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Steam News20 May 20262mo ago

PHASE 2 IS HERE - Arctic Assault

NEW CONTENT Chapter 4: Arctic Assault A brand new chapter has arrived in Beyond Solar.

In this update15

Full notes

Full Beyond Solar update

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What changed

2 fixes12 additions23 changes1 removal
  • Gameplay
  • UI and audio
  • Maps
  • Balance
  • Server
addedChapter 4: Arctic AssaultA brand new chapter has arrived in Beyond Solar.
addedChapter 4: Arctic AssaultWelcome to Chapter 4: Arctic Assault , a new frozen battlefield featuring a new map, new enemy encounters, new music, expanded story progression, and one of our most intense boss fights so far.
addedChapter 4: Arctic AssaultThe journey continues deeper into hostile territory, where the cold environment brings a sharper combat rhythm, heavier enemy pressure, and a new threat waiting at the end of the chapter.
changedNew Boss: Hyper NovaHyper Nova has entered the battlefield.
addedNew Boss: Hyper NovaThis new boss encounter introduces aggressive bullet hell patterns, more varied attack types, and intense combat pacing designed to test your movement, timing, and survival instincts.
addedNew Boss: Hyper NovaNew bullet hell attack patterns • Faster and more varied boss pressure • Multiple attack types designed around movement and positioning • More intense survival moments during the fight • A brand new achievement tied to defeating Hyper Nova

Beyond Solar changes

addedA brand new chapter has arrived in Beyond Solar.
addedWelcome to Chapter 4: Arctic Assault , a new frozen battlefield featuring a new map, new enemy encounters, new music, expanded story progression, and one of our most intense boss fights so far.
addedThe journey continues deeper into hostile territory, where the cold environment brings a sharper combat rhythm, heavier enemy pressure, and a new threat waiting at the end of the chapter.
changedHyper Nova has entered the battlefield.
addedThis new boss encounter introduces aggressive bullet hell patterns, more varied attack types, and intense combat pacing designed to test your movement, timing, and survival instincts.

NEW CONTENT

Chapter 4: Arctic Assault

A brand new chapter has arrived in Beyond Solar.

Welcome to Chapter 4: Arctic Assault, a new frozen battlefield featuring a new map, new enemy encounters, new music, expanded story progression, and one of our most intense boss fights so far.

The journey continues deeper into hostile territory, where the cold environment brings a sharper combat rhythm, heavier enemy pressure, and a new threat waiting at the end of the chapter.

New Boss: Hyper Nova

Hyper Nova has entered the battlefield.

This new boss encounter introduces aggressive bullet hell patterns, more varied attack types, and intense combat pacing designed to test your movement, timing, and survival instincts.

The Hyper Nova fight includes:

  • New bullet hell attack patterns • Faster and more varied boss pressure • Multiple attack types designed around movement and positioning • More intense survival moments during the fight • A brand new achievement tied to defeating Hyper Nova

Hope you defeat Hyper Nova in one try.

NEW ENEMIES

Chapter 4 Enemy Expansion

Added new enemy types for Chapter 4.

  • 4 new small enemy units • 1 new medium enemy unit

These enemies are designed around the faster pacing and heavier combat flow of Arctic Assault, bringing new attack behaviors and more variety to the chapter.

GAMEPLAY

Level 9 Boss Flow Improvements

Reduced the long empty section before the Level 9 boss encounter.

Previously, there was too much downtime before the boss fight started. The boss now begins much faster while still giving players enough breathing room before the fight intensifies.

Enemy Visibility Combat Change

Enemies can no longer be damaged before they properly enter the screen.

Previously, some enemies could be destroyed before players even saw them, which made certain sections too easy and less engaging.

Now enemies must appear on screen before they can be damaged, creating better combat readability, more satisfying encounters, and more explosions happening where players can actually see the action.

Suggested Upgrades Between Levels

Suggested upgrades can now appear between levels, allowing players to upgrade weapons and ship systems on the fly instead of returning to the main menu.

This is part of our ongoing effort to streamline progression and keep players moving from level to level with fewer interruptions.

Score Multiplier UI Fix

Fixed an issue where the score multiplier line would appear immediately at the start of a level.

The multiplier line will now only appear once the multiplier actually begins building up during gameplay.

Dialogue Skip Speed Improvement

Reduced the hold time required for the "Skip All Dialogues" button.

Skipping all dialogue sequences now takes 1 second instead of 3 seconds, making repeated playthroughs faster and smoother.

Gameplay Balance Adjustments

Made multiple gameplay balance improvements across several chapters and combat encounters.

  • Adjusted enemy health values in select stages • Improved pacing during heavier combat waves • Balanced projectile density in certain bullet hell sections • Reduced difficulty spikes during extended encounters • Improved survivability during late-game combat scenarios

These changes are intended to create a smoother gameplay experience while keeping combat challenging and rewarding.

COMBAT

Expanded Enemy Attack Variety

Added new attack types and combat behaviors across multiple enemy encounters.

Combined with the new Hyper Nova boss patterns, combat should now feel more chaotic, varied, and intense throughout Chapter 4.

Combat Balance Improvements

Additional combat balancing changes were made across multiple encounters to improve flow, fairness, and readability.

  • Adjusted timing on select enemy attack patterns • Improved readability of certain projectile attacks • Reduced overlapping attack spam in some encounters • Balanced damage output for several enemy units • Improved pacing during multi-wave combat sections

These adjustments are aimed at making fights feel more skill-based while maintaining the fast-paced intensity of Beyond Solar.

Void Rift Balance Adjustment

Reduced Void Rift weapon damage by 10% to better align its power with the rest of the weapon lineup.

The Void Rift unlock cost has also been reduced from 750,000 Coins to 250,000 Coins.

Weapon Damage UI Fix

Fixed an issue where weapon damage values were not displaying correctly in the UI.

Weapon damage should now show the proper values across all weapons.

VISUALS

Level 2 Environment Improvements

Level 2 previously appeared too dark in several sections.

The environment visuals and colors have now been adjusted to better match the intended desert atmosphere and overall visual direction of the chapter.

In-Game Resource UI Ordering

Adjusted the ordering of collected in-game currencies and resources in the HUD.

Resources are now displayed in a more consistent RNG-based ordering for improved readability during gameplay.

LOCALIZATION

Prologue Localization Support

Added Chinese, Korean, and Japanese localization support for the prologue experience.

PROLOGUE

Prologue Scene Timing Improvements

Refactored the prologue scene sequence timing.

Internal transition steps between prologue sections are now set to 1 second, creating smoother pacing and improving the overall flow of the opening prologue experience.

AUDIO

Chapter 3 Music Reordering

Reordered several Chapter 3 music tracks to better fit the pacing, mood, and progression of the chapter.

Audio Balance Improvements

Made several audio balancing adjustments throughout the game to improve combat clarity and reduce repetitive sound fatigue during longer sessions.

  • Rebalanced weapon and explosion audio levels • Reduced repetitive combat sound effects during boss fights • Improved audio layering during intense combat moments • Adjusted enemy attack sound timing for better readability • Lowered overly harsh or repetitive audio cues during extended fights

Combat audio should now feel cleaner, less overwhelming, and more immersive overall.

COMMUNITY

Give Us Your Feedback

We are continuously improving Beyond Solar based on community feedback and player suggestions.

Join our Discord server to share your thoughts, report issues, suggest improvements, and help shape future updates.

Join the Beyond Solar Discord

Source

Steam News / 20 May 2026

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