Welcome back to another Valko blog! It’s been a while so let’s get started.
The Website
Some of you may have already spotted it, but a few months ago we gave our website a refresh! We wanted to make it a more useful place to find information about Valko and our games, and there’s now more to browse than before.
The About Us page includes a timeline of Valko, giving you a look back at our journey so far as well as some more info about the team members. You’ll also find a press kit section at the bottom of the website, where you can download high-quality logos for our games; handy if you’re creating content or putting together something about them.
There’s still some work to do, particularly on the merchandise store, which needs a little attention to bring it up to scratch. Even so, we’re happy to have the updated site out there and will continue working on the remaining pieces.
Have a look around and let us know what you think!
CRYO
Now that the Erebus has been out for some time, player’s eyes are turning to the next map. We still have some changes coming though!
The Erebus
As you guys are probably aware, we’ve been working hard to improve the performance of the Erebus as well as fixing as many bugs as possible. Next up, we will be tackling the monsters.
We don’t want to give too much away just yet, but we’ve been experimenting with changes to some of the monster mechanics. We want encounters to give players something to react to, adapt around, and learn from, and there are a couple of areas where we think we can do better.
Psychosis, in its current form, feels a little too weak. It’s often more of an annoyance than a threat that calls for meaningful counterplay. We’re exploring ways to give it more impact, with the aim of making it something you need to pay attention to and actively respond to. We have a few ideas in the works, but we’ll share more once we’ve had time to put them through their paces.
We’re also taking another look at barnacles. They can make a strong first impression, but that novelty seems to wear off pretty quickly once you know what to expect. We’re looking at ways to keep them interesting beyond those first encounters and make them a more lasting part of the challenge.
These changes are still being worked on, so we’re keeping the specifics under wraps for now. Keep your eyes peeled!
And finally, another topic still in discussion is whether we should dramatically reduce the lighting, as we did with Delta-7. We’ve seen a lot of players talking about the brightness of the level and we generally agree, it’s probably a bit too bright for the dark atmosphere we should be going for. Of course, more feedback and discussions would be appreciated from the wider CRYO community.
Tutorial
A more complex tutorial has been laid out. This tutorial will guide players through how to play in an interactive way. We notice a lot of negative reviews are mentioning not understanding what to do or where to go. It might seem obvious to some, but to others, they need guidance and a little nudge to pay attention to their environment for wall maps, signs etc (thanks modern gaming!)
There’s nothing to show on here just yet but we thought it’s worth announcing that we have one in the works.
Map no. 3 - The mining Outpost
We’ve talked about this briefly in the discussions channel on our Discord, but the third map will take us back to mainland Antarctica. This time, players will be sent to one of ANGENEX’s many so-called “geological research sites” scattered across the continent.
On paper, these facilities exist to conduct geological surveys and research into the Antarctic landscape. In reality, many of them were established as covert mineral extraction sites, allowing ANGENEX to secretly exploit valuable deposits and generate much of the funding that helped fuel the company’s early expansion.
Compared to our other maps, these locations are planned to lean much more heavily into procedural generation. The layout, points of interest, objectives will vary from run to run, helping make each deployment feel less predictable.
We’re also experimenting with the idea of randomising the available escape methods too. Rather than always knowing exactly how you’ll leave once the job is complete, players may need to investigate the site and figure out which extraction options are actually available during that run.
The goal is for the mainland map to feel more isolated, unpredictable and replayable than the previous locations, while also revealing a bit more about ANGENEX’s history and the less legitimate ways the company built itself into what it is today.
No ETA on this map just yet. Please bear in mind, we’re a small studio and we make nearly everything in-house so things do take a little time, but rest assured, we are working hard to bring more CRYO content out!
Beyond the third map
Beyond map 3, we have two more maps planned, taking you to new locations with their own atmosphere and challenges.
We won’t go into full detail just yet, but we can give you a glimpse of where you’ll be heading. Map 4 will take you to an elevated lab, while map 5 will bring you inside a purpose-built facility dedicated to the containment and development of specimens.
Both locations will give us room to explore more of the world behind Angenex, how they reacted to the initial Delta-7 breach and the ongoing research built around the monsters they now have contained. We’re looking forward to sharing more as development progresses!
Labyrinthine
We know a lot of you have been eagerly awaiting for Labyrinthine news. Let’s get to it.
Partnership
We didn’t realise just how many people would notice this so quickly but many of you eagle-eyed players spotted a small bit of text on another game’s update announcement that mentioned a collaboration.
We’re happy to announce that we’re teaming up with Dreambyte Games to bring an official collaboration between Labyrinthine and FOREWARNED!
Not sure what FOREWARNED is? You can check it out here: FOREWARNED on Steam
DLC reveal
As you’ve probably guessed from the collaboration above, the first Labyrinthine DLC is taking us to Egypt! Labyrinthine: Lost in the Sands will add two new maps, multiple new monsters, including some familiar faces from FOREWARNED, and brand-new cosmetics and lobby music to hunt down.
We’ll be giving the DLC a more formal reveal once the store page is ready. In the meantime, those of you keeping up with our devblogs get a little sneak peek at what’s coming. There’s still more to show, but we’re excited to finally start talking about it!
Before it gets asked, we also want to explain how owning and playing the DLC will work. We explored a few different approaches, including only requiring the host to own it while keeping cosmetics locked for other players, or making the maps available to everyone while restricting the DLC monsters. After discussing the options, we’ve decided to keep things straightforward: everyone in the group will need to own the DLC to play it. With that in mind, keeping the price affordable is a priority for us.
We’re gamers ourselves, and we know Labyrinthine probably isn’t the only game in your rotation. When you’re jumping between games with friends, the cost of extra content can quickly add up. We want these packs to feel like an affordable way to enjoy something new together, without becoming a major expense for the group.
If Lost in the Sands does well, we have several more DLC packs planned, including another that’s already in the works. Our aim is to make these sustainable: as long as we can cover the cost of producing them, we’ll keep looking to bring you new places to explore, monsters to encounter, and rewards to discover.
And for our console players, we can confirm that Lost in the Sands will also be coming to consoles! Our console publishing partner, Klabater, will handle that announcement, so keep an eye out for more details from them.
More details coming soon!
End of the blog
You’ve reached the end of the blog! Thanks for sticking with us, we hope you’re excited for what’s to come.
Before you go, we have a small favour to ask. If you’ve enjoyed our games, please consider leaving a review on Steam. It doesn’t need to be long; even a few words about your experience really do help!
This is particularly important for CRYO. Some negative reviews mention bugs that we’ve since fixed, but those reviews often remain unchanged, even after we’ve replied to let the player know a fix is available. That means people quickly skimming the reviews can think that those issues are still present.
We understand that not everyone will return to the game or revisit their review, and fixing a bug doesn’t erase the frustration it caused. But those reviews still contribute to a lower overall score, even after the original issue has been resolved, which can put off people who might otherwise love the game. Positive reviews from players who’ve enjoyed their time help balance that out, so if you can spare a few minutes to share your experience, we’d really appreciate it!
Thanks again for playing, sharing your feedback, and supporting our games. We’re looking forward to bringing you more!
What!! I’m extremaly excited about the labyrinthine x forewarned collaboration! I was waiting for something new but didn’t expect that both of games I really like would collab!
waiting!!
Happy to hear it!