Major Update: New power-up, stages, portals(!?), and more

It was just over a week ago that I released the first "major" update to Cataclysm since it launched. That update included the stage "Trypophobia" and its remix variant. Had I known I'd be stricken with a flash of inspiration and motivation, I would have held that update to go with this one, because this one is truly a major update to the game.

The most exciting addition is a brand new bomb type, the AMOEBA BOMB. It's basically a cluster bomb, but it explodes in stages making a spectacular and often chaotic display that can quickly make large sections of the map extremely deadly for a few seconds. You get three of them in a set, but if you clump them together, they won't be as effective. Experiment and figure out the best way to use them without blowing yourself up!

Along with the amoeba bomb is a new stage (and its remix) called "GAUNTLET". This has quickly become one of my personal favourite stages to play on in both of its forms. The spike-trap-covered run at the top has a row of amoeba bombs which will allow you to rain terror upon your opponent. The remix variant has missiles up top instead, which is actually what the original plan was for the stage. Things get really interesting if both players attempt to make a run from opposite directions at once. A melee-to-melee clash could send both players bouncing backwards onto the spikes!

And the final major new addition is actually one of the features I had in the game during development, but decided to cut. That is, the PORTAL. At the time, I think I was just putting them in the wrong places and it didn't feel right. I've had some new ideas of what to do with them, but rather than boring you with my explanation, I hope you'll just check them out. They definitely take some practice to get used to though because suddenly you'll have attacks coming at you from directions other than the opponent. And if you really don't like them, I've included an option to turn them off (press the 'P' key while viewing the stage before starting a game).

You can check out the full update description below.

Thanks for stopping by, and if you've had a chance to play Cataclysm, please leave a comment! I'd love to know what you think.

Follow me @MoonJellyGames for news on when the next update is ready.

Updates for CATACLYSM v1.5

- New power-up: Amoeba Bomb
- New stages: "Gauntlet" and "Gauntlet REMIX"
- Amoeba bomb added to some stages
- Shock blocks will only kill one cat before disappearing
- Shock Blocks now have a maximum velocity
- Cats 101 text updated.
- "Alpha" award slightly more likely to appear if the condition is met
- Various changes to which power-ups appear in which stages
- Change to stage cycle (with L1 & R1): Cycle through normal/remix stages separately rather than as one continuous list
- Ghost Bomb: Chase speed increased
- Strawberry Cake: Number of shock blocks reduced
- Strawberry Cake: Portals added
- Strawberry Cake: (fix) 2x2 dirt blocks were missing from one side. Removed the existing one so there are none.
- "Shop-A-Holic" award slightly less likely to appear
- "Sniper" award slightly more likely to appear
- Generator Room (and REMIX): Portals added (huge improvement for these stages)
- Divided (and REMIX): Portals added
- Cats 101 page for portals