a nice review, or even just let us know you’ve enjoyed your time with the game.BIG NUMBERSWhile our focus over…
- Update 1.0.6 - 7 December 2025
Hey, folks!A quick hotfix has gone out, addressing a scoring-related bug.The game is now at version 1.0.6!Thank you for your feedback, your reviews and for playing BIRDCAGE!Best,
- 'November Reign' Bundle! - 2 December 2025
Hey, everyone!Thank you for playing BIRDCAGE!We've been so happy to see you all enjoying the game. A big thank you also for your bug reports, feedback and reviews -- these all help us immensely and are greatly appreciated.Today we'd like to let you know about the 'November Reign' bundle BIRDCAGE is part of, alongside Demonschool and Kingdoms of the Dump.(Each of these games is 10% off if you already own BIRDCAGE.)Demonschool is 'a new-style tactics RPG where motion equals action' and Kingdoms of the Dump is 'a SNES styled JRPG set in a fantasy world of garbage, created by two janitors.'Let us know if you grab the bundle!Thanks,
- BIRDCAGE Update #2 (ver1.0.5) Patch Notes - 28 November 2025
Hey, everyone!Update #2 is live now, bringing BIRDCAGE up to version 1.0.5.After installing this update, please make sure to use “Verify Integrity of Game Files” to ensure everything’s installed correctly.For our Steam Deck players, please remember: we recommend forcing compatibility to Proton 9.0-4.PATCH NOTESOptionsController Vibration Intensity Option added.Digital / Analog Movement type toggle added.General FixesStage 1Improved visibility of stage hazard elements.Stage 2HELMINTH now displays a “RESIST” battle message when shot with WIDE/FOCUS.Stage 4Performance optimization.EXALT-related crash fixed.Mother ROENTGEN move attack visual warning added.Stage 5Post-midboss performance optimizationMaze section speed now varies according to difficulty selected.Training Stage SelectTLB selectable on Training Stage Select. (The TLB will appear selectable as "Stage 7" after clearing Stage 6 on…
- BIRDCAGE Hotfix#1 (ver1.0.4) Patch Notes - 22 November 2025
Hello, everyone!Thank you for playing BIRDCAGE! We're collecting all your feedback and bug reports and are trying to address issues as possible. Below you'll find the patch notes for our first hotfix update.BIRDCAGE ver1.0.4 (Hotfix #1) Patch NotesRestricted Control Scheme Changes:Fixed bug where if SWORD and SHOT/FOCUS were simultaneously pressed to summon the SWORD, it would aim to the right.Fixed behavior where the SWORD would snap to diagonals when the HALCYON moves with analog controls.User InterfaceScreenshots: Should now be working as expected.Control Mapping: In the Control Mapping screen, HYPERBLADE has been renamed to HYPER to avoid confusion.Keyboard Controls: PAUSE/Answer Optional Calls is now bound to both the Escape and Spacebar keys. (Please select “Restore Defaults” for the change to take effect as saved controls will override it.)Online Leaderboards: Longer names will n…
- BIRDCAGE out now! - 18 November 2025
Hey, everyone!Our debut game, sword action shooting game BIRDCAGE is now out and available to download and play!Thank you for waiting. We truly hope you enjoy the game.We're looking forward to your reactions as you make your way through the full BIRDCAGE experience.Also available now as DLC are the following:BIRDCAGE Original SoundtrackBIRDCAGE Designs Works artbookFinally, if you're looking to grab the game and both pieces of extra content, you can get an additional 5% off with the BIRDCAGE Exceed Collection Bundle.Thank you again for your continued support and interest in our game.Now go, take control of the HALCYON and defeat the RADON Daughters, once and for all!Best,PB Team
- Mini-Devlog #6: Game Features and Options - 10 November 2025
Hey, everyone!Giannis and Barry here today to share a little more information about what you can expect from the full BIRDCAGE release.Let’s take a look:GAME MODESStory ModeStory Mode is the main attraction of BIRDCAGE. In Story mode you’ll be treated to the full BRANCH Era experience, including Cutscenes, in-game chatter, Optional and Boss CALLS. In this mode, you will also unlock stages as you complete them, allowing you to retry previous stages or continue the game from where you left off.Arcade ModeArcade Mode is the way to go for those seeking the arcade, no-frills, score-chasing experience. Arcade mode strips out all story content, so you’ll be able to focus on mastering your run through the stages.Score AttackScore Attack is a quick, score-chasing side mode, inspired in part by the Caravan shmup tradition. In this mode, it’s just you against the timer and the randomly-spawning wa…
- Mini-Devlog #5: Development History - 3 November 2025
Hey, everyone!Giannis here and with the November 18th release of BIRDCAGE fast-approaching, Barry and I would like to take a look back on the development history of our sword action shooting game.THE ORIGINThe concept of a shoot ‘em up called “BIRDCAGE” can be traced all the way back to 2017. At the time I had started prototyping a shooter as a way to learn the GameMaker engine and although this project faltered, a few core elements would carry over to the future iterations of BIRDCAGE:The player ship would have a sword, the player’s shot color would be blue, the game would be “vertizontal”, the title would be BIRDCAGE, the aesthetic would carry a 32-bit era influence.2017 BIRDCAGE prototype title screenBIRDCAGE prototype (2017)Around this same time our correspondence with Barry had started over DM’s on Twitter. It was obvious that we shared common influences and tastes, and finding som…
- Mini-Devlog #4: Story & World - 28 October 2025
Hey everyone!Giannis and Barry here today to talk about the story of BIRDCAGE, where the ideas behind it came from and how the game delivers our story to the player. Despite taking place over the course of only a day or so, BIRDCAGE marks a key point in a long history of a world headed for destruction.What will you uncover, in the DRYAD MEMORY? FLEDGLINGThe idea of a shoot ‘em up titled BIRDCAGE goes all the way back to 2017 (which we’ll cover in a future development history blog!). However, the seed that grew into the tree that is BIRDCAGE’s story was the mythological tale of Alcyone and Ceyx, two lovers who drew the wrath of the gods with their romantic hubris and were transformed into birds as punishment. This was soon mixed with the mythological “cosmic egg”, a motif that appears across numerous cultures around the world, and we had the main elements that would become the core of th…
- Mini-Devlog #3: Music & SFX - 17 October 2025
Hey Everyone!It’s Barry here and today we’re going to talk a bit about the music and sound effects of BIRDCAGE. When developing BIRDCAGE, we set out to tackle each design element equally. This led to some really cool stuff being inspired by our audio and vice versa, some of our mechanics and story elements, ended up being inspired by our audio!EGG MUSICThe 1990s change from sound chips to CD audio has always been the period of video game music that has influenced me the most. BIRDCAGE draws on this influence and weaves it together with more modern sounds and styles. I spent a lot of time listening to classic 90s video game music; to try to better understand what it is about those soundtracks, that evoke such a strong sense of time and place.The BIRDCAGE soundtrack is fast, energetic, electronic and often epic and impactful. I used a lot of genuine 90s sampler hardware throughout, to try…
- BIRDCAGE in Next Fest! - 14 October 2025
Hey, everyone!As you may have noticed, BIRDCAGE is taking part in the October '25 edition of the Steam Next Fest event!We're excited to find interesting new games to look forward to, and hope you enjoy the BIRDCAGE Demo!If you play and enjoy the demo, remember to add BIRDCAGE to your wishlist to be notified when the game launches on November 18th!Have a great Next Fest!-PB Team
- BIRDCAGE releases November 18th! - 29 September 2025
Hey, everyone!The WORLD-EGG has begun its descent!Our sword action shooting game now has a Steam release date:BIRDCAGE releasesTuesday, November 18th, 2025.Also, a new Playable Demo is available now! Take control of the experimental gunship HALCYON and hone your skills for the final battle against the RADON fleet, this November!Thank you for your patience! We’re excited to finally get this in your hands.We hope you enjoy the demo, and please: feel free to share with your friends!Stay tuned for more news soon!Best,-PB Team
- BIRDCAGE at Tokyo Game Show 2025! - 12 September 2025
Hey!We're excited to announce that BIRDCAGE is coming to Tokyo Game Show 2025! Our brand new, playable demo will be available for attendees to check out at the eastasiasoft booth!TGS 2025 runs September 25-28, 2025 at the Makuhari Messe convention center.Please look forward to more BIRDCAGE news soon.Thanks for reading!
- Mini-Devlog #2: Scoring Mechanics - 5 September 2025
Hey, everyone!Scoring is an integral part of any arcade-style game, and it plays an important part in the long-term enjoyment of BIRDCAGE as well. Today we'd like to share some high-level information about the Scoring systems in our game.ENEMY DESTRUCTIONAs you might expect, destroying enemies will add to your SCORE. Simple, classic, elegant. Timeless.CHAININGEnemies destroyed are tallied up in the CHAIN Counter, which must be maintained and increased by shooting and destroying enemies. The value of the current CHAIN acts as a multiplier to all awarded score points. Keep the pressure on! But beware -- taking damage will drop the CHAIN Counter back to zero!HYPER BULLET CANCELINGWhen in HYPER Mode, enemy bullets will be canceled and turned into Small Medals, which can be collected to increase your SCORE. Trigger HYPER Mode strategically to maximize your scoring!PB MEDALSThere are three PB…
- Mini-Devlog #1: Difficulty Modes - 17 March 2025
Hey, everyone! We'd like to start sharing more about the development of BIRDCAGE here, and thought we could start with what we've been spending time on recently: fine-tuning the game to be enjoyable for players of all skill levels. Here's an example of the differences between Easy and Hard mode, showcased by our dear friend -EXALT-, the mid-boss of Stage 3. Thank you for your sacrifice, -EXALT-. Our goal with Easy Mode is to help ease in players who might be unfamiliar with shoot-'em-ups but still want to see what BIRDCAGE has to offer, in terms of gameplay, story, and surprises. Accordingly, we want to accommodate the core shmup audience and their built-in, legacy skills, hoping to provide a more hectic and challenging playthrough with Hard Mode. We're trying to achieve all this by going in and hand-picking which patterns to adjust, along with other gameplay modifications, such as the…
- Happy Holidays! - 23 December 2024
Hello, everyone! We wanted to share a quick message with you as 2024 winds down. Work on BIRDCAGE has been progressing at a steady pace and we're pleased to say we've been meeting our internal milestones for the game's development. The game is now fully playable and we're in the final stretch of getting everything in place, tested and lined up for the future. We hope to have more news to share soon. Thank you for your patience and continued interest! Happy Holidays from POLYGON BIRD! We wish you the very best for 2025. -Giannis and Barry
- Bugfixes and Demo Availability Extension - 4 October 2023
Hello everyone, and thanks for checking out the BIRDCAGE -Halcyon Prototype Module- demo! We've just updated the game, fixing a few small bugs and tightening up the experience. The main updates include: Fixed a game crashing bug when destroying the enemies in the tutorial using the Sword. Improved loading at the beginning of stages. Corrected an issue with the boss destruction sequence. Please note: The demo for BIRDCAGE will remain available to play for another week, until October 11th 2023. Thank you again for your feedback, support, and for playing BIRDCAGE! Best,
