Devblog #2 Second playtest lessons learned | Now the Demo

It’s been about a month since we released the second version of our playtest, incorporating the feedback we received from the first one.

A lot has happened since then, and we wanted to share it with you! Both our achievements and what we’ve learned along the way.

For those who might not know yet, we’re currently developing a Psychological horror game with strong Lovecraftian inspiration, focused on atmosphere, narrative, and much more intriguing things.

Let’s start this update with the good news.

Achievements So Far

• More than 900 players have already tried the current playtest version of the game.

• Our community has grown to over 1,000 followers on Instagram.

• A wide variety of streamers have played Valderit, sharing their fear with their communities.

• And the best part: The game is getting better and it’s now genuinely scaring most players. Achieving an average rating of 3.85 / 5

Seeing your reactions, streams, and feedback has been incredibly valuable for us.

What We’ve Learned

During these past months of playtesting we’ve learned a lot about what truly makes the experience work.

Atmosphere is everything. When we improved the sound design between playtests, players immediately reported feeling more tension and fear.

The same thing happened after making a small adjustment to the environment’s color grading.

We shouldn’t be afraid to highlight what makes our game unique. Those elements are what give it personality. One of the clearest examples is “The Writer” and how it communicates with the player.

Another important system is “The Path”, which helps players understand how “The Writer” interacts with them while they explore.

And finally, a lesson we keep rediscovering:

Iterate. Test. Iterate again.

Getting things right on the first try is almost impossible… Especially when the goal is to make players feel genuine fear.

What This Means for the Demo

All of these lessons and improvements are shaping what will become the first official public demo.

We’re polishing it as much as possible and introducing some changes!

Here are some of the changes you’ll see in the demo:

• Improved opening cinematic (no more black background)

• A new wave of bug fixes

• “The Path” updated with improved visuals

• Small UI improvements

• And finally… controller support is here!!

And the ending...

Thank you to everyone who has played the playtests, shared feedback, streamed the game, or simply followed the project.

Your support helps us keep moving forward…

Even when we face our own fears along the way.

The next step is clear. The public demo is coming soon.

And we can’t wait for you to experience it

— The Myth of Valderit Team