Arcadium - Space Odyssey News

[p]I am excited to announce that Arcadium – Space Odyssey officially launches January 26.[/p][p][/p][p]If you like tight bullet-heaven combat, build-breaking synergies, and harvesting planets, mark you calendar.[/p][p]The game launches as a complete, polished experience from day one. You will have hundreds of build options driven by abilities from spaceships, skills, artifacts, relics, talents and items. The launch will also have the hardcore endless mode.[/p][p]All progress from the demo will carry over to the full release.[/p][h3]
About updates[/h3][p]This is a full release, but development does not stop. [/p][p]Plenty of updates are already planned, including a post-launch update that will further expand the game. [/p][p]I want to keep improving Arcadium with the help of an even bigger community, so feedback is always welcome.[/p][p][/p][h3]Help a solo dev[/h3][p]If you want to support the project:[/p]

• [p]Wishlist and share the game[/p]
• [p]Tell a friend[/p]
• [p]Join the Discord to give feedback and shape future updates[/p]

[p]Discord: https://discord.com/invite/5JwM7DcWPv[/p][p]
The launch price will be under $5 (discounted).
[/p][p]See you in space.[/p]

[h3]New Content[/h3][p]Added a new Damage branch to the talent tree, focused on raw offense and aggressive scaling.[/p]

• [p]Power Surge (new)[/p]
• [p]Anomaly Spike (new)[/p]
• [p]Critical Mass (new)[/p]
• [p]Rift Drones (new)[/p]
• [p]Wrecking Balls (new)[/p]
• [p]BOOManiac has been moved here from the Defense branch.[/p]

[p][/p][p]The game is now fully available in Polish.[/p][p]Waves can now spawn Golden Aliens, which drop gold when defeated.[/p][p]The Breaking Ball item has been completely reworked and is now Wrecking Ring.[/p][p][/p][h3]Improvements[/h3][p]The Defense branch has been completely overhauled with a clearer and stronger identity.[/p]

• [p]Added the new starting talent Reinforced Hull.[/p]

[p]Many talents have been rebalanced across the board.[/p][p]Abilities that trigger over time now also trigger on activation, making them more responsive and consistent.[/p][p]Allies have been reworked to survive longer and not die instantly in later waves.[/p][p]The difficulty of most missions has been increased to better match player progression.[/p][p]Artifacts now clearly indicate which mission is required to unlock them.[/p][p]A new stage-specific event no longer shadows all other events. Merchants will no longer mysteriously "disappear".[/p][p][/p][h3]Fixes[/h3][p]Fixed an issue where an incorrect item description could appear when obtaining new items.[/p][p]Fixed an issue where HP bars appeared empty even when at full HP.[/p][p]Various additional fixes and small improvements for stability and consistency.[/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]While release is getting close, feedback is still extremely valuable. Please keep sharing your thoughts and reports, as they directly help shape the final version of the game.[/p][p]The official release date announcement is coming soon.[/p]

[p]Arcadium joins Bullet Heaven Fest 3.0 and Games In Italy with its largest update yet.
Demo players gain access to a special festival-only 6th stage, while the full version introduces a major new metaprogression system: Cosmic Relics. Cosmic Relics are not available in the demo, but this update marks their arrival in the full game, soon releasing in January.[/p][h3]New Features & Content[/h3]

• [p]Cosmic Relics Feature: Planets can now drop Cosmic Ore, a rare currency used by Rift Merchants to obtain Cosmic Relics; a powerful meta-progression items that can completely reshape Universe generation, planet types, and run-wide rules. This is the biggest system added so far.[/p][p][/p]
• [p]New Stage: Cosmic Ore & Rift Merchants: A brand-new stage where planets begin dropping Cosmic Ore, and Rift Merchants may appear across the galaxy. These mysterious sellers offer access to the Cosmic Relics.[/p]
• [p]Special 6th Stage for Bullet Heaven Fest: Demo players can now reach a unique 6th stage crafted specifically for the event.[/p]
• [p]30+ new planets added to further broaden the variety of planets.[/p]
• [p]Complete overhaul of the title screen, now visually richer and more dynamic (and you can choose your FAVOURITE planet in the title screen!!)[/p][p][/p]
• [p]The game is now available in German.[/p]

[h3]Improvements[/h3]

• [p]Settings have been unified into a single, cleaner menu.[/p]
• [p]Added a button to cancel an item swap when both item slots are full.[/p]
• [p]Added an option to slightly zoom out the camera on PC.[/p]
• [p]You can now choose a planet from the planetary log to display on the title screen.[/p]
• [p]Death animation is now faster and more powerful.[/p]
• [p]Stages are now generally harder and better paced.[/p]
• [p]Improved cosmic essence drop rate.[/p]
• [p]Only ships with at least 1 cosmic essence now display the “(X/100)” line.[/p]
• [p]Text readability improved through subtle outlining.[/p]
• [p]Better looking cursor.[/p]
• [p]Planets better communicate when they’re fully harvested.[/p]
• [p]Artifacts can now be equipped with a double-click.[/p]
• [p]Added a quick confirmation when pressing “Quit”.[/p]
• [p]Removed stages that weren’t contributing meaningful novelty.[/p]
• [p]Added a Reset to Default button in Settings.[/p]
• [p]Fixed cases where a few planets couldn't be found.[/p]
• [p]Better overall polish, clarity, and UX across the whole game.[/p]
• [p]Neptune bullets are now faster, as originally intended.[/p]

[h3]Bug Fixes[/h3]

• [p]Fixed an issue where Nova Sentries duplicated when resuming a match.[/p]
• [p]Fixed a bug where a match could not be continued.[/p]
• [p]Fixed an issue where cosmic essences could be farmed by repeatedly resuming matches.[/p]
• [p]Various fixes & stability improvements.[/p]

[p]Don't forget to add Arcadium to your wishlist, if you didn't:

[dynamiclink][/dynamiclink][/p]

[h2]January Release Date![/h2][p]Arcadium – Space Odyssey will officially release in January 2026, just a few months away!
Check out the Release Date Trailer to see what's coming:[/p][previewyoutube][/previewyoutube][hr][/hr][h3]What’s New[/h3][p]This update brings major improvements, community-driven polish, and expanded platform and language support.[/p][hr][/hr][h3]Simplified Chinese Localization[/h3][p]Thanks to the Arcadium Discord community, the game is now fully available in Simplified Chinese![/p][hr][/hr][h3]Mac Support[/h3][p]Both the demo and the full game (at launch) now fully support macOS.[/p][hr][/hr][h3]Big Gameplay & UI Update[/h3][p]These changes were heavily influenced by the great feedback from the r/SteamDeck community. Thank you for helping refine the game![/p]

• [p]Improved joystick sensitivity in menus; selections should now feel smoother and more controlled. [/p]
• [p]Added an animated white outline to better highlight the current selection.[/p]
• [p]Fixed an issue in the Loadout screen where closing a skill description always moved the selection back to Play.[/p]
• [p]Slightly increased overall difficulty: the first depth remains introductory, while later depths offer more challenge.[/p]
• [p]Added icons to event arrows (e.g., shops, broken allies, etc.) for clarity.[/p]
• [p]Simplified several ability descriptions.[/p]
• [p]Fixed localization issues in planet resource labels.[/p]
• [p]Various minor fixes and improvements.[/p]

[hr][/hr][h3]Wishlist & Join the Community[/h3][p]If you’re excited for the January release, wishlist Arcadium – Space Odyssey to get notified the moment it launches!
[dynamiclink][/dynamiclink][/p][p]Join the Arcadium Discord to chat, give feedback, and see behind-the-scenes updates:[/p][p]https://discord.com/invite/5JwM7DcWPv[/p][h2][/h2]

[p]Thanks to everyone from r/SteamDeck who tested Arcadium - Space Odyssey!
The community confirmed that the game runs smoothly on the Deck, keeping stable FPS and excellent battery life. Controls work well in both handheld and docked mode, and I’ll keep fine-tuning sensitivity before launch.[/p][p]I’m hoping to get Arcadium: Space Odyssey officially Steam Deck Verified before release.[/p][p]Thanks again for all the feedback and support, it’s been incredibly helpful![/p]