Demo 0.5.5

Ashes of Morgravia Demo 0.5.5 - Release notes

This update makes the demo feel dramatically different from the previous version.

The biggest change is that the entire intro section has been rebuilt. That means new storyboards, new dialogues, new scenes, new enemy setups, and a new boss. If you've played the demo before, the opening now delivers a substantially different experience, both in presentation and in flow.

On top of that, we improved combat readability, reworked parts of the tutorial, added more audio and visual polish, introduced a new Sanctum, and expanded the demo structure with Desolation 0 (Patrol).

A lot of this patch is about first impressions - making Ashes of Morgravia communicate itself better, feel stronger to play, and pull players into its world much faster.

A completely new intro experience

This is not just a tweak to the opening. The intro section has been heavily expanded and reworked.

It now includes:

• new storyboards

• new dialogues

• new scenes

• new enemies

• new boss encounter

That means the start of the demo is now much closer to the experience we actually want people to have: more structured, more atmospheric, more deliberate, and more representative of the game's tone.

If you tried an old version of the demo, the beginning should now feel like a genuinely new experience rather than a lightly updated pass.

Clearer combat, better feedback

Combat should now be much easier to read at a glance.

We improved damage communication, intent presentation, target highlighting, floating texts, and active unit visibility. Skills now mark targets with a red outline, damage intent is more visible, and the unit currently taking action is clearly marked.

These changes may sound small on paper, but in practice, they make moment-to-moment combat feel much more understandable and much less noisy.

Better intro flow

We also spent time improving how the game introduces itself.

The tutorial now has a tighter opening deck, better pacing, updated dialogue, cleaner storyboard timing, and an improved overall presentation. We also added starting gear at the end of the tutorial to make the transition into the demo feel more natural.

This patch is partly about making sure the opening of Ashes of Morgravia feels less like a rough onboarding pass and more like the start of a real run.

New Sanctum

The Sanctum has been reworked and now better reflects the tone and structure we want for the game.

It feels more like a nice wrapper around systems. We also added visual progression to Vesna's statue, improved interactions, and continued building the Sanctum as a proper narrative and mechanical hub between runs.

Desolation 0 (Patrol)

We added Desolation 0, a shorter run variant called Patrol.

It gives the demo a more compact run structure and helps ease players into the full Desolation format without immediately throwing them into a longer route. At the same time, we made map progression clearer and improved how the main quest and current boss are shown.

Audio and visual polish

We added missing sound effects, improved storyboard audio, and updated how we handle boss music so major encounters land with more impact.

On the visual side, we improved effects, menu presentation, floating text behavior, camera transition, and several interface elements across the demo. There's still more to do, but this update pushes the whole experience closer to the tone we want: grim, readable, and cohesive.

Gameplay changes

• Card reward selection reduced from 6 cards to 3

• Removed "Pick a card" from the reward at the final Desolation node

• Updated enemy configurations in fights (new enemies)

• Fixed movement area refresh after enemy death

• Added starting gear after the tutorial

• Updated the starting deck for the new tutorial flow

UI/UX improvements

• Long dialogue choice lists are new, scrollable

• Added sell to the inventory (Sanctum only)

• Improved floating texts, damage display, and active unit readability

• Added confirmation popups for Return to Sanctum and New Game

• Added Exp reward display in the Desolation selection screen

• Removed Well's Influence until we are happy with how it looks

Audio and presentation

• Added missing SFX, including for Abyssal Warden and storyboards

• Boss fights now play from the BossBattle playlist

• Added improved camera transitions, including iris open effect for Sanctum, Desolation, and battle start

Characters, models, and animation

• The player character is now consistently presented as Godwoken

• Added support for fading 3d token models

• Fixed missing portraits and several 3d model issues

• The player token now spwawns 3d animated model based on the selected portrait

Sanctum and Desolation changes

• Added the new Sanctum

• Vesna's statue now changes visually as the story progresses

• Added Desolation 0 (Patrol) as a shorter run without a boss fight

• Desolations were renamed from 1, 2, etc. to e.g. Outskirts, Iron Oaths

• Main quest and current boss are now marked more clearly on the map

• Disabled Desolation 2+ in the Demo

• Disabled Well's Influence in this version

Dialogue, encounters, and bug fixes

• Added and corrected missing dialogue lines and random encounter descriptions

• Improved tutorial map readability

• Fixed several VFX and presentation issues

• Ensured the demo runs in English only (however, we are working on the localization for other languages)

Final note

This update is not just a cleanup pass.

It adds an entirely new opening experience, improves how the game teaches itself, strengthens combat readability, and makes the demo feel much closer to the version of Ashes of Morgravia we actually want people to remember.

Thanks for playing, and thanks for the feedback so far. It's helping us shape this game into something better.