Scurry news & patch notes

• Small change to infest unlock description to help clarify effect on first choosing
• Change to "Sparks" description to include the player's current shock chance, as this context is important to how it behaves and interacts with other abilities
• Fixed a typo in a description that was somehow missed

Hello, everyone!

Today I have a content update for you, which adds six new drops to the current lineup. These power-ups are general purpose and should provide support for all swarm comps.

They include the following:

• Bleach

• Ouija Board

• Voodoo Doll

• Hand Sanitizer

• Sugar Rush

• Stopwatch

In order to accommodate the growing pool, I have also increased the base chance of special drops appearing.

My hope is that they will provide support, flavor, and variety to your runs. It's also my way of saying thank you to everyone who has played and enjoyed the game so far. You all are amazing.

If there are any issues you discover, please let me know on the community hub and I will address them as soon as possible.

Thank you!

Identical Forest

There are a few things for today's update. I'll go into some detail on a couple below, but here's the breakdown:

• Embers from Friction have been reduced in size

• New visual effects for Popthorn synergy

• Hit-flash toggle in pause menu quick-options

• Performance optimization for Fission & Prismatic

• Slight number tweaks for Thinners & Pain

• Some pause menu UI tweaks (hovering with mouse over quick options now highlights them)

• Pressing (B) on controller now exits the pause menu (as probably should have been the case)

As far as more detail: Hit flash can now be toggled. In addition, this will also stop the evolution bar from pulsing, reduces red aura around the screen when taking damage and at critical health, halves the brightness of Deflect's sheen, and cancels drawing the bloom on explosions. This is more of a photosensitivity makeover in general but I didn't want to go so far as to call it that. So we'll just call it the "Hit flash" option for now. Performance improvements have been made to both Prismatic and Fission. They should now behave more consistently at scale. I'm also aware that charm squirrels need more optimization overall for endless runs on mid-range hardware so will be looking into that more thoroughly soon.

Embers from fire squirrels have been made smaller. I figured the last thing people wanted was figuring out whether an ember was a bullet or not when stuff hit the fan. And honestly I think they look better like this, more to their namesake.

I've also added a new visual element to the synergy Popthorn to make it a bit more spicy.

Ability tweaks: Thinners is now capped at 30% and Pain at 5% chance. Thinners seemed like it was doing it's job well enough at 30% and although useful felt like it was getting in the way of damage output. Pain was always supposed to be 5%! Somehow I allowed it to be upgraded to 6%, so only a 1% reduction. Again, is the 1% really doing much? The whole ground is probably covered in the stuff anyway.

As it is a more substantial update/patch, please do not hesitate to let me know if something is off and I will address it as soon as possible. Thank you!

Hello, everyone!

It's an exciting day for all of squirrel-kind. Scurry is now available to play!

I have created a community hub thread for bug reports that I will be keeping a close eye on. Please let me know if you encounter any unexpected issues while playing. I'll want to sort these out as soon as possible.

And I hope you have fun! That's what it's all about.

Best,

Identical Forest

Greetings, everyone.

I'm excited to share that Scurry will release on:

April 21st @ 12:00 p.m. ET

In the meantime, here are some details on what to expect and most-asked-about features. The breakdown:

• $4.99 USD with a 20% launch discount

• Meta-progression for all nine breeds, including 32 unique evolutions

• 12 levels of the apocalypse that increase challenge and rewards

• Additional tilesets to unlock (for aesthetics)

• 37 Steam achievements to put your swarm to the test

Meta Progression

Each breed will have a set of attributes that can be upgraded permanently. For the normal breed, these include stat, swarm, and player enhancements (ten attributes).

The other breeds will have nine attributes to improve, as well as four evolutions each to unlock and encounter in future runs.

Apocalypse Mode

Apocalypse mode, at its core, is a difficulty/reward curve for those wanting a challenge, and for those desiring to complete Scurry's meta progression in a manner that rewards perseverance with rapid improvement.

It is more or less the "real" game once you arrive. And I believe you will find yourself more than capable of handling all it can throw at you.

Tilesets

As you progress through the apocalypse, you will be unlocking a variety of tilesets that range in form and, to an extent, function.

Some of these tilesets have a "proving ground" feel to them, while others offer nostalgia, and others that were, admittedly, an excuse to draw something uniquely different.

Steam Achievements

Achievements will have a number of criteria, ranging from contextual to completion-based. I tried to sprinkle in something for everyone without getting carried away.

Many of them should come naturally as you play the game, and are a good way of getting to know the breeds, and the mechanics, better. Something to look forward to.

Now what?

We'll have to wait and see.

Once Scurry releases, I will create a new community hub thread, perhaps two, to receive feedback on any outstanding issues. For now, it's back to making squirrels explode.

Wishing you all the best, and thank you for playing.

Greetings,

I hope everyone's year is off to a good start. It's going fast, it seems. As I continue to make progress on the full release of Scurry, I thought it was time to add some of the core features that have (ahem) evolved out of that progress.

You can find a more concise outline by scrolling down.

Here are the details:

A New Tutorial

The demo now includes a tutorial that should give both new and old players a push in the right direction. It features your favorite dark and mysterious squirrel, so even if you're well familiar with the game's mechanics, it's worth having a visit.

Auto-evolve

While auto-evolve has been part of the demo since the beginning, it needed updating to reflect how configuration will work in the full release.

Once you have your crew assembled, you will be able to select which breeds should be included in the evolution pool. This will undoubtedly prove essential for those making use of the feature as to limit which breeds appear and evolve in a run.

Your scurry will be included by default, as the advantages of those traits are too valuable, especially for new players. However, I may provide the option to omit these squirrels and their evolutions if I hear feedback that requests it in the future.

Advanced enemy behavior when evading

It always struck me as somewhat amusing, and a bit of a puzzle to solve, that players could simply avoid enemies for the duration of the "Survive" objective.

This is a big overhaul, and complex in its approach. I didn't want to punish anyone outright, and I have always tried to err on the side of "All fun is allowed," even if it's not my kind of fun. So it took a lot of tinkering, and I want to be somewhat intentionally vague so as not to spoil any new fun that might arise from it.

Basically what will happen, should the player choose not to evolve or engage, is that the following message will appear on Day 3: "The town is learning..."

This will mark the beginning of new enemy behavior, including more advanced maneuvering, dispersion tactics, and leading the player with projectiles. The last one is a killer, and I immediately knew it had no place in other circumstances.

So worry not, if no one from the town is surviving the onslaught, they shall not have the chance to learn. But perhaps some of you will find it a rather sadistic challenge, and by all means. I'm open to further refinement based on feedback.

Demo v1.2.0 Summary Notes

• New tutorial

• Auto-evolve configuration

• Advanced enemy behavior when evading

• Minor bug fixes

• Minor formatting adjustments

Thank you to everyone who has played the demo. The full release is coming soon, although I've hesitated to put an exact date on it. More than likely it will just pop up one of these days. I joke, somewhat. Still much to finish and to polish, and I'll have more info for you relatively soon.

Please feel free to leave feedback in the appropriate channels on the community hub, or on discord, regarding this build or the game in general. I appreciate all of you!

Best,

Identical Forest

2026 is already proving to be an eventful year. I hope all of you find yourselves well, or at least in good company.

I've been hard at work on Scurry, and with the changing digit on our calendars, I thought it would be an opportune time to push an update for the demo. The overall effect might be subtle for seasoned players, but for those just jumping in, it should give them a more satisfying entry point.

You can find the details below. If you have feedback or experience issues with this build, please do not hesitate to provide it in the community hub or on Discord.

Demo v1.1 Update Notes

Evolution Behavior Icons

There are now icons that depict how new evolutions behave. For example, new evolutions that generate something persistent on the ground will have a trap icon in their label, while those with an area-of-effect attribute will have a starburst icon. These icons will be used in tandem for evolutions that possess multiple defining behaviors. They should hopefully give players a better idea of how evolutions function at a glance.

Controls

• Added controller glyphs to replace basic text where applicable when a gamepad is being used.

• Reformatted control menu layout for simplicity and readability.

• Removed click-to-go-here, based on player feedback and for parity with gamepad support.

• Improved squirrel movement when the player is holding the "Come Here/Follow" command to update more frequently to the player's location.

Auto-pause

The game will now pause automatically if you accidentally click outside the game window during active gameplay, as well as when a gamepad that is currently in use becomes disconnected.

Damage Resistance (Adjustment)

Carbon Fur is now calculated as a percentage of damage instead of a constant. This will probably seem an obvious change to many of you. Difficulty should feel the same, but let me know if you feel otherwise.

Optimization

The following have been re-optimized for performance:

• Fires

• Projectiles

• Blood

• Ground damage

• Damage numbers

• Enemy drops

Miscellaneous Changes/Fixes

• Game window can now be resized freely in windowed mode

• Power-up descriptions should no longer stack on top of each other

• Fixed the sound of eating trash becoming distorted when eating large amounts

• Season-select border should now appear more consistent across resolutions

• Evolution menu rises a little more cleanly after selection

• Description and formatting adjustments

While these changes might, or might not, seem substantial, they are only a small part of the big picture. Much of the progress made since the last update is in systems, synergies, and all those things that make up the full release of Scurry. It's a lot, and I want to make it as good as I can for all of you. Until then, I hope this update makes what is already available to you a little more enjoyable.

Best to everyone in the coming year, and thank you.

- Identical Forest

Greetings, everyone!

October Next Fest kicks off today, so I wanted to provide an update on state-of-play and what to expect.

Recent Updates

As a reminder, the demo now includes gamepad support using Xbox-controller prompts. This has made Steam Deck a viable way to play. More granular support and integration is planned for the future.

QOL updates and fixes have been made based on various feedback I received.

In the most recent update (Demo v1.0.8), I've included a second-tier synergy that can be unlocked after acquiring the first. This gives everyone something additional and powerful to unlock, and better rewards multi-classing.

As always, if you have suggestions, feedback, or something is not working, please let me know in the community hub or on Discord.

Livestream

I will be streaming gameplay at various points throughout the festival. If you see a livestream on the page it means I am really playing live! Feel free to drop in, comment, ask questions, or just see what it's all about. I will do my best to respond in the chat.

Post-event

The plan is for additional updates to the demo in the coming months, but how those take shape is yet to be determined. Much of Scurry already exists in a mechanical sense, what comes next involves artwork and visual effects, as well as continuing development on progression and meta systems.

If you would like to provide feedback on the demo or ask questions, you can do so in the general threads found in the community hub or on Discord.

For content and press-related inquiries feel free to DM me on Discord, Twitter, or Bluesky @identicalforest.

Thank you all so much for playing and being part of the journey, it means the world to me!

Update: If you are using a different type of controller than an Xbox controller, the game should now default to the "Gamepad" template for Steam Input. You can configure this manually by clicking on the controller icon with the game selected in your library, then clicking on the header that says "Using Template: " and selecting the "Gamepad" template.

This may allow you to use other controller devices, such as a Dual Sense controller. However, input descriptions within the controls menu and prompts still reflect an Xbox controller layout for the time being.

Update 2: Demo v1.0.3 fixes game not displaying correctly on Steam Deck

Hello everyone,

I have spent some time building the basic framework for controller support in Scurry and adapting many of its systems to this new method of playing.

As of now the game is playable with an Xbox controller!

Full Steam Input integration is still a ways out, however.

I wanted to do something in the short term for player's requesting this, and I'm hopeful this will provide a way for many of you to enjoy the demo on a controller.

I am also aware of an issue with the game not displaying correctly on Steam Deck. I will be receiving a Steam Deck tomorrow and can look further into that. I believe I know how to fix the issue but I want to be able to see and test it in my hands before I roll anything out on that front. (This has been resolved)*

Another small change in this update is a cap on the Omnivore modification. Apologies to anyone who was enjoying god mode, it was fun while it lasted.

As always, please let me know if you encounter any issues with this build in the thread I have posted in the Community Hub, or through Discord.

Thank you to everyone who has played and enjoyed the demo! It's been amazing to hear your thoughts and feedback and I appreciate all of you.

You are now able to download and enjoy the demo for Scurry!

The demo currently features two special squirrel types: Fire and Shock.

I think you will find plenty to discover about these breeds, with lots of opportunity for unique and powerful builds.

All feedback is welcome and appreciated as it helps to make Scurry better. You can leave feedback and report any issues on the respective discussion threads I will be creating in the Community Hub, or on Discord.

I will be working on controller support as my next step which should come as an update in the near future. There will likely be additional updates based on feedback I gather. I am always looking for ways it can be improved.

This is a special milestone that I'm happy to be sharing with you all.

Wishing you all the best.

Hello everyone,

Thanks for checking out Scurry. I'm really excited to be sharing it after many months of development.

Keep an eye out for a demo sometime before October Next Fest. In the meantime I will be working hard to bring the vision to life.

The best place to follow development and ask questions is on Discord. You'll find a detailed FAQ there, and I will be checking in when I can.

A higher-quality standalone version of the trailer is available on Youtube.

Thank you to everyone who wishlists and follows along with the journey. I can't wait for you to experience it.

- Identical Forest