Critter Cove News

Recommended security vulnerability fix from Unity.

Increase Haystack repeatable reward from 2 tickets to 5 tickets.
Fixed issue with Haystack not giving out his daily quest correctly.
Fix Options UI to properly reset selections when leaving it
Fix Options Menu Input Options order being wrong for controller inputs

[p]Our September update has just landed, bringing new quests, fresh decorative items, a shiny Codex menu, controller improvements, and of course plenty of bug fixes. [/p][p][/p][p]Even better: it arrives just in time for the Steam Autumn Sale! We'll be joining th sale a little early in fact, with a 30% discount starting this evening (Friday 26th September).
[/p][h3]New Farming Quests[/h3][p][/p][p]The farms in the enchanted biome need your help, so sail over to Port Bella and chat with Haystack to get started. And if you’ve completed the other farming quests, check in with Pitchfork or Applecore for some new requests.  [/p][p][/p][p]Alongside the one-off adventures, there’s also a new, repeatable quest from Haystack that you can do to earn more tickets whenever you’re running low.[/p][p][/p][h3]Decorative Doors and Windows
[/h3][p]Feeling a little claustrophobic? Is the lack of door color options making you a little unhinged?
[/p][p]Fear not, for you can now add a variety of different door and window designs to your homes with this charming range of peculiar portals.[/p][h3]
New Codex Menu
[/h3][p]We’ve been transforming our crafting menu into a codex, which means you’re now able to see items easier, filter different categories, and see exactly how close you are to unlocking everything:[/p][p]
[/p][p]And this is just the beginning — in upcoming updates, the Codex will grow into a full collection catalogue, packed with item info and long-term progress tracking.
[/p][h3]Quality of Life and Controller Improvements[/h3][h3][/h3][p]We’ve polished the controller experience (especially on Steam Deck) and added new options for customizing control sensitivity.[/p][p][/p][p]For the full list of these improvements, you can check our patch notes.
[/p][p]We’re always looking for more ways to improve the moment-to-moment experience in Critter Cove, so if you have any suggestions, please drop them over to us in Discord or in the forum, as we’ll be working on adding some in every single update.[/p][p][/p][h3]Population Increase and new NPCs
[/h3][p]We’ve added a brand new house for residents or the player to pick from, increasing the maximum resident population from 17 to 18 critters. Which is good news, since we’ve also added three new NPCs to the game as well: Melody, Zalika and Bolt to rescue at your pleasure.
[/p][p][/p][p]We’re already hard at work on another update for October with more quests, more quality of life upgrades… and even new music![/p][p][/p][p]See you on the island![/p][p]
Critter Cove Team[/p]

✨ New Features
Farmer Quests: Added new quests and repeatable quests.
Interior Decoration: New doors and windows.
Housing: Added another house → population cap increased from 17 → 18 critters.
Crafting Codex: Crafting menu reworked into a codex with item filtering and exact completion progress tracking (more improvements coming soon).
NPCs: 3 new NPCs added.

🛠 Quality of Life
Fish are now sent to your mailbox if your inventory is full.
You can now rename your character using a mirror.
Crafting machine timers reduced.
Options menu updated for clarity and usability.

🖥 UI
Controller navigation fixes (no more getting “lost” in menus).
Resolution selection button lets you preview options without applying them immediately.

Increased font sizes for:
Donation box info (better on Steam Deck).
Button prompts & map legend (improved legibility across languages).

Quest tracker language now updates instantly when switching languages.
Fixed UI overlaps in some languages.
Fixed bug where UI caused accidental wrong-item crafting.
Cooking menu scrollbar now follows selected items.

🎮 Controls
Independent horizontal & vertical sensitivity sliders (mouse/controller).
Holding D-pad scrolls through items quickly.
Fixed Steam controls reverting to trackpads as camera input.
B-button no longer advances dialogue (avoids accidental skips).
Y-button in cooking menu now resets scrollbar position.

🐛 Other Fixes & Adjustments
Pokee now checks if you already own a watering can.
Fixed persistent robot sound bug.
Cloud save support added for non-Steam platforms.
Removed demo text where no demo exists.
Fixed multiple collision issues, missing items, and floating objects.
Critters no longer react incorrectly to disliked gifts.
“Great Crab Stone” quest no longer removes multiple diving suits.
Fixed hat hair & leaf hairstyles on humans.
Fixed turtle head mask. (This will fix Sly’s colors)
Bone dragon wings & curled tail added to the character creator.
Meowise at Carn-A-Vale is now visible.
NPCs no longer stalk players after quest rejection.
Fixed dialogue bugs in Berry Problems and tavern scenarios for athletic characters.
Poconut trees should fit better in single use planters.
Room Divider furniture item now allows for wall items to be placed on it.
Bakery food items & Soda can now be picked up if placed directly on the ground.
Changed the icon for Woolington’s quest key to look different from the keys townies give you.
You can now place some wall items to a few walls of the Workshop interior.

[p]Last month we launched our biggest update yet - the Enchanted Islands Update!

We’ve followed that up this month with a big bug fix update this month that squashes over fifty bugs and general annoyances reported by players.
[/p][p]We also sneaked a few improvements in as well: There’s a new house available for Critters to move into, and the light on the tub boat actually illuminates things now!

[/p][p]Check out the full patch notes for more info, and please continue to report any problems on either Discord or the Steam forums, we read and organise every single report even if we can’t solve everything straight away.
[/p][h3]So, What's Next?
[/h3][p]We don’t have an exact release date yet, but we plan to launch into 1.0 in Summer 2026.[/p][p]That’s a little longer in Early Access than we originally had planned – we had originally been thinking of launching towards the end of this year. [/p][p]We’ve had a fantastic reception at Critter Cove so far, and we want to make sure when we do finally launch we’re all absolutely satisfied with the finished game.[/p][p]Instead of having longer waits and throwing a lot out all at once, we’ll be working on bringing out smaller updates on a more regular basis. Not quite every month -- but close to it![/p][p]Our plan is that each update should have a mix of brand new content like new items and quests, alongside bug fixes and quality of life updates. Of course we also have several major new features planned, but more on those as we get them confirmed….[/p][h3]
New Team Members


[/h3][p]We've been quietly growing the team here at the studio -- which we've been able to do thanks to your support both in buying and talking about the game, so thanks so much for helping our Early Access be a success!

We're happy to announce our new developer Nuno (Aurelius) and QA Manager Cariolan (Cariobs) both of whom have been for a while and have played a big part in our recent updates!

And most recently of all, your very blog writer himself, Rob (DrWayward), has joined the team full time after working with us in the background for many years - pictured above at Gamescom several years ago and this very morning, wearing his Critter Cove x Gay Pride shirt.

With a new programmer, QA and hopefully - if Rob can work out all the buttons - designer on board, we've got an great team to bring the game through to launch![/p][h3]
Survey[/h3][p][/p][p]The other great thing about Early Access is that we can act on your feedback… So once again we’re asking for your thoughts on the game in a quick survey!

If you get a chance to tell us what you think about Critter Cove so far, then filling it out before August 24th will enter you into a draw to win $60 of Steam games.
[/p][h3]Consoles
[/h3][p]We plan to bring Critter Cove to consoles at around the same time as our 1.0 launch on PC. That includes Xbox, PlayStation and Switch 2.[/p][p][/p][p]We’re still looking into the feasibility of a version on the original Switch. We’d love to do a version for the original Switch still, but Critter Cove is a fairly graphically intense game and we’ll only do so if we can guarantee performance will be good.[/p]