Shroom and Gloom Early Access and roadmap
The Early Access build already has two routes to The Gloom, five characters and saves. What comes before 1.0 is a short list, and the roadmap is the one piece the developers said they would shape with players.
What you get in the Early Access build
The store page sums up the current build in one answer (it is a single-player game; see multiplayer for what that means for co-op):
“The game currently offers two distinct pathways with unique characters, ~300 explore and combat cards per pathway, and multiple quests, synergies and unlocks that secure a highly replayable experience.”
Early Access notes on Shroom and Gloom on the Steam store
Two pathways
The Forgotten Path, plus The Facility, which the launch post calls an entirely new path with its own card pools, enemies and rewards. Map and pathways covers both.
Five characters
Paperboy, Janitor, Lunchlady, Activist and Concerned Parent, each with its own combat deck, explore deck and base Foresight card. Unlock notes are on characters and unlocks.
Quests
The launch post is direct about it: “You’ll have to do some mushroom-hunting to earn these advanced characters and access to The Facility.” The developers have not published the quest list.
New since the demo
Auto-saves after each won fight or escaped dungeon, controller support, Steam achievements (some hidden), Simplified Chinese, clearer card targeting and a card inspector for handheld screens.
Everything in those four cards was announced in the Steam announcement: Shroom and Gloom explodes into Early Access!, except the name The Forgotten Path, which is printed in the Spelunker achievement’s description on Shroom and Gloom global achievements on Steam. For how the demo compares line by line, see the demo page.
Planned before 1.0
| Planned | What the developers said | Status |
|---|---|---|
| A third pathway | The plan is to “eventually open up the third and final pathway to The Gloom” in Steam announcement: Shroom and Gloom explodes into Early Access! | No name, no date |
| More characters and cards | Delivered through “a few major updates to introduce new characters and cards”, with smaller fine-tuning updates in between in Steam announcement: Shroom and Gloom explodes into Early Access! | No update dates |
| More quests and challenges | The Early Access notes list a new pathway with its own explore and combat cards, new character classes, and additional quests and challenges across all pathways on Shroom and Gloom on the Steam store | No detail yet |
| More languages | English and Simplified Chinese first, “then we’ll roll out other languages” in Steam discussion: FAQs here!!. A Brazilian Portuguese translation is in the works but described as still a ways off in Steam discussion: Brazilian Portuguese translation! | No dates |
| Gloom Levels | Before launch, the developers described unlockable “Gloom Levels” as the challenge layer for players who want it in Steam discussion: Dear Devs | Coming: a disabled version already shows on the character selection screen (in Steam discussion: Hard mode?) |
Where the roadmap stands
There isn’t one to read yet. The launch post put it plainly: “Our first step will be building out a roadmap. What exactly this will look like depends on the community.” from Steam announcement: Shroom and Gloom explodes into Early Access! It asks players who buy in to leave a Steam review and join the Discord to take part in those discussions. The places to do that, and where the developers actually answer, are on the community page.
One planned feature has been named since launch. The developers wrote that challenge modes are coming: “We’re calling them “Gloom Levels” for now, and you can see a disabled version of them in the character selection screens.” (in Steam discussion: Hard mode?) The 0.6.39 notes point at them again as the answer for experienced players: “An assault of more punishing shrooms will be coming just for you with the upcoming challenge modes” (in Steam announcement: Shroom Patch Notes: 0.6.39). Players who ask whether the difficulty can be raised are being pointed at the same thing (in Steam discussion: Difficulty?).
Where each promise stands
Fixes and changes the developers have discussed
These are not roadmap items. They are problems Team Lazerbeam acknowledged in Steam discussion replies in the first days of Early Access. Two patches, 0.6.24 and 0.6.39, have shipped since, and each item says where it stands; every patch is listed on the updates page.
- Janitor tweaks, not a big buff. A reply in the first days said a batch of card reworks to buff him was being worked on, and that the quest that gates Activist behind him was being looked at (replying in Steam discussion: Love the game, hate the janitor). Patch 0.6.24 named “balance fixes to make Janitor less punishing” as coming next (in Steam announcement: Shroom Patch Notes: 0.6.24). Patch 0.6.39 is that update, and it says “We didn’t change anything drastic to make the janitor outright stronger”, only tweaks meant to make him easier to pick up (in Steam announcement: Shroom Patch Notes: 0.6.39). What players do to win with him, and how they react to the tweaks, is in the Janitor guide.
- Achievements that don’t unlock. Confirmed as a known issue (replying in Steam discussion: Achievements bugged?). Patch 0.6.24 lists fixes for Gloom Slayer and Would you love me if I were a worm? The achievements page explains which ones are affected.
- Walking on its own or not at all. Walking on its own was treated as a top priority and thought to be hardware related (replying in Steam discussion: Auto-Walk). Patch 0.6.24 named a fix for auto walk and can’t walk as coming next and pointed players to a community workaround until then (in Steam announcement: Shroom Patch Notes: 0.6.24). Patch 0.6.39 says these issues “should be fixed” (in Steam announcement: Shroom Patch Notes: 0.6.39); the cause and the older workaround are on the auto-walk fix page.
- Controller gaps. Hovering tunnels on the map and inspecting door signs are the two named problems (replying in Steam discussion: Controller support please!). More on controller support.
- Translations. English and Simplified Chinese are in; the developers say other languages come later and that Brazilian Portuguese is already being worked on. Every language they have named, and what players are asking for, is on the languages page.
Does the price go up at 1.0?
The developers do not currently plan to change it. The exact wording and the current price are on the price page.