Northwind News

[p]Hello everyone,[/p][p]Apologies for the wait! [/p][h2]The first batch of fixes is here![/h2][p]There are many areas where we can improve the overall speed of the game. We’ll tackle them one by one, and this patch includes the first set of fixes.[/p][p]Speed and Settings[/p]

• [p]Animation speed options are now 1x, 2x, and 3x.[/p]
• [p]Resolution settings now have an “Apply” button.[/p]
• [p]Settings menu now includes Screen Shake controls.[/p]
• [p]Fixed: Some FX speeds were not being applied correctly.[/p]
• [p]Most UI screens now support pressing “ESC” to go back.[/p]
• [p]Added V-Sync setting.[/p]

[p]Bug Fixes[/p]

• [p]Fixed: Minions spawned from The Hive were missing their sprites.[/p]
• [p]Fixed: Spiral Edge card caused the game to freeze when transforming.[/p]
• [p]Fixed: Using Attune while only an XCard remained in hand caused a soft lock.[/p]
• [p]Update: Attune+ no longer counts XCard.[/p]
• [p]Fixed: The Once keyword in Recycle+ now works correctly.[/p]
• [p]Fixed: Card reward tooltips now properly wrap text when reaching the screen edge.[/p]
• [p]Fixed: Event bugs[/p]

[p]Balancing Issue[/p]

• [p]Our game designer needs a little more time to work on the balancing issues. We plan to nerf some cards and look into the difficulty levels. We’ll also explore player performance stats in more detail after Gamescom Asia and let you know about any upcoming changes. In addition, we’re planning an update to the roguelite progression system, so we’ll be reviewing that together as well.[/p]

[p]Localization Fixes![/p]

• [p]We’ve learned that many players were confused by the Overwhelm ability, this happened across all languages! So we’ve made some fixes: instead of “when Overwhelm,” the text now correctly uses the Overpower keyword.[/p]

[p]Thank you for all the bug reports and feedback![/p][p]Please keep them coming! We are serious about improving the game.
Thank you kindly for your patience and support![/p][p][/p][p]We be at Gamescom Asia on October 16th–20th! If you’re going, make sure to drop by our booth to grab a free giveaway![/p][p] – The Northwind Team, Barking Kitten Interactive[/p][p][/p][p][/p]

[p]Hello everyone![/p][p]Tokyo Game Show has just ended, and we landed back home a few days ago. It’s been an amazing week! Looking through your reviews, and discussing everything as a team, we wanted to share our next steps.[/p][p]It’s hard to believe it’s already been almost two weeks since Northwind launched in Early Access! From the bottom of our hearts, thank you so much for being among the first to support us. [/p][p][/p][h3]🎁 Supporter Pack[/h3][p]As a small thank you, we’ve prepared a Supporter Pack!
The Supporter Pack will be available at a later date—we’ll let you know as soon as it’s ready. For now, here’s a glimpse of the design![/p][p][/p]

• [p]This special skin that will be available to everyone who purchased the game in Early Access.[/p]
• [p]The supporter skins will be available for all mercenaries, that includes the 3rd Mercenary.[/p]

[p][/p][h3]🔧 Upcoming Fixes[/h3][p]Based on your feedback and survey responses, here are our current top priorities:[/p]

• [p]Game Speed & Flow – We heard your concerns that animations, card play, and transitions can feel a little slow and cluttered. We’ll focus on improving pacing and making the game feel smoother.[/p]
• [p]Localization Fixes – We’re aware of issues in Chinese, Japanese, and Thai. Thank you for reporting them! Any bug report and pin point in the language issue really helps, it allow us and our localization partners to fix things faster.[/p]
• [p]Balance & Bugs – Some cards are a bit too strong right now, and we’re reviewing balance carefully. Alongside that, we’ll continue fixing bugs and improving UX.[/p]
• [p]New Languages – We’re preparing to add German, Russian, and Polish to the Early Access version. If you’d like to help us with localization we’d love to hear from you![/p][p][/p]

[p]We’ll continue releasing regular patches to address your feedback and polish the game step by step.[/p][p]Thank you again for being here with us on this journey! We’ll keep working hard on improvements and are excited to see how Northwind will grow and take shape throughout the Early Access journey.[/p][p][/p][h3]Sales end in 3 days! If you haven’t yet, grab it now!
[dynamiclink][/dynamiclink][/h3][p]— The Northwind Team[/p]

[p]Hey everyone![/p][p][/p][h3]Northwind is officially available in Early Access![/h3][h3][dynamiclink][/dynamiclink][/h3][h3]Here’s our launch trailer:[/h3][previewyoutube][/previewyoutube][p][/p][h3]The 2025–2026 Roadmap is confirmed — and there’s more to come soon![/h3][p][/p][p]A huge thank you for supporting us throughout this journey. If you encounter any issues, please report them — we’ll fix them as soon as possible. Your feedback has been the driving force behind many improvements in the game, and it will continue to shape its development.[/p][p][/p][p]Join us on Discord to share your thoughts, or leave your feedback in the Steam forums! We’d also love for you to spread the word to your favorite streamers and YouTube creators. From the bottom of our hearts, thank you so much for supporting us over the years! 💕[/p][p]– The Northwind Team, Barking Kitten Interactive[/p]

[p]Hello everyone![/p][h2]
Only 3 days left until our EARLY ACCESS Release! 🎉[/h2][p]
We’re super excited and so thankful for all your support along the way.
Northwind’s Early Access launches on 22nd September at: 7:00 AM PT | 2:00 PM UTC | 9:00 PM ICT[/p][p] To celebrate, we’ve prepared a quick 1-minute recap video—our journey started back in 2020!
Some of you even joined our very first playtest in 2021, and we’re so grateful you’ve been a part of our development. ❤️[/p][previewyoutube][/previewyoutube][h2]Early Access is just the beginning![/h2][p]We’re currently working on the roadmap, and here are a few things we can confirm:[/p]

• [p]A 3rd Mercenary[/p]
• [p]Monster Gear Engineer in Northwind Town[/p]
• [p]Controller & Steam Deck support[/p]
• [p]More content: relics, gems, roguelite unlocks, hazard levels, etc.[/p]
• [p]Visual upgrades[/p]
• [p]QoL improvements[/p]
• [p]Additional languages[/p]

[p]The official roadmap will be announced after Early Access, but development is already underway!
Here’s a sneak peek at the Monster Gear Engineer in Northwind Town! We can’t wait for you to see how he’ll help you on each run.[/p][p][/p][h2]Northwind is featured at Game Devs of Color and showcased at Tokyo Game Show![/h2][p]We’re humbled to be launching alongside these two amazing events—check them out!
[/p][h2]GAME DEVS OF COLORTOKYO GAME SHOW 2025[/h2][p][/p][p]Screaming thank you a thousand times! 🙏💖
We truly hope you’ll look forward to this new milestone for Northwind, and join us on the journey to create the best version of the game ever.[/p][p]From the bottom of our hearts, thank you so much for supporting us over the years! 💕[/p][p]– The Northwind Team, Barking Kitten Interactive [/p]

[p]Hello everyone![/p][p]This is a very special announcement. After the beta test and a lot of careful consideration, we believe Northwind is ready for Early Access. We’re thrilled to let you know that Northwind will launch in Early Access on 22nd September 2025! ːsteamhappyː[/p][p]Here is our Release Date Trailer! [/p][previewyoutube][/previewyoutube][p]OMG! We'll be launching literally in just two weeks!!! As I’m writing this, we’re both nervous and excited at the same time. This is our debut title, and it’s been quite a journey. We first started developing Northwind back in 2019 as just ideas, then began prototyping in 2020. That’s 5 years ago! Our team has worked on games before as employees for other companies, but this is the first one that’s fully ours! Our vision of the game!
[/p][p]At the beginning, we had no idea what the game would become. But you, our players, shaped it with us. Some of you joined us during alpha, some came for the demo, some returned for the beta and many of you are discovering Northwind for the very first time. Whether you’ve been with us from the start or just found us today—thank you so much for playing. [/p][p][/p][p]Your feedback, your playtime, your support… all of it made Northwind what it is today. And even now, right up until launch day, we’re polishing the game as much as possible.[/p][p][/p][p]We’re truly humbled and excited to have our launch date revealed during the Hungry Ghost Festival![/p][p][/p][hr][/hr][h3]The BETA Results[/h3][p]We’d like to share some numbers from the beta test (no graphs this time, just a summary):[/p]

• [p]150+ players participated in the beta.[/p]
• [p]50% new players, 50% veterans.[/p]
• [p]1000+ runs were played.[/p]
• [p]Average playtime per person: around 7 hours across the week, with 2–4 hours played daily.[/p]
• [p]About 30% of players won the game (defeated the final boss).[/p]

[p]We honestly didn’t expect these numbers! Thank you! it fills our team with joy and drives us to give everything we have for this final push before launch.[/p][hr][/hr][h3]Fixes & Updates[/h3][p]Here’s what we learned and what’s changing:[/p]

• [p]Pyrotech unlocks: Only ~50% of players got to play Pyrotech. We wanted closer to 70%, so we’ve made her unlock condition easier. We also fixed several of her cards that were too difficult to use or not generating enough value.[/p]
• [p]Boss encounters: Fewer than 20% of players fought bosses beyond Wolf boss - Frostfangs. Some met the Warlord, but that was still too low. We’ve adjusted boss unlock conditions so players can encounter more bosses.[/p]
• [p]Hazard system: It didn’t feel impactful enough and came across as grindy. We'll make each Hazard more impactful to climb.[/p]
• [p]Card removal service: Prices will be more expensive.[/p]
• [p]Item pricing: Adjusted, since some items were clearly stronger than others.[/p]
• [p]Event UX: We found out that many players unintentionally skipped rewards. You’ll now be able to revisit the event page and make clearer choices than before.[/p]
• [p]Compendium: Now accessible at the top-right corner of the screen.[/p]
• [p]…and many more![/p]

[hr][/hr][h3]Final Words[/h3][p][dynamiclink][/dynamiclink]Northwind has gone through... honestly.. I’ve lost count, maybe 5 playtest now? xD
Each one taught us so much about how to make the game better, thanks to you. The game wouldn’t be nearly as fun or as refined without your feedback and playtime.[/p][p]Now, we believe we’re ready to take the next step into Early Access. The grind will still be there!! That’s what Early Access is for. We want to add so much more to the game, and we hope you’ll continue this journey with us, as we refine Northwind together.[/p][p]– The Northwind Team, Barking Kitten Interactive[/p]