Hollow Beta Demo Updated — Cleaner Download, Better Combat, Better Loot, and New Town Content
The Hollow beta demo has been updated.
This is not the first beta release, but it is an improved build with several fixes, balance changes, item updates, and new town content. The biggest change is that the demo is now being delivered through itch.io’s Butler service, which replaces the old split download setup.
The previous 3-part RAR download was confusing and frustrating. That has been fixed.
Players should now have a much cleaner download and install experience.
Download Update
The demo has been re-uploaded using Butler.
This means the old split archive setup has been removed and replaced with a cleaner Windows build. If you tried to download Hollow before and were put off by the multi-part RAR files, please try again.
The goal is simple: download the demo, launch the game, and play.
Combat and Enemy Balance
Several enemy and combat issues were adjusted in this build.
Some enemies, including ogres and ripper dogs, were not feeling as dangerous as intended. This build includes work to correct enemy strength and make certain creatures behave more like they should.
Poison enemies were also improved. Insects now properly show poison behavior, and poison damage has been adjusted so it can vary instead of always dealing the exact same amount. Stronger enemies can now apply more dangerous poison damage, which should make enemy difficulty feel more consistent as the game progresses.
These changes should make combat feel more balanced and make dangerous enemies stand out more clearly.
Loot and Item Pickup Fixes
Dropped items now behave better when they fall to the ground.
Before this update, items could sometimes be interacted with too early while they were still dropping or landing. That has been fixed.
Items dropped by enemies, chests, or the player now only become collectible after they have landed. Their pickup labels also follow this rule, so the item should not act like it is ready before it actually is.
This should make looting feel cleaner and prevent strange pickup behavior.
Shop and Inventory Improvements
Several shop and inventory interaction issues were fixed.
When buying or selling items, item inspection windows should now close properly. This prevents item tooltips from staying open after the item has already been bought, sold, or removed from the slot.
This should make shopping, selling, and inventory management feel cleaner and less confusing.
Item Tooltip and Description Fixes
Item descriptions have been improved.
Several items now explain what they do more clearly, especially consumables and scrolls. This should make it easier for players to understand how to use items without guessing.
Updated item descriptions include:
- Identify scrolls
- Recall scrolls
- Health potions
- Mana potions
- Stamina potions
- Rejuvenation potions
The identify scroll now explains that the player should right-click the scroll, then click unidentified gear. The recall scroll now explains that it opens a portal back to town and only works while inside the dungeon.
A formatting issue in the small mana potion description was also fixed.
Ring Equipment Fix
Rings have been fixed so they can properly equip into either ring slot.
Both ring slots should now accept valid rings, making ring equipment behave the way players expect.
New Town NPC: Mother Veyra
Mother Veyra has been added as a new town character.
She is a witch-like old-faith vendor who deals in charms, remedies, scrolls, potions, and magical jewelry. She brings new dialogue, rumors, and lore tied to Gravesend Hollow, the old signs, curses, spirits, poison, the missing children, the mines, the broken seal, Seraphel, and the deeper mystery beneath the town.
Mother Veyra has a large set of dialogue topics that can change as the player progresses deeper into the dungeon. She is meant to feel unsettling, practical, and knowledgeable about things the other townspeople either fear or misunderstand.
Her shop includes items such as:
- Identify scrolls
- Recall scrolls
- Health potions
- Mana potions
- Rejuvenation potions
- Magical jewelry
More town dialogue and lore work will continue as development moves forward.
Town and Content Work
This build also includes recent work connected to the town and Mother Veyra’s place in it.
Some town-related content, prefabs, and scene work have been updated as part of bringing her into the game. This is part of the larger goal of making Gravesend Hollow feel more alive, useful, and tied to the dungeon below.
Utility, UI, and Visual Work
Several recent project updates also touched supporting systems, UI helpers, dungeon tools, minimap-related assets, visual assets, materials, shaders, and environment pieces.
These are not all major player-facing features yet, but they support the continued development and polish of the demo.
Build Status
The updated build has been tested and currently builds successfully with 0 errors.
There are still some warnings from older code and third-party assets, mostly related to Unity API changes, but they do not currently prevent the game from building.
Feedback Wanted
This is still a beta demo, and feedback is the main reason it is available.
If you play the updated build, I am especially looking for feedback on:
- Combat feel
- Enemy difficulty
- Poison and status effects
- Loot drops
- Item descriptions
- Shop and inventory usability
- Ring equipment behavior
- Dungeon pacing
- Town NPCs and dialogue
- Bugs, crashes, or anything that feels broken
- Performance issues
- Anything confusing, frustrating, too easy, or too punishing
Even short feedback helps.
Thank you to everyone who checks out Hollow, reports issues, or gives the demo another try after the old download setup. This update should make the game easier to access and smoother to play.