Introducing 'Explorer Mode' (Beta Branch)

A new, easier & more accessible mode is now live on the beta branch and will roll out to the default branch in the next couple weeks.

Is Krumit's Tale Too Difficult?

When I set out to design Krumit's Tale, I wanted to design a 'deeper' game than my previous game, Meteorfall: Journeys, while still retaining the accessibility that made the first game popular. While I succeeded on the 'deeper' part, I didn't quite succeed on the 'accessible' part. Early feedback from mobile reviewers and some long-time feedback on the Steam forums has made it clear - Krumit's Tale is too difficult for some folks.

For a game designer, difficulty can be extremely challenging to get right. Too easy, and people beat the game on their first try and get bored quickly. Too difficult and many players just bounce off of the game, frustrated and upset. One of the number one reasons folks that have refunded on Steam gave is 'too hard', and that's reflected in many of the negative reviews.

Some time during Early Access, I added an 'Easy Mode' mutation but feedback I got on that from multiple people was that it didn't quite hit the mark and still felt too difficult. It was also buried under the Mutation Mode menu, meaning some folks couldn't find it.

Introducing 'Explorer Mode'

I decided to introduce a third major game mode - Explorer Mode - to help folks explore all that Krumit's Tale has to offer at the difficulty level that feels most comfortable.

Below is a preview. This feature is now live on the beta branch and will be rolling out to the main branch shortly thereafter.

Choosing Explorer Mode brings up a dialog before you begin your run that allows you to pick a bunch of different buffs that help make the game easier. If you've tried the Easy Mode mutation in the past, all the buffs from Easy Mode have moved to Explorer Mode - with a bunch of new ones as well. If you just need a small boost, you can start with a little extra gold. If you want a truly easy experience to allow you to play from beginning to end, you can opt for fewer enemies and greatly reduced boss health. It's up to you.

A More Accessible Experience

If you found Krumit's Tale too difficult or frustrating in your first playthrough, we hope you'll give it another chance when we release Explorer Mode in the coming few weeks! We really want Krumit's Tale to a game that respects your time - whether you play every day or just want to see the ending once before moving on. Explorer Mode will hopefully give people of all skill levels the ability to enjoy Krumit's Tale at their own pace.

One More Thing

This update also brings one more hotly requested feature - faster battle animations! There's a new checkbox under Settings > Video that speeds up the battle animations significantly. This is one of the most requested QoL features and I'm excited that we were finally able to get it done!

We also fixed a bunch of other issues, and added experimental Czech and Korean support. Full patch notes below

Patch Notes

NEW

Brand new 'Explorer Mode' - customize the game's difficulty to your liking

IMPROVEMENTS

• Fast animation toggle in Settings > Video to speed up battle animations significantly - Experimental Korean / Czech language support

BUGS

#1121 - Fixed an issue where player's scores wouldn't show up on the Daily Challenge scoreboard until later, as well as an issue where the rank shown was one higher than it should be #1125 - Megaton no longer triggers Blessing of Magic #1127 - Fixed an issue on iOS / Android where a player's name might show as 'Uninitialized' #1136 - Opening Settings no longer hides the score for the remainder of the run (Steam) #1145 - Blessing of Magic properly triggers Bounty #1146 - The 'Intelligent' perk now works properly with the Boss Rush mutation #1149 - Apprentice Cap no longer makes Megaton cost gold #1152 - Dark Ritual no longer takes an extra health to use #1158 - Cull can no longer be used against hidden enemies (Trickster, Jackals)