HELLBREAK News

[p][/p][p][/p][p]First things first, HELLBREAK is taking part in the Tiny Roguelikes Event on Steam, and during the event the game is available with a 30% discount! If you’ve been waiting to jump in or bring a friend into the arena, this is a great time!

[dynamiclink][/dynamiclink]

Before we dive in, a quick heads-up: all images shared in this post show work-in-progress content. Visuals, balance, and presentation may change as development continues toward full launch.

[/p][h2]🚧 Early Access Status & Timeline[/h2][p][/p][p]Development on HELLBREAK is continuing at full pace. Early Access has allowed us to iterate quickly, test ideas in real gameplay scenarios, and react directly to your feedback and that process is still ongoing.

Our current plan is to leave Early Access in early Q2 2026. This timeline gives us the room we need to expand the game in meaningful ways while also focusing heavily on polish, balance, performance, and stability. As always, plans can evolve, but this is the direction we’re actively building toward.

[/p][h2]⚔️ New Weapons, Spells & Progression Additions[/h2][p][/p][p]For full launch, we’re continuing to expand HELLBREAK in familiar directions, adding new weapons, spells, upgrades, and progression content that fit naturally into the current structure of the game.

These additions are being unlocked through new Demon Lords, each offering their own missions and progression paths. The goal here is to give player more content and variety, more build options, and more reasons to experiment as they progress.

[/p][carousel][/carousel][p]
[/p][h2]🏰 New Arena & Enemy Content[/h2][p][/p][p]We’re also working on a new arena for full launch. This one leans into a darker atmosphere and heavier visual tone, aiming to feel more oppressive and ominous without changing how the game fundamentally plays.

[/p][carousel][/carousel][p][/p][p]On top of that, we’re working on a new enemy type and a new boss, designed to challenge experienced players and interact more deeply with the game’s curse and movement systems.


[/p][h2]♾️ Eternal Mode – Endless Survival[/h2][p][/p][p]One of the larger additions planned for full launch is Eternal Mode. In this mode, the fight never ends enemies continue to escalate until the player is finally overwhelmed.

Eternal Mode will feature its own dedicated leaderboard, separate from standard runs, allowing players to compete specifically on endurance and long-term build efficiency. It’s designed as an optional challenge for players who want to push their limits rather than a replacement for existing modes.

[/p][h2]🩸 Expanding the Curse System[/h2][p][/p][p]We’re also experimenting with ways to deepen the curse system. One of the features currently in development is the ability to combine curses to create new ones, each coming with their own bonus effects and interactions.

This system is still being tested and iterated on, but the goal is to reward experimentation and allow builds to evolve in more interesting ways over the course of a run.

What happens when you mix Frostbind and Shock? [/p][h2]⚙️ Polish, QoL & Performance[/h2][p][/p][p]Alongside new content, we’re continuing to focus on quality-of-life improvements and performance optimizations. These changes are driven both by internal testing and by the feedback you share with us.

Our priority is to make sure the game continues to feel responsive, readable, and stable as more content is added.[/p][p]
[/p][h2]👀 What’s Next[/h2][p]Everything mentioned here represents some of the major pillars we’re working on, but it’s far from everything. Development is ongoing, and more teasers, previews, and updates will be shared regularly as we get closer to launch.

As always, thank you for your continued support. Your feedback genuinely helps shape HELLBREAK, so feel free to share your thoughts on the Steam forums or our Discord. And if you’ve been enjoying the game so far, leaving a review is one of the best ways to support us, it helps more than you might think.

More soon. 💀🔥[/p]

Hey everyone!

We have a big update for you today, not a content drop in terms of weapons or spells, but something that we believe will have an impact on how you experience HELLBREAK’s first arena. And before we get into it, a quick announcement:

🎉 We’re part of Bullet Heaven Festival 3.0!

The festival runs from December 4th to December 11th, and we’re excited to join the lineup with this new update ready to go.

[h2]🏛️ NECROPIT – ARENA LAYOUT UPDATE[/h2]


A major improvement to the first arena you ever set foot in

Necropit was the very first environment we built for HELLBREAK, and while many players enjoyed its open layout and clean sightlines, we’ve consistently heard two major points of feedback:

• The arena’s layout began to feel repetitive during long runs.
  
• There were limited combat style options, especially for players who enjoy close-quarter encounters or tactical positioning.

We agreed and this patch is our first answer.

Necropit now dynamically expands twice during a trial, similar in spirit to Gravehold, but intentionally designed with smaller, more controlled expansions to keep its identity intact.

[h3]🔶 FIRST EXPANSION — ~6 MINUTE MARK[/h3]

Armory & Torture Chamber

Before the first boss appears, the arena opens up into a small extension right beside the main combat zone.



This area acts as an armory and torture chamber, the kind of place where weapons would be "tested" on the unfortunate. It’s compact, a little claustrophobic, and great for players who enjoy weaving enemies through tighter hallways or using close-range weapons more effectively.



This early expansion helps break the monotony of the initial minutes and gives you a meaningful new option before the first real difficulty spike.

[h3]🔶 SECOND EXPANSION — ~11 MINUTE MARK[/h3]

The Ritual Room

This is the larger and more impactful expansion. Around the 11-minute mark, Necropit opens up further to reveal a multi-level ritual chamber, complete with a disabled portal meant for the Demon Lords.



This new zone:

• Connects the first and second floors of the arena
  
• Offers multiple traversal routes, letting you reposition and break line-of-sight
  
• Provides both vertical and close-quarters combat opportunities
  
• Allows for more creative crowd control when the horde becomes overwhelming

Our goal here was to address player feedback without changing what makes Necropit Necropit. It’s still an open, readable arena but now with meaningful expansions that open up new play styles as the run progresses.



[h2]⚙️ NECROPIT-SPECIFIC OPTIMIZATIONS[/h2]


Whenever we expand level geometry, we keep performance in mind. To make sure the added sections don’t cause frame drops or clutter the screen:

• We implemented new optimizations that specifically target Necropit’s expanded layout
  
• Cleaned up pathfinding to avoid spikes when enemies funnel through new areas
  
• Adjusted spawn logic to behave smoothly across the expanded floors

The aim is simple: more fun spaces, same (or better) performance.

[h2]🔮 WHAT IS NEXT?[/h2]


With this update out, we are shifting our focus toward the full launch of HELLBREAK.
We’re targeting Q1 2026 for release out of Early Access.

That means:

• No major new arenas or game modes until launch
  
• We may still release QoL improvements, bug fixes, and critical adjustments when needed, especially if issues arise or if your feedback points to something that requires timely attention
  
• We’ll stay active and responsive, polishing the game and making sure it reaches the standard you all deserve

We’re reading every suggestion, every breakdown of your runs, and every piece of criticism you send. Even if the big content updates take a break until launch, your voice will continue to guide what we focus on.

Thank you for playing, supporting us, and helping HELLBREAK grow into a better game.
We hope the new Necropit changes bring fresh energy to your next run, let us know how they feel!

As usual, feel free to share your thoughts on the Steam forums or on our Discord channel. And if you’ve been enjoying the game, leaving a review helps us a ton, your support truly makes a difference!

— The HELLBREAK Team

We’re back with another update, just in time for Steam Scream Fest 2025!
To celebrate, HELLBREAK is 25% off until November 3rd.

This update brings a small Halloween-themed visual, 6 new blessings, a pre-shader compilation system to reduce stutters, performance improvements, controller improvements, quality-of-life additions, and a bunch of important fixes and polish.

[h2]🕯️ New Stuff & Quality of Life![/h2]


🎃 Halloween
Tormented demons are now dressed for the season, they’ve got pumpkin heads!
You can toggle this on or off anytime from the Settings menu, named Halloween.
(Bonus: their giant heads make them easier targets for some extra points!)

⚙️ Pre-Shader Compilation
The game now compiles shaders during launch, which should eliminate most gameplay stutters.
It might take a bit longer on your first launch but will be much faster afterward.
Note: This feature slightly increases RAM usage, you can disable it anytime in Settings. It’s enabled by default.

🧠 Performance Improvements

• Improved overall performance when a large number of enemies are alive simultaneously.
  
• Fixed an issue that could allow enemies to exceed the intended maximum count at certain stages.
  
• Implemented several Steam Deck–specific optimizations to improve performance and stability.
  
• Further optimized enemy AI processing and physics calculations for smoother gameplay during heavy combat.

🎮 Advanced Controller Settings
Added an Advanced Settings tab to the Input Settings page. This tab currently includes advanced settings for controllers, listed below:

• Left & Right Stick Minimum Dead Zones
  
• Left & Right Stick Maximum Dead Zones
  
• Controller Aim Response Curve

In addition to this, we have added separate sliders for Vertical and Horizontal Sensitivity.

👁️ Field of View Improvements
Increased the maximum value for Field of View (FOV) from 100 to 110.
In addition, we have introduced a small scaling FOV on wide screens to prevent unwanted camera zoom.
If you are using a widescreen, please let us know about your experience so we can improve this further!

🔫 Combat Improvements

• Auto Spell Switch: A new optional setting! When enabled, you’ll automatically switch to your other spell (if available) once the current one goes on cooldown.
  
• Greatly reduced the impact of movement on weapon accuracy, firing while moving is now much more precise.
  
• Enhanced Totem destruction effects on Abyss difficulty.
  

[h2]⚔️ 6 New Blessings![/h2]

We’ve added six new blessings, most focused on making melee combat more rewarding and scalable:

• Bloodrush: Your damage scales with your movement speed.
  
• Executioner’s Edge: Melee attacks deal 5% of the target’s max health as bonus damage.
  
• Bloodthirst: +10% melee attack speed.
  
• Berserker’s Feast: Each melee kill grants +5% damage for 5s (up to 6 stacks).
  
• Carnal Rush: Each melee kill grants +3% movement speed for 5s (up to 10 stacks).
  
• Demon’s Grasp: +25% melee attack range.

Blessings that affect only melee weapons will only appear if you have a melee weapon equipped.

[h2]🛠 Fixes[/h2]

• Fixed an issue preventing the Tutorial from being completed, getting stuck at “Kill the Remaining Enemies.”
  (This was a bug introduced by the last patch. If you have played the tutorial before, you don't have to play it again as that was the last section anyway.)
  
• Fixed multiple issues that could cause soft-locks in the Tutorial (like the freezing task when applying Frostbind early).
  
• Fixed rare crashes caused by Bolgrut’s attacks. These should now be stable but if you notice any issue, please let us know and we’ll get back to it immediately.
  
• Fixed melee weapons ignoring damage scaling effects.
  
• Fixed Wretch's ammo on kill upgrade not working correctly.
  
• Fixed Totems on Abyss difficulty not taking melee or melee-based damage.
  
• Fixed leaderboard arena tab highlights not displaying correctly.
  

[h2]💬 Thank You & What’s Next[/h2]


As always, thank you all so much for your support and feedback!
Many of the improvements in this update came directly from your suggestions and reports. We’re listening closely and committed to making HELLBREAK the best experience it can be.

You can share your feedback through the Steam forums or join us on Discord to talk directly with us and the community.

What’s Next?

• We are working on improving the layout of Necropit, introducing more options for different styles of fighting.
  
• Working on more weapons and blessings!
  
• Working on more content, including new arenas, infinite mode, and more!

Reviews Matter
We also want to thank everyone who has left a review. It helps us out immensely, and we read every single one of them.
If you have been enjoying HELLBREAK so far and want to support us further, leaving a review really helps us out. Thank you!

[h2] Major Update + Boomstock 2025! 🔥💀[/h2]


The wait is over, this is our largest update so far, packed with new content, a brutal new difficulty, performance improvements, and more. And we’re launching it alongside Boomstock 2025 on Steam!

To celebrate, HELLBREAK is 30% off throughout the event. If you’ve been waiting to dive in or bring a friend, now’s the perfect time.

Before we jump into the details:
💀 Thank you to everyone who’s supported us so far! We’re closing in on 100 reviews with 85% positive. If you’ve been enjoying the game, leaving a positive review really helps us grow and keep making HELLBREAK even better.

[h2]🏰 New Content[/h2]


[h3]New Arena – Gravehold[/h3]
"The shattered ruins of a forsaken stronghold, where corruption spreads upward from the depths below."
Our largest arena to date! Gravehold dynamically expands as you fight against demon waves, opening new rooms and areas as the slaughter continues.





[h3]New Weapon – Heretic’s Maw[/h3]
A demonic skull of a heretic will aid you in battle, firing unholy fireballs against the horde. Its upgrades let you gain stacks to increase its power, turning it into an incredibly potent tool for clearing out hordes, especially when combined with the Inferno curse.



[h3]New Spell – Onslaught[/h3]
"Charge forward with unstoppable momentum, ramming through enemies to damage and hurl them aside. The charge also deflects any projectiles in your path, sending them crashing back toward their sources."
Mow down the horde with unstoppable force.



[h3]4th Difficulty – Abyss[/h3]
Our hardest challenge yet. Abyss is now available for all arenas, complete with its own new difficulty modifiers and a 50% increased score bonus. Make sure your weapons and perks are upgraded, there will be no mercy. With the new difficulty and new map combined, you can earn 25 more Hellshards if you can beat them!

[h2]⚙️ Changes[/h2]

• Bloodfang base damage per pellet: 66 → 70
• Viper base damage: 140 → 147
• Shredder base damage: 330→295
• Shredder reflect upgrade, damage bonus after reflecting off surfaces: 25% → 10%
• Shredder penetration upgrade, number of enemies penetrated: +3->+1
• Cinderheart cooldown per kill upgrade, cooldown per kill: 2s → 1s

[h2]🛠 Fixes[/h2]

• Fixed an important issue that was causing some waves to spawn duplicated enemies (introduced last patch), making the game much harder at certain times.
  
• Fixed an issue causing bosses and some enemies to spawn incorrectly at rare instances.
  
• Fixed multiple issues related to specific spell-related blessings that were triggering for or with unintended spells.
  
• Fixed an issue with the damage reduction perk where it was not working as intended (reducing much less damage than what was displayed).
  
• Fixed multiple UI-related issues.
  
• Fixed an issue that was causing some blessings to reduce the total ammo count of weapons with no magazines (Maelstrom, Splinter, etc.). There may still be blessings/upgrades that have this issue, so please let us know if you run into it again.
  
• Fixed an issue that was causing the game to end even when a boss was still alive.
  
• Fixed an issue where assigning side mouse keys to inputs would display a missing key icon.
  

[h2]⚡ Performance[/h2]

• Implemented changes to reduce stutters that happen randomly throughout a trial.
  
• Implemented AI-related optimizations.
  
• We’re working on pre-shader compilation to eliminate the majority of stutters entirely. This is currently in testing, and we’re also trying to make it optional since enabling it increases RAM usage.
  

[h2]📝 What’s Next[/h2]

We’re not slowing down, next patches will continue introducing quality-of-life improvements, community-suggested features, and more performance updates and options.

We’re incredibly grateful for your feedback and support so far, keep sharing your thoughts and bug reports on Steam Discussions and Discord to help us shape HELLBREAK’s future.

💀 Enjoy the update, and if you’ve been having a blast, please consider leaving a positive review on Steam, it truly helps us out!

[h2]⚔️ Content Update – Tutorial, Splinter & Bloodspire! ⚔️[/h2]

We’re back with a brand-new content update packed with fresh features for both new and veteran players!

[h2]🧭 Tutorial[/h2]

HELLBREAK now has a tutorial to introduce the core mechanics and features to new players. Even if you’re already familiar with the game, we recommend giving it a run—you might discover details you’ve missed before.

[h2]🔪 New Weapon – Splinter[/h2]


A deadly throwing dagger made of bone has joined the armory! Splinter shines against groups of enemies, especially when upgraded. Better yet, it’s unlocked by default, so you can jump right in and try it out.





[h2]🩸 New Spell – Bloodspire[/h2]


“Conjure a spear of blood that homes in on your foes, piercing through them and siphoning life back to you.”
Bloodspire lets you hurl a blood-forged spear that homes in on enemies, pierces through them, and heals you for each enemy hit. It also comes with its own 4 new blessings to expand its damage and healing potential.




[h2]✨ 4 New Blessings[/h2]

• Flameborne – Entering an inferno zone grants +10% damage for 5s (stacks).
  
• Ice Skin – Entering a frostbind zone grants +8% damage reduction for 5s (stacks).
  
• Corrupted Feast – Entering a blighted zone restores 2 health.
  
• Voltstride – Entering a shocked zone grants +10% movement speed for 5s (stacks).

[h2]🔮 What’s Next?[/h2]

We’re not slowing down, there’s much more content on the way! Upcoming updates will bring a new arena, a 4th difficulty tier, new weapons, spells, blessings, and improvements to existing arenas.

We’ll share more details in a separate announcement soon, but here’s a heads-up: HELLBREAK will be part of the Boomstock 2025 Steam Event in September, where we’ll also launch a major update.

🔥 As always, thank you for fighting, surviving, and giving us your feedback. It helps shape HELLBREAK into the best experience possible. Keep them coming through our Discord and Steam Discussions!