One of 2023’s indie hits, Gravity Circuit, has today been brought up to speed on Switch with developer Domestic Ant Games bringing the ver. 1.1.0 update over to the hybrid console.
Fans of the action platformer will be pleased to know that this is a big one. Aside from a handful of fixes, tweaks and QoL improvements, the latest update also adds a fresh Boss Rush mode and customisable Armour Paints which can be unlocked for some new abilities.
The update’s full patch notes were shared on the official Gravity Circuit Tumblr blog, and we have collected them together for you to check out below.
Gravity Circuit Ver. 1.1.0 (Released 30th Jan 2024)
New features
- Boss Rush: Guardian Corps HQ now features Combat Memory Bank, a computer which lets you refight any of the game’s bosses at your leisure. Good for practice, or for chasing record times!
- Armor paints: Prim, a painter NPC that hangs around in the Guardian Corps HQ, now offers swappable armor paints, allowing further customization! These armor paints each bestow new abilities or effects, so give them all a try! Prim will explain to you how to unlock the paints to her shop.
Quality of life additions
- Loadout swap: A dedicated button for quickly swapping loadouts on the fly. During gameplay any unset or empty loadouts are skipped when the button is pressed, so you can choose to use only two loadout slots, or all three.
- Slide: A dedicated button has been added for sliding. Down and jump will still continue to work, but this button may be useful for those who need it.
- Hookshot – vertical: A dedicated button that locks the hookshot’s aim only to upwards vertical directions. This may help with any platforming involving the hookshot, for those who might need it.
- Mouse control mapping: You can now map mouse buttons on PC, in addition to keyboard keys.
- Effect Timer: An additional toggle setting has been added to the game’s system options menu. This toggle adds on-screen visuals for certain effect durations, removing ambiguity. This setting is enabled by default, but can be toggled off at any time.
Burst techniques
- Cycle Kick: In-game shop price reduced from 2000 to 1500.
- Surface Render: In-game shop price reduced from 2000 to 1500.
- Gravity Freeze: Affected area increased, damage slightly increased.
- Piercing Drill: The chain portion now also damages enemies, not just the tip, making the technique easier to use effectively.
- Flying Strike: Fixed an issue involving the Speedrun Mode, where it was possible to accidentally skip acquiring the technique by saving and quitting during the Opening Stage (Central Station). It was still possible to buy the technique, but Flying Strike is intended to be given to the player for free.
Gameplay
- Pass-through platforms: Kai can now gain sprinting speed by holding the run button (or having “inverse” run button behavior enabled) when dropping through pass-through platforms.
- Sprint jumping when hugging walls: Previously, if Kai was hugging a wall while grounded (holding left/right while up against a wall), Kai would be unable to gain sprinting speed when the run button was held (or having “inverse” run button behavior enabled) when jumping. This behavior has been fixed.
- Hopkick: Kai’s hopkick (up+attack while grounded) has been sped up by a few frames based on player feedback.
- Telefragging: When Kai is struck by a hazard (lava, spikes, crushing), Kai will perform an Emergency Warp to last safe ground. Because this behavior could sometimes lead to Kai respawning inside an enemy, Kai now automatically defeats any enemy around him.
Data chips
- “NPC” type data chips: Research cost reduced from 150 to 100.
Stage changes
- Highway: Fixed an issue where it was possible to skip over the stage’s checkpoints with certain actions.
- Ore Mines: Fixed a certain area not having correct camera triggers when entering it in a specific way.
- Guardian Corps HQ (visuals): Additional sign has been added to hint towards the location of the training facilities.
- Guardian Corps HQ (design): Additional platforms added to make reaching the Training Room easier.
- Guardian Corps HQ (training room): When Dave the Training Dummy is hit, the Training Room door will be inoperable for a few seconds. This is to prevent players from accidentally exiting the room while performing combos.
- Guardian Corps HQ (NPCs): “Prim” and “Shock” NPCs have switched places. Their dialogue has been adjusted slightly to match these changes.
- Final stage: Additional respawn points added in a certain section.
Localization
- Chinese: A certain scene had an issue where the talking characters were accidentally reversed, and there were other issues involving few untranslated words. This has been fixed.
- English: Fixed a slight typo in Pat’s dialogue.
Misc
- macOS: Loading times improved by changing some code, that made some of the game’s threads run slower on systems with M1 chips.
- Speedrun Mode: If the in-game timer is enabled from the game’s system settings, Speedrun Mode is enabled by default when launching the game (if Speedrun Mode has been unlocked). This is so that speedrunners do not need to remember to toggle this setting every time they launch the game.
- General code performance: Slight improvements across the board in various places, that cumulatively help the game run more smoothly on lower end hardware.
Did you pick up Gravity Circuit last year? Are you pleased to see any of the new additions? Let us know in the comments.
[source tumblr.com, via twitter.com]
