Candy Quest Demo V3 is out! Here's a big ol' list of everything new!

(CONTAINS SPOILERS!)

New Levels:

All of the levels in Candy Quest have been completely revised with the following new levels:

Level 1 - Pumpkin Path: Features large pumpkin platforms and numerous leaf piles. The basic introductory level.

Level 2 - Fungi Frolic: Has 2 different types of large mushroom platforms to bounce on, along with a new enemy, the spikey Thistle Bobbers, to avoid.

Level 3 - Webbed Willow: Updates the sticky webs from it's older version to allow the player to walk while stuck, but now they cover the floor everywhere! Additionally, new enemies called Bonecy Brains can be found inhabiting this level.

Level 4 - Twilight Treetops: Converts the previously bouncy spirits into solid moving platforms.

Bonus Level - Perilous Potions: This level has the biggest changes of all of them. The level theming has been changed from a general Halloween store to a potion shop/laboratory, and is now the size of a normal level. This level features unique enemies, level mechanics, and a player transformation, a first for Candy Quest.

Boss Level - Papa Pumpskip: Remains largely the same as before, with smaller updates. Aside from visual updates to the background, the boss' health is now shown on the new HUD, it has slightly more health now, and has a new death animation.

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Gameplay Features:

Gameplay HUD: Player health and all in-level candy collectables are now permanently displayed on the bottom of the screen on a new overlay HUD. No more opening a menu to view your candy!

Health and Leaf Piles: Candy Corns no longer heal the player. Instead, health can occasionally be obtained from breaking the Leaf Piles found in every level.

Candy Corns: Candy Corns are still found in groups of three in each level scene. Additionally, some Candy Corns might be hidden inside of Leaf Piles.

Lollipops and Lolliportals: Lollipops are still contained in their own platforming challenge rooms. These challenge rooms are now accessed through fancy new Lolliportals that can be found hidden within a level. These challenge rooms also have their own unique visual style.

Checkpoints, Death, and Gummy Ghosts: Each main level now contains 2 checkpoints. The checkpoints and death system now work quite similarly to how the game Shovel Knight handles these features. The player no longer has lives to worry about. The only punishment for death is getting sent back to their last checkpoint. Checkpoints can also be broken, and remain broken until the level is entered again. Breaking both checkpoints and getting to the end of the level is the new method for how you get Gummy Ghosts.

Pit and Death Animations: Pits still do not kill the player, they just cause damage and send the player back to the start of the scene they are currently in, unless if the damage is enough to kill the player of course. There is a new animation for moving the player back to the start of the scene from falling into a pit, and there is also a new animation for whenever the player dies.

Pausing and Exiting a Level: The pause menu remains the same. However, when exiting a level, you now keep all collected candy. So if you need to jump back into a level because you missed one thing, you can just quickly grab it and leave immediately!

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New Map For The Fall Forest:

Visual Updates: The Fall Forest map has been given general visual updates, and has also been expanded past the size of a single screen.

Level Icons: Have been given a new look. Additionally, each level icon shows the candy collectables within it and whether you collected them or not, removing the need to open a menu to view your candy.

Larion's Stand: Larion's camp has been upgraded to a dinky little stand! This is where the player can save their game and talk to Larion. More features are planned for Larion's stand but are currently not available.

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General, But Still Important Stuff:

Visual Updates For Practically Everything: Pretty self explanatory. This includes backgrounds, sprites, and palettes.

Manual Saving: Switching to manual saving as opposed to auto saving was done for many reasons. It's easier to work around, feels more authentic to games of the GB/GBC era, and helps give Larion more of a purpose. I plan on having Larion's stand become a sort of base of operations in the game, so I think it works out fine.

Updated Menus: The title screen and file select screen have had smaller visual updates. The file select screen also removes the slow starting animation. The level clear screen has also been greatly updated, and all of the dialogue boxes going over everything have been removed in the level clear screen for a smoother experience.

New Story Intro: I was originally going to just fully cut having an intro for the time being, but the game felt just a bit too empty without one. So I made a new one! It has new visuals, the story itself has been simplified, and it's MUCH shorter than the last one. (And it can still be skipped by pressing start.) Additionally, I decided to cut having a tutorial level for the time being, or maybe permanently.

Demo End: The demo now ends immediately after Papa Pumpskip is defeated. The candle lighting scene, ending scene with Larion, and bonus ending art scenes have all been cut. Instead, you get a simple "thanks for playing" screen, along with a total for your collected candy. PPK will have different reactions depending on your total, similar to how he reacts during the level clear screens.