Update 1.1.0: Full Gamepad Support, Expanded Levels, Collectibles

Hey everyone,

First of all, thank you.

Since launch, we’ve been reading your reviews, watching streams, checking reports, following discussions, and listening closely to what players felt as they went through Saint of Chains.

Update 1.1.0 is absolutely one of the most important updates we’ve released so far.

It directly addresses some of the biggest and most repeated feedback we received after launch: full gamepad support, early level structure, exploration, hand-holding, replayability, collectibles, puzzle flow, and overall survival horror feel.

This update really changes how Saint of Chains feels to play.

And for everyone who was waiting for gamepad support before entering the rot…

It’s here.

Full Gamepad Support is now available

Full gamepad support.

This includes gamepad controls across gameplay, menus, puzzles, inventory, documents, and interactions. Yep, the full player experience.

We also added gamepad keybinding support, so players can adjust the controller layout more comfortably based on how they prefer to play.

On top of that, we implemented a dynamic gamepad UI icon system. This means the game now properly displays controller button icons where needed, making the experience clearer and more natural for gamepad players.

Saint of Chains was always built as a love letter to classic psychological survival horror, and we know many players prefer experiencing this kind of game with a controller.

Now you can.

Slight Aim Assist for gamepad players

We also added a light aim assist system for ranged weapons when playing with a gamepad.

Aiming with a controller should now feel more manageable, especially during tense encounters where every shot matters, but not easy enough to make you feel safe.

The first two levels have been significantly expanded

Based on player feedback, we made major changes to the first two main levels of the game: The Apartments and The Sewers.

Both levels have been significantly expanded and made more non-linear.

The gameplay path has been revamped, the flow has been changed, and both areas now offer more exploration, new rooms, new routes, new puzzles, new enemy encounters, and more reasons to search your surroundings carefully.

Together, the Apartments and Sewers now add over 40 minutes of new and expanded gameplay compared to their previous versions. This was a very important change for us.

New areas, new puzzles, more monsters

The expanded early levels are not just larger for the sake of being larger.

We added new spaces with purpose.

There are new areas to investigate, new puzzles to solve, more dangerous moments, and more enemy presence to make exploration feel heavier and more rewarding.

Collectibles across the entire game

Saint of Chains now has collectibles spread throughout the ENTIRE game.

These collectibles are placed across all levels and were added to encourage exploration from start to finish.

Some are somewhat easy to find, while others will require more careful searching.

If you gather all collectibles, you will unlock a new Steam Achievement.

This gives players another reason to revisit the nightmare, explore more deeply, and pay attention to corners they may have ignored the first time.

Less hand-holding, more classic survival horror

We also reduced a lot of the hand-holding from tips and guidance based on your feedback.

Saint of Chains should feel clearer where it needs to be clear, but it should not constantly explain itself to the player.

We do not want the game to become confusing in a bad way, but we also do not want it to hold your hand too much.

This update moves the experience closer to that older survival horror feeling.

Various bug fixes and player-feedback improvements

As always, we also fixed various bugs and issues reported by players, streamers, and people we watched playing the game.

Some of these fixes came from direct reports.

Some came from watching streams and noticing where players got stuck, confused, or experienced something that did not work as intended.

Thank you to everyone who reported issues, shared clips, streamed the game, reviewed it, or simply told us what felt wrong.

It helps more than you know.

We’re not stopping here

Update 1.1.0 is a major milestone for Saint of Chains, but it is not the end of our post-launch work.

We are already working on the next major update.

Our current plans for the second major update include:

• Implementing a melee block mechanic, as requested by players.
• Adding enemy stagger reactions when attacks are blocked.
• Making melee combat feel more dynamic.
• Adding map room labels based on player feedback.
• Adding additional exploration and areas in later levels.
• Continuing to fix any bugs, glitches, or issues that come our way.
• More polish across the full experience.

The melee system is especially important to us!

A lot of players gave feedback that melee combat could feel more reactive and more physical. We agree, and we want to improve that without turning Saint of Chains into an action game.

However, bear with us, as two devs, it might take some time to go over the entire melee logic, all 20+ enemy reactions, and add new stagger animations. But, we’ll get there, that’s a promise!

Thank you for helping us improve Saint of Chains

Saint of Chains was built by two indie developers with a deep love for old-school psychological survival horror.

If you were waiting for gamepad support, this is the update you were waiting for.

If you played at launch and wanted more exploration, the first two levels now offer a much stronger survival horror experience.

And if Saint of Chains stayed with you, please consider leaving an honest Steam review. For a small two-dev studio like ours, every review helps the game reach more horror players and helps us understand what to improve next.

Thank you for your patience, your feedback, your support, and your time inside the nightmare.

Bobby & Zhanko

MystiveDev