Soul Mates news & patch notes

{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/45198248/8a472e0ddc0e9e80865a860544c9df8be08deb4e.png Hey Panda Peeps, The time has finally come for you to unlock the long-awaited fourth floor of the mansion, and, of course, to meet another ghost girl: Brooke! If you've finished Jane's level, received her key, and made it back to the (relative) safety of the house in one piece, you may now proceed… upstairs. Dun dunnnn!! As far as ghost girls go, Brooke's vibe is a little different from the others. While her level comes with its own set of terrifying moments, terrible jokes, and terrific puzzles, you might find that her personal backstory feels… a little closer to home. But remember, knowledge is power, and the more information you gather, the more likely you are to actually break the curse on this place! As always, if you happen to run into any spooky issues while you’re playing, please let us know! Our support email is [email protected], but we also regularly check the Steam forums. Thank you SO much for checking out the game, testing the new content, and telling us what you think! We couldn't do this without you. We hope you have a blast hanging out with Brooke! We love you so hard, The Pandas

{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/45198248/4ae2b73c25b123e9316c109aa8e8ca303b7499c5.png Hey Panda Peeps! Have you been craving more interaction with your ghoulish Soul Mates waifus? If so, you're in for a treat, because the sweet and precious zombie girl Lydia is officially crossing over into the Crush Crush universe! In case you're not aware, Crush Crush is our flagship idle dating sim - a cute, sweet, hilarious clicker game with tons of ladies and loads of interaction. Plus, it's free to play! And if you own both Soul Mates AND Crush Crush on Steam, then Lydia will unlock for FREE in your Crush Crush game. The best part? This is NOT a limited-time offer - whether you already own Soul Mates, prefer to wait for the full launch, or anything in between, your purchase of Soul Mates unlocks Lydia in your Crush Crush game! Of course, you also have the option of purchasing the Lydia DLC on its own in the Crush Crush in-game Store, and you don’t need any prior knowledge of Soul Mates in order to enjoy getting to know her. She’s probably the most adorable and affectionate zombie you’ll ever date! Either way, we can't wait to hear what you think! Thank you so much for all your support, and we really hope you enjoy this Soul Mates/Crush Crush crossover. We love you so very hard! The Pandas

{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/45198248/e22eb2f0eb1da8928c11bce20dff647005f70b55.png Hey Panda Peeps, Long time, no see! Don't worry, we've been lurking in the shadows this whooole time, watching... waiting... working hard... See, we've got big fish to fry with the next new ghost girl, and seeing as she's not quite ready to make a splash yet, we thought we'd drop an update with a BUNCH of quality-of-life updates and improvements to the existing three floors! You can check these updates out in the current beta build, but also, here's a list of what to expect:

• Fixed the Arts & Crafts achievement so it only tracks actual crafting actions (no longer triggered by actions like cleaning the ring)
• Simplified the escape sequence in Jane's level
• Various Yarn and pacing improvements (better heart visibility, correct heart rewards, fixed missing hearts)
• Hearts are now hidden after the ghost leaves
• Improved the firepit scene (added arrow into tent, collider fixes, dialogue updates, etc)
• Soup is now removed from inventory when given to Jane
• Inventory is now hidden during certain minigames
• Axe is now located outside the hut in Jane's level
• Improved collider sizes, fixed missing Lydia text from the wall, and resolved an issue where the mirror animation could get stuck
• Added missing interaction text for the deer key
• Device-specific settings added and improved resolution settings
• Added new music for Mary
• Improvements to Jane's cutscene
• Adjusted portal arrow placements for more consistent positioning
• Added additional oui oui board hints for Jane
• Fixed claw scratch issue in Mary's level
• Added a jump scare if the player fails to hide from wolves
• Various sound effects fixes
• Performance improvements across several minigames, particle effects, and related systems

Thanks for checking out Soul Mates! - Sad Panda Studios

{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/45198248/d4537b9856cdc72b6bb2ec887ae1b83beaa1ee69.png Hey Panda Peeps, Do your haunted hallways feel a little… lonely? Are you dreaming of having your chains well and truly rattled? Is there a dark and somewhat unsettling void in your life that can only be filled by something of unnatural, and quite frankly, otherworldly beauty? March 6th to 15th marks the WINGS Women’s Day Sale, and during that time, Soul Mates is 10% off! For those who have been lurking in the shadows, now’s the time to don your ghost-hunting gear and woo as many creepy cuties as your spooky little heart can handle! Phantoms and boogeymen aren’t the only things that’ll go bump in the night. We love you so hard, The Pandas

{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/45198248/e22eb2f0eb1da8928c11bce20dff647005f70b55.png Hey Panda Peeps! We’ve got some good news to share! After a few days of beta testing (and no major bugs reported!) we’re excited to say that a brand new update is now live for Soul Mates! This update unlocks the third level of the mansion, introducing a brand new ghost girl: Jane! If you’ve finished Lydia’s level and claimed her key, you can head back to the foyer and open the third door to begin your next eerie romance. Jane’s level comes with new puzzles, new scares, and a fresh slice of tragic backstory for you to uncover. What if you don't have a save file with Lydia's Key? Well then all you have to do is hold down the numbers 1, 2 and 3 (simultaneously, along the top of your keyboard) while clicking the New Game button on the title screen and the game will start up as if you had just finished Lydia's floor. You can then go to the foyer and use the key to open the next door from there. We’ve also added a little teaser for the fourth floor (oOoOoh…) plus some extra polish throughout the earlier levels, including balance tweaks, bug fixes, and additional music/sound effects! As always, thank you so much for playing, testing, and sharing your feedback with us. Early Access players like you are helping shape Soul Mates into something truly special, and we can’t wait to keep building out this haunted house adventure <3 If you happen to run into any spooky issues, please let us know on the Steam forums or via our support email ([email protected]) Otherwise… enjoy meeting Jane. Just remember, some doors are locked for a reason!! We love you so hard, The Pandas

Is Friday the 14th close enough to Friday the 13th to release a new patch for Soul Mates? We think so!

New Content

• We've added a guest book to the foyer so you can learn a bit more about the people who have visited before!
• The game can now boot in offline mode.
• Added support for gamepad input of text for those of you playing on Steam Deck and Steam Big Picture.
• Vastly improved the resolution of in-game animations, which should result in much nicer jump scares and other types of animations.

Bug Fixes

• Fixed a soft lock that could occur after a game over.
• Reduced the maximum number of times you may need to move from room to room to encounter a ghost.

We've also added a new beta branch to Soul Mates, which you are welcome to join. The password is `soulmates1234` and can be entered on the "Betas" tab of the properties of Soul Mates. Thanks to our community for reporting bugs. From all of us at Sad Panda Studios, we hope you have a hauntingly great weekend! Programmer Panda

Happy Halloween!

What an appropriate day for an update to Soul Mates! We've put together a second patch, and we're continuing to work behind the scenes on the next floor. This patch includes:

New Content

• Updated Mary's cinematic to use new assets
• Changed the brightness setting popup so that it gives a better preview of how things will look in-game

Bug Fixes

• Fixed a regression that caused the closet door animation to pause while dialogue was being played
• Fixed an issue where the heart sound effect wasn't playing in all cases when getting more hearts for a ghost
• Fixed an exploit that allowed you to bypass some minigames by using inventory items
• Removed the duplicate eyes in the library

Other

• Exported higher resolution versions of the zombie feet that are shown when hiding under the bed, they should look less pixelated
• Improved performance/lag when entering the squeegee minigame

I hope you have a great weekend, and thanks again for checking out our Early Access game! Programmer Panda

Ghoulish greetings!

I hope you're having a great weekend so far. We really appreciate you trying out Soul Mates, and we've put together our first patch addressing some of the feedback we've received so far. This patch includes:

New Content

• Added additional Oui-oui board hints, including a hint about the tiara.
• Added a brand new hiding location in the basement cellar.

Bug Fixes

• Re-exported higher resolution versions of some of the animations.
• The mini-games will now pause when the settings or pause menu are opened.
• Fixed a bug where the journal would show 3 notes when there were only 2 to find.
• Faded out the sanity meter when in the mansion foyer so that all the portraits are visible.
• Fixed a bug where Lydia wasn't showing up immediately after finishing her requirements.
• Reduced the size of one of the notes on Lydia's floor.
• Disabled the settings button from being clickable when the pause menu is open.

Other

• We changed the way the story elements are chained together. This shouldn't result in any noticeable in-game changes, except for it maybe taking a few extra moves to have a ghost appear. This makes adding additional content easier for us.
• Added a sparkle effect to one of the peep holes.

We'll be putting together a beta branch soon so that we can test even more content soon! Artist Panda is also putting together a road map to share our upcoming progress. We'll have more to share soon! Sincerely, Programmer Panda

Hey Panda Peeps!

Thank you so much for checking out Soul Mates! We’re beyond grateful to see players jumping in right away, especially after the long wait since our original demo during Steam Next Fest last year.

This first Early Access build is still rough around the edges, but we wanted to get it into your hands as soon as possible so we can build the rest of the game together. Your comments, bug reports, and suggestions are already helping us shape what’s next… so thank you!

Known Issues & Fixes

We’re already preparing a “first week” patch which should fix a few issues that you’ve pointed out. This will include:

• Removing the missing “note” from Lydia’s journal page

• Pausing mini-games when the settings menu is up

• The brightness slider is not indicative of how the game will actually look in some bright scenes, so we’re making some adjustments

Upcoming Content:

• Adding additional hints to the Oui-oui Board, especially on Lydia’s floor

• Adding an additional screen to Lydia’s floor

What’s Next

Here’s what we’re focusing on next for features & polish:

• Gallery: A new area where you can re-watch cutscenes/CGs

• Credits Page / Guest Book: A contextualized in-game feature with credits and thanks

• Polish Pass: Adding more sound effects, UI tweaks, and art updates

• Next Chapter: Completing Jane’s full level and story

• Future Content: Preparing the groundwork for additional characters and levels

We’re so excited to continue developing Soul Mates with you. Please keep sending feedback and bug reports!! Your input directly helps us prioritize what to fix or improve first. Thanks again for being part of this early journey.

We love you so hard,

~The Pandas

Hey Panda Peeps!

Here’s some news to lift your spirits: Soul Mates just launched in Early Access! Ah, life is gourd, isn’t it?

If you’ve been waiting with bated breath to explore our super-haunted mansion and meet some terrifyingly adorable ghost girls, then your time has come! And just in time for spooky season, too. What an amazing coincidence!

You can grab your own copy of Soul Mates in the Steam Store, and for the first week, you can enjoy a celebratory discount of 10%! We hope you’ll pick it up, tell your friends, tell your enemies, etc… You know the drill. And since the game IS in Early Access, we’re of course super eager to hear your feedback and be alerted to any bugs you might happen to find! The best way to do that is by posting in the Steam forum, which helps us keep track of everything in one place. We really appreciate it so much!

Well, we won’t keep you any longer! Go forth and ghost hunt!

We love you so hard,

~The Pandas

{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/45198248/16ca1f8e60647502721912c65b84e639120b44b1.png Hey Panda Peeps! A couple of months have passed since we released the demo for Soul Mates, and if you’ve been itching for more, this update is for you! Read on for a little sneak peek at what we’ve accomplished since we last spoke. Note: These are updates for the main game and not the demo build. First up, we added an overworld! Your new favorite haunted house now has a foyer, and that foyer has some very cool (and somewhat spine-chilling) features. We’re going to keep those a secret for now, though. Mwahaha! Moving on, we’ve also fleshed out Mary’s level, which means the whole process of wooing her involves more puzzles and even more conversation than before. The next two levels are also under construction, each with its own unique ghost girl and lots of new handcrafted art in progress! One thing to keep in mind is that there are only a small handful of Pandas working on Soul Mates, and that’s on top of the usual work of creating and implementing new content for our other games, Crush Crush and Blush Blush. Having that many irons in the fire means progress might be a little on the slow side, but we promise we’re working away! We’re aiming to have an early version of Soul Mates ready to release in time for Halloween this year. We hope this update soothes your troubled soul, and we want to say thank you, again, for wishlisting the game, sharing it with your friends, sharing it with your enemies, etc. Please stay tuned for further updates, and remember… We truly love you so hard! The Pandas

{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/45198248/16ca1f8e60647502721912c65b84e639120b44b1.png Hey Panda Peeps! Now that Next Fest is over, we wanted to say a big THANK YOU to everyone who played the Soul Mates demo, wishlisted it, and most importantly, left feedback for us! We appreciate your support and your input more than you know. We’ll be incorporating lots of your feedback into the demo as we work to polish it, and we’re taking all your comments into account as we flesh out the rest of the game. We’re currently working on stories, dialogue, and puzzle designs for several more spooky ghost gals, which also means we’re expanding the map to accommodate them all! Suffice to say, we’ve got some reeeally fun features planned for our haunted house. Keep an eye out for updates, because they’re coming! And thank you again for all the love on this demo. We truly love you so hard! The Pandas