Poly Fighter Demo Update for Steam Next Fest

The HeartLoop Games team has been hard at work to offer you a new and improved demo for Steam Next Fest. This is our biggest update yet, in huge parts thanks to your feedback from playtests, events and previous online demos.

Map update: new and improved nodes

We've completely reworked the roguelike map flow with new node types and reward structure, providing more meaningful choices throughout your run.

• Jobbers now grant a random move instead of a deterministic one.

• Elites (new!) have been added, offering tougher opponents and rewarding victory with both a Move and a Perk.

• Bosses now also provide both a Move and a Perk reward.

• Grudges let you challenge stronger versions of previous opponents to earn additional rewards.

• Gym nodes have been expanded with many new traits, such as Projectile Invulnerability, Charge to Crit, etc.

• Mirrors remain available for those seeking self-reflection... and self-destruction.

New Bonus Stages

The first of many planned Bonus Stages is now available.

Challenge yourself in Barrel Bash, where your performance directly influences the reward you will earn. The better you play, the bigger the payoff.

Major Perk & Trait Overhaul

One of the biggest additions in this demo is a massive rework of perks and traits.

Gone are the days of simple Chill and Burn modifiers. The new system introduces a wide variety of build-defining effects that can dramatically change how your fighter plays. So many new effects to discover!

UI Overhaul (Work in Progress)

We're in the middle of a UI refresh focused on readability and usability.

Current improvements include:

• Redesigned Move List

• Improved Reward Screen

• Video previews for moves and rewards

• Cleaner presentation throughout the run

More UI improvements are still on the way. We’d love to get your feedback on the new direction as we continue our work.

New Quality-of-Life Features

Experimenting with builds is now much easier.

You can now freely remap moves to different Special or Super slots, allowing greater flexibility throughout your run.

Combat System Improvements

Combat has received extensive updates and tuning, including:

• Reworked ground and wall bounces

• Improved hit reactions

• Improved grab system

• New Momentum gauge

• Better overall responsiveness and game feel

Major Audio Upgrade

We’ve been working with talented composer (Cxldr3) and sound designer (Marina Ryan and Future Mac) to make Poly Fighter sounds better. Listen for:

• New stage music

• New combat sound effects

• New UI audio

• Additional voice-over work (more to come!)

• Improved mixing and implementation through FMOD

AI & Balance Improvements

The opponent AI and overall game balance has undergone a substantial tuning pass to offer an improved difficulty scaling throughout a run. This is still a work in progress, and we’re looking forward to your feedback to continue refining this.

New Onboarding

We've added a basic onboarding zone to help new players understand the fundamentals and jump into the action more quickly. A more comprehensive tutorial will be added in a future update !

Try the New Demo

This update represents months of iteration, experimentation, and feedback from our community (you!).

Whether you're returning from previous demos or stepping into the arena for the first time, we can't wait to see the builds you create and the strategies you discover. Join our Discord to share your runs.

As always, thank you for playing and for helping us shape Poly Fighter.

• The HeartLoop Games team