Gameplay & Core Systems

Update 17: switching, favorites and bindings

The official note lists R on keyboard and B on gamepad for switching between an equipped weapon and a spell. PC number keys 1–8 are now hotkeys. The quick-options wheel selects favorited weapons, rather than the equipped-weapon list; tapping the relevant control toggles sheathing.

Autorun is listed as Q on keyboard. There is no default gamepad autorun binding in the note, but one can be assigned. The previous equip system remains an option at the bottom of Gameplay settings. These are patch-note defaults, not a guarantee about a remapped layout or every Steam Input profile.

• Set up weapon and spell switching
• Compare official hotkeys and remaps
• Record your own hotbar layout

Update 17: combat and progression changed

Enemies were made more accurate and retuned to compensate. The patch also rebalanced the contribution of Armor skill and the attributes awarded per skill level. HP is no longer awarded simply for gaining a character level. An older build recommendation may therefore feel different even when its named perks still exist.

Armor damage reduction is capped at 85%. That is not an armor-rating target, and the note does not establish the rating formula, best equipment combination or a damage-per-second ranking. Test the encounter and displayed stats on your own build before committing to older assumptions.

• Review combat changes
• Understand the 85% armor cap
• Check progression changes
• Review build directions

Rest healing and hostile-area interruptions

Resting restores health when enemies are not nearby. In hostile areas, sleep can be interrupted, and the threat depends on the area. The announcement does not give a radius for nearby enemies, a safe-area list or an interruption percentage.

Treat rest as a situation-dependent recovery option. If testing, keep a manual save, record the area and visible threats, and compare the before/after health and whether rest ended unexpectedly. This is an observation workflow, not a guaranteed safe resting route.

• Understand resting conditions
• Log a rest encounter

Changed in Update 17

This page was compared with the official Update 17 announcement on September 25, 2026. The changes above are developer-reported; details requiring in-game testing remain explicitly unresolved.

• Update 17 hub: source, changes and affected guides

The current play loop

• Explore the island and follow rumors rather than a single fixed route.
• Resolve quests through choices that can change later outcomes.
• Build skills and perks across combat, magic, stealth, mobility and gathering.
• Play alone, online or through shared/split-screen modes listed by Steam.

What recent updates changed

Evidence boundary

Exact values, requirements and edge cases stay marked as unverified until they can be checked in the current build.

What kind of RPG is this?

Steam describes the game as a solo or co-op RPG inspired by Morrowind. The comparison points toward an old-school, player-directed structure rather than a claim that the two games share exact mechanics.

The official page emphasizes an ancient island learned by walking, following rumors, reading fragments of history and meeting people drawn by the same shared nightmare.

Exploration

The island is open for exploration, with leads to follow, side stories to encounter and shortcuts into the silent Tower to discover. The premise makes observation and connection part of navigation rather than treating the world as a list of map markers.

Specific region names, routes and collectible locations remain outside this overview unless they have been verified in the live build.

Quest freedom

NerveLabs says most quests support multiple resolutions. The store frames the available approaches as mercy, violence, compromise and deceit, giving players different ways to settle a problem rather than one assumed correct route.

The archive therefore keeps a systems hub alongside evidence-led quest records. Complete walkthroughs are published only when their triggers, actions and outcomes can be checked rather than inferred from a patch note.

Choices and consequences

Choices are described as changing the world and the fate of its inhabitants. Those outcomes feed into the Amphitheater, where different phantoms can take seats according to how people were treated.

The official concept supports consequence tracking, but not an unverified list of endings or a recommendation for a best outcome.

Combat

The store promises visceral combat against strange horrors and confirms multiple weapon types. Update 11 added maces and morningstars, adjusted several item and combat behaviors, and retained a clear evidence gap around a complete weapon list, damage model and enemy weakness table.

Current combat guidance is version-sensitive. The patch note supports named additions and corrections, not a universal best weapon or an invented damage comparison.

Spell crafting

Spell crafting is described as fully featured in Early Access. Update 11 added Waterwalking, Feather and Burden effects and corrected third-person targeting, regeneration behavior, Slink cost, dropdown colors and Fire spellcrafting damage; exact magnitudes and full cost or scaling tables remain unpublished.

Alchemy and fishing

Alchemy is also described as fully featured, while fishing is named among the existing mechanics planned for further expansion. Update 11 makes crafted potion value scale with Alchemy skill, but does not publish the formula, per-level increase, ingredients or recipe table.

Co-op

The official description says the whole game can be played in co-op, including exploration, delving for treasure and making consequential choices together. Steam lists online co-op and requires a network connection for multiplayer.

Update 11 fixes one specific co-op problem in which autosave did not store quest state. Party size, host migration, save ownership and authority over shared decisions remain unverified rather than assumed.

The Amphitheater

Somewhere below the island is a theater with an empty stage. As the player repairs or ruins lives, the phantoms left behind take seats in the audience. Kindness and abuse can produce different occupants, while the House fills either way.

That is the clearest official expression of the game's choice-and-consequence structure. This guide avoids extending it into unverified lore theories.

Update 11 historical baseline

• Skill XP progression is now linear, with dramatically lower XP requirements and training cost increased 2×.
• Maces and morningstars join the weapon pool.
• Waterwalking, Feather and Burden join the official spell-effect record.
• Crafted potion value now scales with Alchemy skill; no formula is published.
• Co-op autosave now stores quest state; broader multiplayer save behavior remains a separate question.