Zombiehood news & patch notes

Hey everyone,

This update focuses on addressing player feedback and several reported issues. Defense trials on lower difficulty levels have been a major pain point for many players, so this patch includes rebalancing for defense trials and the final boss fight to make lower difficulties feel fairer.

We also added several quality of life improvements and fixed an annoying achievement unlock edge case.

Please note that a handful of these changes were already included in Patch 1.0.0.1, which went live as a hotfix shortly after release and went mostly unnoticed. We still wanted to include them here for transparency, and in case some players haven't played again since v1.0.0.0.

Gameplay & Quality of Life

• Added a camera adjustment system that lets the camera move downward when trying to look below you. This should make it much easier to aim at and kill zombies below your position.

• Added rarity outlines to artifact HUD icons. This makes it easier to check which artifact rarities are currently in your inventory when approaching 3D Printers or other artifact-related events.

• Adjusted Air Shoes. They now mainly improve jump sustain instead of raw jump strength, giving more control over jump height by holding or releasing the jump button.

Achievements

• Achievement unlocks should now feel much more responsive.

• Fixed several edge cases where some achievements could fail to unlock.

• Previously failed run completion achievements can now be retried, which was previously blocked.

Save System Improvements

• Fixed several issues related to saving, loading, deleting, and switching save slots.

• Fixed stale run data from an active run leaking into newly created save slots.

• Improved general save slot safety to reduce the chance of incorrect data carrying over between slots.

Items, Rewards & Artifacts

• Selected item reward events and defense trial reward chests no longer drop duplicate unstackable artifacts.

• Selected item reward events and defense trial reward chests can no longer drop Filament.

• Fixed bugs where artifact effects were not reset or reloaded properly under certain circumstances.

• Fixed an issue where containers could sometimes reward an unknown purple item.

• Improved several artifact descriptions.

• Improved the skill description of Life Pulse to better distinguish it from the passive healing mechanic.

• Slightly reduced the amount of XP required to gain a Skill Point. (Patch 1.0.0.1)

• Slightly reduced the amount of Money required to gain a Weapon Part. (Patch 1.0.0.1)

Weapons & Combat

• Increased damage for all melee weapons, making them more viable.

• Reduced grenade prime time from 3 seconds to 2.5 seconds.

• Fixed Lawman 19 magazine size not being doubled when dual wielded.

• Fixed Peacemaker magazine size not being doubled when dual wielded.

• Fixed Entropistol splitting projectiles triggering multiple times on a single enemy impact. This was unintended, as the projectile should only split once per impact.

• Fixes Raptor 10 being considered a Pistol instead of an SMG.

• Fixes Iron's Edge being considered supporting dual wielding when it actually doesn't.

• Turrets no longer cause screen shake when firing.

• Buffs Long Tom damage and spread. (Patch 1.0.0.1)

• Buffs VynilFury damage, magazine size and reload speed. (Patch 1.0.0.1)

• Buffs Blunderbuss damage and shotcount. (Patch 1.0.0.1)

• Buffs Titan's Wrath damage and penetration. (Patch 1.0.0.1)

• Improved shoot input buffering, making weapons feel more responsive. (Patch 1.0.0.1)

• Fixed a bug where interrupting a single-load reload could immediately fire the weapon from the same click. (Patch 1.0.0.1)

• Fixed cases where semi-auto single-load weapons could not interrupt reloads while the weapon cooldown was still active. (Patch 1.0.0.1)

• Fixed single-load reload interruption allowing players to cancel the reload before the first bullet had actually been loaded. (Patch 1.0.0.1)

• Added support for interrupting clip reloads with held-fire weapon types when there is still ammo left in the magazine. (Patch 1.0.0.1)

• Fixed reload timing for weapons with reload animations, especially weapons with a magazine size larger than 1. Previously, the first bullet took too long to load, while follow-up bullets loaded too quickly. (Patch 1.0.0.1)

• Fixed the reload bar being out of sync with reload animation-supported weapons. (Patch 1.0.0.1)

• Reload animations now scale correctly for partial reloads. (Patch 1.0.0.1)

• Reload animations now properly stop when the reload is interrupted. (Patch 1.0.0.1)

Difficulty & Encounter Balancing

• Defense trials and the final boss have been rebalanced on lower difficulty levels 1-3. Enemy waves now have fewer enemies and slightly more breathing room between spawns.

• Slightly reduced Demon and Zealot chase speed. ( Developer Note: zombies still evolve over time, including enemy chase speed, so they will continue to get faster as the current threat level increases. )

• Fixes rare cases of the player dying to the nuke explosions in the forest defense trial, when standing too close to the doors. (Patch 1.0.0.1)

Levels & Environment

• Improved bunker entrances where players struggled the most to get down alive.

• Added collision in the mountain defense trial to prevent players from standing on top of the door and avoiding enemies entirely.

• Reduced health of destructible walls.

• Destructible walls now show their first cracks slightly sooner, making secret rooms somewhat easier to find.

• Fixes a rare edge case where the overworld path generation made some levels inaccessible.

• Improves some enemy spawn locations

• Minor level flow improvements

• Improves ladder placement which should mitigate issues where Zombies got stuck in a fall animation while climbing.

• Fixes the green enemy spawn animation not playing the full animation. (Patch 1.0.0.1)

Input, UI & Localization

• Fixed the run completed UI not displaying the correct blueprint amount gained on difficulty 4 and 5.

• Fixed weapon shops not updating the weapon stats UI when swapping weapons.

• Added a missing key bind option for weapon slot 4.

• Added missing mouse-related key prompt icons.

• Fixed weapon swap keybinding not working properly with mouse key bindings.

• Added and improved several strings across all supported languages.

Animation Fixes

• Fixed an animation issue where sliding and then jumping onto a ladder could leave the player stuck in the jump animation.

• Fixed an edge case where the player's arm could appear below the body during the parachute animation.

Zombiehood has officially launched!

Explore, fight, loot, scrap items, adapt, and survive, with plenty of undead problems waiting to get solved the loud way!

Every run throws new weapons, equipment, artifacts, random events, and rising threats at you. Cripple enemies, exploit weak points, build around strange item combinations, and try to stay alive as the global difficulty keeps climbing.

What to expect

• Run-and-gun roguelite combat

• Procedurally generated levels

• Lots of weapons, equipment, and artifacts

• Global difficulty that rises with time and completed infected levels

• Permanent upgrades through skill points, weapon parts, and blueprints

• Random events with unpredictable outcomes

• Wave encounters and a final boss to survive

• Hidden treasures and secrets to find

• A day and night cycle that changes tension after dark

• 5 difficulty modes to master

• Full localization in English, German, French, Italian, Spanish (Spain), Portuguese (Brazil), Portuguese (Portugal), Polish, and Russian

Turn on your flashlight. It's time to step into the dark!

Play Zombiehood now:

Thank you to everyone who wishlisted, tested, gave feedback, shared the game, or followed the project along the way. Also a big thank you to friends and family. It helped more than you know!

See you in the hood.

Zombiehood launches on Steam on April 30 at 11:00 AM UTC.

Fight through a brutal, ever-changing undead world where every run is shaped by the weapons, gear, and artifacts you find. Scavenge. Adapt. Survive.

A few things to look forward to:

• Procedurally Generated Levels Shifting overworld, randomized levels, unpredictable loot.

• Build-Defining Arsenal Weapons, equipment, and artifacts that create distinct playstyles.

• Escalating Global Difficulty The longer you survive, the dead grow stronger and more varied.

• Permanent Meta Progression Skill points, blueprints, and weapon parts that carry across runs.

Wishlist Zombiehood now!

See you at launch.

Hey Survivors!

When we first launched the Zombiehood demo for Steam Next Fest we said it would shamble back into the grave on 30 June. But the hordes have spoken, and your feedback has been too good to cut short. 🙌

So we’re keeping the demo alive until 30 August 2025. That’s 2 extra months to:

• Test new load-outs, find more unique weapons and complete the demo.

• Send us bug reports and balance notes, as well as feedback (we read all of it!).

• Tell your friends, family and your therapist.

Download the demo, Wishlist Zombiehood and let us know what you think in the Community Hub.

Thank you for your support!

Steam Next Fest has concluded, and we’ve been closely monitoring your amazing feedback! This update addresses some key frustrations and improves the overall demo experience.

🛠️ What’s New?

🎮 Gameplay

• Greatly increased the maximum aim angle. You can now shoot directly up and down ladders to deal with lingering zombies.

• Explosions now correctly display enemy state changes (gib, headshot, break helmet, cripple).

💀 AI

• Zombies now stop lingering around hatches more quickly after the player drops down.

• Slightly reduced the speed of little Demons and the more dangerous Leapers. Players were struggling more than intended.

• Walking Zombies who were crippled now retain all damage on their respective hit-boxes and keep their original level.

🔧 Armory & Training

• Reduced upgrade prices for armory and training.

• XP required to earn a Skill Point lowered from 1000 XP → 500 XP.

  "These changes should make meta progression smoother and more enjoyable."

⚔️ Mini-Boss Defense Trial

• Renamed from "Boss Fight" to "Defense Trial".

• Increased the delay before new enemies spawn in a wave, giving you more breathing room.

• Reduced zombie counts in some waves. "Together with the reduced enemy speed, these changes should improve your chances of survival and make finishing the demo more achievable. While retaining the challenge."

🔊 Sounds

• Improved bullet casing sounds.

• Added a sound effect to hole hazards when floors break.

• Bricks now make a proper "bonk" sound on enemy impact, as promised in the item description.

🏚️ Safe Zone

• The "Shop" is now called "Safe Zone."

• The medic no longer heals just once per run. Healing is now always available - if you can afford it.

🎛️ UI/UX

• Added "Slide" text to the key-remapping menu and gamepad controls. (Note: sliding is only possible on stairs.)

• Selected levels on the overworld map now display a highlight outline.

• Ammo visuals updated to reduce confusion, both in the HUD and on ammo boxes in the world for more consistency.

🏙️ Levels

• Updated cabin visuals for the defense trial.

• Fixed a crate that was clipping through the floor.

• Replaced an archway with a door to prevent players from running into darkness and getting ambushed.

• Added a signboard to the shop level entrance with useful tips when interacted with.

  "Since there’s no tutorial, many players missed key features like scrapping items for money - this sign should hopefully help reduce confusion and answer common questions."

🐞 Bug Fixes

• Fixed zombies flickering around hatches after the player drops down.

• Fixed a rare bug where zombies lost connection to their hitboxes after dying to explosions.

• Fixed rare logic issues where zombies weren’t properly being marked as dead, which could cause animation and gameplay bugs.

• Fixed the Ejector Seat artifact not triggering correctly.

⚙️ Other

• Fixed a rare issue on dual-GPU systems (e.g., laptops) where the game would incorrectly use the integrated GPU instead of the dedicated one, resulting in significantly lower FPS.

• General performance improvements.

We're still collecting player feedback via our ✏️feedback form, on Discord, and in our Steam forum. If you have any suggestions or feedback, please let us know!

Thank you for all the support!

Steam Next Fest just kicked off, and our Zombiehood Demo got some last-minute updates! If you haven’t tried it yet, now’s the perfect time to dive in and experience the latest bits and bytes we’ve added to the demo.

🛠️ What’s New?

🎮 Steam Deck Support

We’ve put in the work to make sure the Zombiehood Demo runs on the Deck. Perfect for those high-stakes gaming sessions on your couch. We hope you like it!

🔊 Sounds

• Added individual pickup sounds for artifacts, equipment and weapons.

• Added sound effect for dropping a weapon.

• Added individual interaction sounds for each container type and hatch.

• Added item scrap and glass shatter sound effects.

• Added laser and flashlight sounds when enabling or disabling them.

• Added bear trap snap sound, when it's time to squish some legs.

🔪 Equipment

• Equipment cooldowns now run on the items themselves. So if you drop an item and pick it back up later, its cooldown will have progressed as if you never let it go.

• Newly looted equipment are always ready to use. No cooldown on pickup.

• Fixed issues with the Equipment Cooldown HUD; it now properly reflects cooldowns at all times.

🔮 Artifacts

• Loot menu descriptions now also trigger when picking up duplicate artifacts.

• Increased Invisible Ink Pen's invincibility effect duration from 3 to 8 seconds.

🎛️ UI/HUD

• Fixed the game not unpausing when exiting the gamepad menu with the B button.

• Added keyprompt hints to item pickups.

• Fixed LT/LB button mismatch in keyprompts for gamepads.

• Replaced radio buttons in settings with On/Off sliders to improve clarity.

• Updated main menu button font for better compatibility and a more consistent look.

• Fixed a “Melee” typo on the gamepad menu.

🏙️ Levels

• Added dust particles to most event levels.

• Added or replaced random containers with fixed ones to reduce unlucky runs with little or no gear.

• Fixed the sacrifice event not checking HP correctly, which could unintentionally kill the player.

• Polished a handful of assets.

While our Next Fest demo is live, we'll continue collecting player feedback via our ✏️feedback form, on Discord, and in our Steam forum. If you have any suggestions or feedback, please let us know!

Thanks for your support, don't forget to tell your grandma, neighbours and your ex to wishlist Zombiehood.

What’s New in the Demo?

General:

• Added Feedback and Discord buttons to the pause and demo ending screens.
• Refreshed visuals for the Steam and Discord buttons on the main menu for a cleaner look.

Game Balance:

• Reduced the shop prices of Big Iron, Dual Big Iron, Shotgun, Single Shotgun, SMG, Dual SMG, Burst Pistol, Dual Burst Pistol, and Assault Rifle to make them more accessible.

Bug Fixes:

• Resolved rare cases where waves could get stuck if zombies were defeated too quickly during the boss event.
• Dual Big Irons: PIcking up a second Big Iron while having one equipped, now correctly grants Dual Big Irons, consistent with other dual-wielded weapons.
• Fixed an issue where zombie waves would continue spawning after completing the demo, potentially affecting performance on the event end screen.
• Scrapping weapons and equipment now correctly reflects your money modifier skill in the salvage price indicator, giving an accurate preview of returns.
• Corrected turret behavior to shoot standard projectiles as intended, rather than explosive rounds which didn't collide with zombies.
• Fixed loot crates occasionally dropping incorrect ammo types.
• Resolved cases where the second arm in dual-wielded weapons could appear in front of the character’s head.
• Fixed the final quest not marking as completed upon finishing the demo.

Highlights include:

• A total menu overhaul
• New and cleaner HUD matching the rest of the game
• Font improvements
• New content
• Lighting effects
• Demo improvements
• Epic boss battle

Full patch notes below:

• Press ESC to directly close an open menu.
• On Gamepad, use B to move the cursor to a likely next button or to close the menu.
• Added menu animations and improved button feedback.
• Added a game-saving indicator.
• The keyboard controls menu is now directly accessible without needing to reload to the main menu.

• Replaced the old font for a crisper look.
• Replaced artifact and equipment assets with improved versions.
• Moved the equipment slot to the bottom-right corner, now showing cooldown times.
• Weapon slots display ammo state during reloads, and the selected weapon is lifted up for visual clarity.
• Fixed various ammo state inaccuracies in weapon slots.
• Resolved overlapping artifact display issues and prepared layout for additional artifact types.
• Fixed mouse scroll-down to skip past empty weapon slots.
• Prevented unnecessary sound and reload triggers when no weapon swap is possible.

• Increased chances of finding loot.
• Increased level sizes.
• Added a mini-boss stage, marking the final level of the demo.
• Fixed rare instances where projectiles would pass through walls or enemies without registering a hit.
• Improved walking animations for holstered pistols.
• Added god-ray effects on windows for some prettier looks.
• Performance optimizations for smoother gameplay.

• Aim Assist cursor now remains within a specific radius near the player to prevent excessive cursor movement to new targets.
• Fixed unintended character behaviors when using gamepad aim assist.
• Fixed rare occurrences of cursor locking up when using the gamepad.

• Dual Big Irons: Added Dual Big Irons, doubling your firepower.

• Molotov Cocktail: Ignite enemies with this classic fiery weapon.
• Auto-Turret: A rare but powerful tool to defend a small area.

• Salvage Tool: Returns missed bullets to your inventory.

• Fixed the player occasionally falling off the map.
• Fixed getting stuck on the death screen after a failed run when clicking too quickly.
• Fixed incorrect weapon display when navigating the map.
• Fixed stuttering in the player HUD.
• Fixed inaccurate ammo reload states not displaying consistently in the player HUD.