Irreversible News

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Hey everyone,

After four years of development, we’re finally ready to share IRREVERSIBLE with you.[/p][p]This moment means a lot to our small team of four - no publishers, no investors, just pure passion and a lot of persistence.
[/p][p]What’s in this Early Access version[/p][p]- Three story chapters [/p][p]- Developed from scratch VR interactions and Full-body-IK[/p][p]- Sidearm upgrades [/p][p]- Fully voiced dialogues [/p][p]- Interactions with anomalies[/p][p]- Different enemies [/p][p]- Side activities[/p][p]- Puzzles[/p][p]- Player answer options in dialogues [/p][p]- Crafting and upgrades for recipes
[/p][p]We’re releasing in Early Access to gather your feedback and shape the rest of the journey together.[/p][p]Your impressions and bug reports will directly influence the future updates and help us polish the next chapters.
[/p][p]What’s next[/p][p]- Expanding the story [/p][p]- Side activities days[/p][p]- Collectibles and notes[/p][p]- More side and lore focused dialogues[/p][p]- Location improvement or redesign [/p][p]- Improvement of VR interactions[/p][p]- New locations [/p][p]- Optimization and accessibility improvements[/p][p]- Cigarettes?[/p][p]- Quest and PS VR?[/p][p] And more
[/p][p]Thank you for being here from the start.[/p][p]Your feedback and support mean the world to us.[/p][p]This is just the beginning, and we can’t wait for you to experience what comes next.
[/p][p]See you in the dunes explorer.[/p][p]- Team IRREVERSIBLE

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[p][/p][previewyoutube][/previewyoutube][p] [/p][p]That’s been a really long month since the new year. Jokes aside, we overestimated how much we could write about an unfinished, somewhat narrative game without spoiling the experience. So today, let’s go through what you will actually see in the EA launch, both from a VR standpoint and from a broader gameplay/content perspective.[/p][p] [/p][p]Why Early Access?[/p][p]First and foremost - for feedback. Steam Next Fest gave us a chance to feel what a real release is like, to see how players react to our project, and your responses in the feedback form were incredibly helpful in identifying issues and areas that needed improvement.[/p][p]The second aspect is the complexity of development. It’s already a long and challenging process - and in VR, you can multiply that by two. Adding new mechanics or interactions requires clear understanding already at the concept stage, and testing all the “what if” scenarios takes far more time than in flat-screen games. And that applies to everything.[/p][p][/p][p]Dialogues[/p][p]During Steam Next Fest, we received several complaints regarding the dialogues. We heard you - everything has been rewritten from scratch. All timing has been rechecked, the overly dense information delivery has been adjusted, and the new script has gone through multiple proofreading passes by native speakers.[/p][p][/p][p]And as we promised - no AI voices. Every line is voiced by real people, and we hope you’ll enjoy listening to them.[/p][p] [/p][p]Enemies[/p][p]One of the most asked questions was: How many enemy types will there be? Will there be different varieties?[/p][p]Our answer: Yes![/p][p]Currently, the game features 3 main enemy types with unique gameplay, plus 2 situational types that appear rarely.[/p][p][/p]

• [p]Melee Bug – dwells in caves and dark places, always aggressive, attacks first, likes to jump-attack.[/p]
• [p]Ranged Bug – hides on walls or ceilings and spits venom that can travel long distances.[/p]
• [p]Explosive Bug – large, heavily armored, lives in very dark caves. Can explode upon close contact, taking both itself and its enemy down.[/p][p]The other 2 situational types - you will discover them yourself in the game.[/p][p] [/p]

[p]Anomalies[/p][p]No One Complained - But We Expanded Them Anyway.
We added many new anomalies and new ways to interact with them. Over time, you will learn not only to observe physics-breaking anomalies but also to manipulate them in your favor. [/p][p]Go out and explore. This desert doesn’t just hold dangers - it might also hide a few pleasant surprises for those who dare to look closer.[/p][p][/p][p]World & Exploration[/p][p]We added many new locations waiting to be explored. Instead of linear corridors, we prefer the concept of giving players an open world with interesting places, letting you decide what to do and where to go.[/p][p]We don’t want to lead you by the hand - instead, we gently guide you with a story objective that you can complete whenever you want, after exploring the world and visiting non-story locations. [/p][p]The desert isn’t just a random collection of events - it’s an ecosystem, alive and operating under its own laws, incomprehensible to an outside observer.[/p][p]That’s exactly the feeling we’re trying to capture in our project. After the demo, we didn’t just create new locations - we reworked almost all existing ones, making them more interactive and compositionally refined.[/p][p][/p][p]Economy & Crafting[/p][p]Many players noticed during the demo that the world was filled with components that didn’t seem to serve any purpose. We were curious to see how players perceive the game for the first time - what draws their attention and what goes unnoticed. We carefully watched every publicly available playthrough of our demo to understand how everything works in practice. Thanks to that, we were able to improve how loot is placed throughout the world.[/p][p]Now comes the most important part - the economy update. This is exactly what all those components are for: the Fabricator. With it, you’ll be able to craft everything you need to survive and progress.[/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]And that’s not all — the Fabricator also allows you to create various weapon upgrades. But to do so, you’ll need to explore the world. Upgrades require rare crystals that you’ll have to find on your journey.[/p][p] [/p][p]Body & Inventory
We aim to keep everything as immersive as possible, using out-of-world interface elements only when absolutely necessary. That’s why having a full-body presence was one of our top priorities. A tremendous amount of work went into making it feel as natural and believable as possible.[/p][p]Thanks to feedback from the demo, we also moved the device slot from the belt to the forearm. This gives players quicker access and, since your hands are often right in front of your face in VR, it’s much easier to keep track of which tools you currently have available.[/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]We also reworked the ammo pouch. Originally, it was placed behind the left shoulder, but one of our Discord community members suggested moving it to the chest. We listened, tested it internally, and fully implemented the change. This new placement allows players to check their remaining ammo simply by glancing down, without needing to reach for their backpack every time. And honestly - it’s just more convenient and faster.[/p][p][/p][p]VR Experience & QoL[/p][p]As seasoned VR players ourselves, we know that VR comfort cannot be overestimated.[/p][p]Accessibility in the Demo[/p]

• [p]Controller angle offset[/p]

[p]What We Have Now[/p]

• [p]Controller angle offset[/p]
• [p]Height Calibration[/p]
• [p]Sitting Mode[/p]
• [p]Crouch Button[/p]

[p]Now the game feels equally comfortable both in seated and standing modes. Height calibration in standing mode adjusts your virtual body to your real height, while seated calibration raises your camera to the correct level, making interaction with the environment as comfortable as possible. And for both modes we added a crouch-button option to take care of your back.[/p][p][/p][p]Smaller VR/QoL Improvements[/p][p]* Improved physics of inventory items[/p][p]* Body adjustments: looks more natural and much harder to break with unusual poses[/p][p]* Better distance grab targeting[/p][p]* Improved climbing logic[/p][p]* Better hand placement while grabbing[/p][p]* Better interaction with pistol[/p][p]* Better interaction with heavy objects (like metal doors)[/p][p] [/p][p]Closing[/p][p]We believe these improvements and additions will make Irreversible a much more enjoyable VR experience. Early Access is only a month away, and we’re excited to show you how far the game has come since the demo.[/p][p] [/p][p]Stay safe, until next time.[/p]

First Update or Devlog?
It doesn’t matter what we call it—what matters is that we have news to share!

Demo Feedback
Let’s start with some words about the demo. While it was a great representation of the emotions and gameplay you can expect in Irreversible, some parts have quickly become outdated. This is especially true for the map, which featured a lot of placeholder rock structures blocking access to unfinished locations. Other elements, such as our full-body system and the subpar voiceover, were things we knew needed changes or adjustments.
That’s why we’ve decided to remove the demo. Updating it would take time that could be better spent on development. We hope to reintroduce the demo later, perhaps during the second half of the early access period or with the full release, but we can’t make any promises at this stage.

VR Body and Accessibility
During testing, some users encountered issues accessing items on the character body. We discovered that posture had a significant impact on the ability to interact with the body inventory. To address this, we made several tweaks to the hitboxes and adjusted some settings. Additionally, we added a belt to provide an offset for the items, making them easier to access.



Also, we had a few requests for seated mode, and it is almost ready.

Difficulty Adjustments
Balancing difficulty is one of the hardest challenges — especially in VR, where players have much more freedom to make mistakes, similar to real life.
Our survey shows that we’re close to achieving balance (actually, we are further away from perfection if we take into account that casual players are less interested in giving feedback and data is skewed towards more skilled players, but still not bad). However, there are still players who encounter difficulties, often due to varying levels of experience with VR and gaming.



To address this, our first solution is introducing weapon mods. Players can now customize their weapons with options like cleaner reflex sights or a laser.



We’re also introducing difficulty levels that will make some enemies easier to defeat and reduce their overall aggression. This will give less experienced players more time to make decisions, react, and aim, creating a smoother and more accessible gameplay experience.

Warning: Potential Spoilers Ahead
The following section discusses some game locations. While we won’t provide much context about where or how you’ll encounter them, this might still affect your experience.

Locations diversity
A desert can be a stunning location when you first encounter it, especially under different lighting scenarios. However, the novelty can wear off quickly, and the monotony of sand dunes doesn’t offer many opportunities for engaging gameplay.
To counter this, we aim to create as many diverse locations as possible—both natural and human-made—that connect to the small open-world desert in Irreversible.
In the Next Fest demo, you visited a small cave. Moving forward, we’re introducing larger, more varied caves with additional gameplay mechanics. These locations will elevate your exploration experience and keep things fresh.
Some parts of our world seen human activity.



Some didn’t



In Conclusion
Thanks for sticking around, we hope to post updates at least once a month, but no promises. Game development is unpredictable, and there may be times when we don’t have anything significant to share.
Until next time!

Happy New Year, everyone!

This year has been challenging, but it didn’t stop us from making our public debut at the Steam Next Fest. It was a unique and nerve-wracking experience, yet thanks to your incredible feedback, streams, and videos, we got to see our project through the eyes of players for the very first time.

And now, onto the most important part - you can expect an update on our post-Steam Next Fest development this week, covering what’s done, what’s changed, and what we’re working on right now. As we approach our Early Access launch, we’ll share development news more frequently and do our best to release these updates regularly.

This year, we crossed a major milestone with over 2,000 wishlists during Steam Next Fest.

Thank you to everyone who’s shown interest in our project - we truly appreciate your support. See you in the new year!

As Steam Next Fest wraps up, we’re closing access to the demo, and we just want to say a huge thank you to everyone who took the time to check it out! Your feedback and encouragement have been amazing, and it's helped us see the game through fresh eyes. We’re already hard at work making improvements based on your thoughts, and we're excited to show you what's next. Stay tuned for more updates, and we’ll see you soon!