Demo + Discord Launch Day!

Hi everyone, Scott here.

Today is probably the biggest day in Curse of Resthaven ’s journey so far: our demo and the new Hilltop Studios Discord are launching as we speak!

We hope you’re excited to play the former, and that you’ll join us in the latter to tell us what you think.

THE DEMO

If you’re reading this and it’s news to you: get ye to the demo HERE

Steam post image Your journey to Resthaven begins here

Curse of Resthaven is an intricate puzzle box of a week-long time loop, combining investigation, trading, interrogation, town management, and card-driven expeditions. There’s a lot going on, so one of our biggest challenges was figuring out how to create a demo that felt substantial and satisfying, while still leaving players hungry to see what happens next.

It all came down to how we handled the time loop.

For the demo, we shortened the loop to two days, which you play through three times. We wanted to introduce the loop-based structure in a way that felt satisfying, while also giving players a taste of the fun that comes from carrying knowledge forward, unlocking new abilities in the skill tree, and choosing Boon Cards that change how you tackle the next loop.

Steam post image There are many mysteries to solve - not least of which is 'What happened to your predecessor?'

We briefly toyed with the idea of a one-day loop, a true ‘ Groundhog Day’ experience, but quickly discovered that there simply wasn’t enough time to accumulate resources, upgrade, and meaningfully engage with the more systemic parts of the game. Across two days you can actually feel like you’re making a dent.

Oh, and one more thing: the demo was intended to take around an hour to an hour and a half. We are now hearing from players who have happily spent two hours (and more) with it. So… perhaps take that estimate with a grain of salt.

THE DISCORD

Alongside the demo, we’re also launching a brand-new Hilltop Studios Discord server !

We wanted to create a proper home for the community around Curse of Resthaven, a place where players can share their experiences, discuss theories, compare notes, ask questions, share feedback, and hopefully get a little lost in the mysteries of Resthaven together.

We’ll also be sharing behind-the-scenes development content, progress updates, announcements, and other things that don’t necessarily fit into a Steam update or social media post. We want to use the Discord to give people a closer look at the game as we head from demo toward release.

Steam post image Choose a Boon Card at the end of each loop to give you crucial advantages in the next

Most importantly, we have a dedicated community team helping to run the server, alongside members of the Curse of Resthaven creative team. We’re hoping this will make it a more active and lively place to hang out, and give players a better opportunity to connect with the people making the game.

We'd love to hear what you think of the demo: what you love, what confuses you, what you want to know more about, and what you'd like to see us explore further. And yes, if you want to give us our flowers, we will absolutely accept them.

Come join us in the new Hilltop Studios Discord and help us ramp up from demo to release!

[JOIN THE DISCORD] | [PLAY THE DEMO]

We’re so glad we can finally give you the chance to play Curse of Resthaven for yourselves, and can’t wait to hear what you think about how it all comes together.

Thank you for supporting us on the journey so far. The road to launch begins now…

• Scott