NEO Scavenger Update Adds Nasal Allergy, Feeble Crawl

Adam has previously scavenged through the lovely, horrible, turn-based NEO Scavenger, killing a blind man in order to steal one of his shoes in the process. The game has changed a lot since the start of the year though, and one of the largest updates launched last week, introducing new encounters, weapons, recipes locations, a nasal allergy, and a load of bug fixes.

The full changelist is too long and detailed to included, but here's a representative sampling:

Added code to ignore talisman when surrendering in combat.
Added UVD items in 4 varieties, plus scratched.
Added recipe to break UVDs and cases into plastic shards.
Added swamp and forest crash site scavenge locations.
Added nasal allergy condition.
Added nasal allergy as accident to urban and brutish scavenging.
Added new rubble camp type.
Added new scavenge locale for Great Black Swamp.
Added code to auto-advance combat turns if player is asleep for more than 2 consecutive turns.
Added a new battle move to crawl away from battle if crippled and opponent is unconscious.
Added defoliant and exposure condition.

And so on. NEO Scavenger is a game that favours breadth over depth, which means it's i) surprisingly accessible to play despite its hard, turn-based, roguelike-y, sim-y roots and ii) enormously varied, as decisions you make in the first five minutes can produce dramatically different experiences. It's hugely compelling to, for example, pick the Botany skill and the Insomniac trait at the start of the game and then see how those help and hurt your ability to survive in the wilderness.

It also makes each new patch to the game a more exciting prospect, as new features aren't necessarily extending some unreachable endgame, but giving you more options. Eg, the ability to crawl away from fights when you're paralysed but your opponent is unconscious. It's a wonderful machine for producing horrible anecdotes.

Intrigued? There's a demo for the game available so you can see whether you might like to branch your life in its direction. $10/£6.20 nets you the standard build with a Steam key.