Demo Update #1: Mine Cart Room, Enemy Behavior, and Other Improvements

Hello everyone!

We’ve released an update for the demo version of S.E.M.I. – Side Effects May Include, which includes improvements to trial rooms, enemy behavior updates, interaction tweaks, and a whole bunch of bug fixes.

More than 11,000 people played the demo during the first week — and that’s incredibly encouraging. Huge thanks to everyone who took the time to play, experience the side effects, and share their feedback!

With so many players came a wave of suggestions, ideas, and thoughts.

This helped us better understand what you expect from the game — and more importantly, where we need to improve mechanics, clarity, and balance.

Thursday October 2nd Changelog (today):

1. Puzzle Room — Minecarts simplified

• Levers are gone — replaced with four direction buttons

• Buttons with weights replaced by vertical movement buttons (up/down)

• Bridge movement before the next room is now faster

• Minecarts now have indicator lights to show correct/incorrect inputs

• Wall levers for glass gates also now have indicator lights

2. Enemy Behavior Improved

3. UI & Interactions

• You can now join another session directly from the lobby (previously only possible via main menu)

• If a player is on fire or electrified, touching teammates passes the effect

• Tutorial boards moved closer to the lever that triggers escape

• Russian language added for all tutorial boards

• New alternative throw control: you can now throw items with SHIFT + LMB

• Throwing power mechanics reworked — now more predictable

4. Small Improvements

• Increased speed of elevators in trial rooms

• “Transformer” ability:

  • Enemies no longer deal damage while the ability is active

  • Charge time reduced

• “Meatball” ability:

  • Damage increased

• All interactive items and weapons now have highlight glow

• New options in Settings:

  • Mouse sensitivity

  • Inverted camera toggle

5. Bug Fixes

• Suitcase melee weapon no longer falls through the floor

• Monster Flask trial: door grid now opens correctly

• FixedMinecart trialfixed audio clipping issues

• “Alice” ability: giant form now deals damage properly

• Fixed multiple areas where players could get stuck

• Fixed audio delays in Madness system

• Fixed skin display issues for “Parkinson’s Revolver” ability

6. Visual & Audio Updates

• New visual effects for “Transformer”

• Updated VFX for “Alice”

• Some hats are now animated and look even more chaotic

• Refreshed visuals for several room props

• Added background music during escape events

• Added new sound effects for items, states, and abilities

The updated demo is now live!

Add the game to your wishlist and stay tuned — side effects guaranteed.

If you find a bug, want to share feedback or just chat — hop into the Steam Discussions or join our Discord. We read everything!