Shroom and Gloom map and pathways
Early Access has 2 routes down to The Gloom, a third one promised, and an in-game map that players say stays revealed after you die. This page sets out what each route is, how the second one opens, and what is still unknown about the layout.
The pathways at a glance
| Pathway | In Early Access | What is official | How it opens |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Forgotten Path | Playable | The name, from the achievement “Map every tunnel of The Forgotten Path” (on Shroom and Gloom global achievements on Steam, 13 September 2026) | Not published |
| The Facility | Playable | Its own card pools, enemies and rewards | Quests; the specific quest has not been published |
| Third pathway | Not yet | Planned as “the third and final pathway to The Gloom” (in Steam announcement: Shroom and Gloom explodes into Early Access!, 10 September 2026) | No name or date |
Both open pathways lead to the same place. The August 2026 dev log described them as “Two separate paths to reach the Gloom, each with entirely unique card pools.” (Team Lazerbeam, in Steam announcement: Release Date Reveal! Shroom and Gloom Aug Dev Log!, 22 August 2026 How the card pools differ is on the cards page.
The Forgotten Path
With The Facility officially the second pathway, this is the first. Before launch, the developers said the first character on the first path is meant as the accessible introduction, with the harder characters coming after (replying in Steam discussion: Dear Devs, 1 September 2026). Players on that thread and another describe the first area as the more forgiving one (for example in Steam discussion: Is there a good amount of variety yet?, 11 September 2026).
Mapping all of it is its own goal. Spelunker, for mapping every tunnel of The Forgotten Path, is held by 9.1% of players on Steam. Players also connect that goal to unlocking Concerned Parent, with some reporting the character stayed locked; the characters page sets out that dispute. The path ends with the Gloom Worm.
Some of its look goes back to the demo, where Team Lazerbeam added doors into “special environments (mossy, thorny or trippy)” (demo patch notes, Steam announcement: 80K Wishlists, Demo update and NorthernLion! Shroom and Gloom Aug 2025 Dev Log!, 19 August 2025). Whether those rooms are all still there in Early Access has not been said.
The Facility
The second pathway is the sci-fi one, and it was shown off for almost a year before Early Access:
- October 2025. Announced as a new series of levels with a “retro futuristic asthetic, sci fi setting” (in Steam announcement: Overwhelmingly Positive & new levels revealed! Shroom and Gloom Oct 25 Dev Log!, 31 October 2025)
- December 2025. Its first act was playable at Playtopia Fest as “the first act of our second pathway to The Gloom” (in Steam announcement: Award win & insane booth at Playtopia Fest! Dec 2025 Shroom and Gloom Dev Log, 17 December 2025)
- March 2026. The team went back to building its levels, described as a series of tunnels with “a unique legion of enemies and bizarre cards to slay them with” (in Steam announcement: Game Dev Is Hard! New level preview! Mar '26 Shroom and Gloom Dev Log, 25 March 2026)
- September 2026. Opened in Early Access as “an entirely new path towards The Gloom, complete with entirely new card pools, enemies and rewards” (in Steam announcement: Shroom and Gloom explodes into Early Access!, 10 September 2026)
Opening it. The launch post says you will “have to do some mushroom-hunting to earn these advanced characters and access to The Facility” (in Steam announcement: Shroom and Gloom explodes into Early Access!, 10 September 2026), without naming the quest. One reviewer had opened it by the time they beat the final boss, 11 hours in (in a Steam user review, 13 September 2026). NiaMeowDB, a fan database built from the game files, lists a quest for reaching the gloom that rewards a new path; that is file data, not a developer statement.
What it is like. The developers say their goal for the Janitor and the second path is a more complex, challenging run for players who have mastered the first (replying in Steam discussion: Love the game, hate the janitor, 11 September 2026). A forum player puts it bluntly: “the second map is much harder” (in Steam discussion: Is there a good amount of variety yet?, 11 September 2026). A player on the Steam forum names the Gunk Worm as the final boss of the second dungeon.
The third pathway
The launch announcement lists it as the long-term goal: to “add even more characters and eventually open up the third and final pathway to The Gloom” (in Steam announcement: Shroom and Gloom explodes into Early Access!, 10 September 2026). The store page’s Early Access notes also plan a new pathway with its own explore and combat cards (on Shroom and Gloom on the Steam store, 10 September 2026). In the game it currently shows as “coming soon”, according to a launch-week reviewer (in a Steam user review, 13 September 2026). It has no official name and no date. Patches as they land are tracked on updates.
Inside a tunnel
There is no official breakdown of a tunnel. One reviewer describes the rhythm this way: “You will go through a hallway and end up at an exploration room where you can use your exploration deck to try and get upgrades for your health and cards.” Then you walk on into the battle room. The same reviewer adds that “There is also a branching path in a lot of these sections to choose if what reward you want after your next battle.” (in a Steam user review, 13 September 2026
At least some of those branches are locked doors that need a card from your explore hand. A launch-week reviewer thought the game was broken at their first rest area until they realised a card had to unlock one of the doors before they could walk toward it (in a Steam user review, 13 September 2026). What you do in the room before that door, and what resting there costs, is on resting and camp.
Is the map the same every run?
The in-game map
- It remembers. A reviewer lists among the things they love that “The map stays revealed even after dying” (in a Steam user review, 13 September 2026).
- Controller limits. The developers say you “can open your map with controller, but currently can’t hover over any of the tunnels or rewards”, and that they will improve it (replying in Steam discussion: Controller support please!, 13 September 2026). More on controller support.
- Demo history. The map was redone and turned into a card in May 2025 (in Team Lazerbeam devlog on itch.io: Shroom and Gloom drops new demo, announce Devolver as publisher, bursts onto Steam! May 2025, 27 May 2025), fixed to “show you where you are even in joining tunnels between acts” in August 2025 (in Steam announcement: 80K Wishlists, Demo update and NorthernLion! Shroom and Gloom Aug 2025 Dev Log!, 19 August 2025), and improved again in the June 2026 demo (in Steam announcement: Huge demo update! Early Access release announced! Shroom and Gloom Jun Dev Log!, 7 June 2026).