Playtest update log: 0.9.0 to 0.9.7
2026-11-04
In early October, Longlight became playable from the main menu all the way to an ending for the first time. Since then we've been running a small playtest and changing things version by version based on the feedback:
- 0.9.0 (October 18): the first playtest build, playable from start to finish in English and Simplified Chinese, on both Windows and Mac.
- 0.9.1 (October 21): the customers remember everything you've said to them tonight; the dialogue box is split into two columns, and you can change its color.
- 0.9.2 (October 24): Traditional Chinese, and background music in the store.
- 0.9.3 (October 26): after you finish the game, a Gallery appears on the main menu.
- 0.9.4 (October 28): from the second night on, old-TV scanlines cover the screen; click the version number on the main menu to see what changed in each version.
- 0.9.5 (October 30): the store comes alive: snow keeps falling outside, the oden steams, and people breathe softly. Every time it's 10 p.m. again, the night rewinds.
- 0.9.6 (November 2): the conversation screen has its own mouse cursors, and you can click "You:" in the dialogue box to pick who to talk to.
- 0.9.7 (November 3): the people in the store keep up their end of the conversation better and sound more like themselves; the game has a new icon, a lamp that stays lit.
We'll keep playtesting and changing things. What changes in each new version will be posted here.
What is Longlight?
2026-11-04
Hello, and welcome to the first Longlight devlog.
Here's the game in one line: Lunar New Year's Eve. A blizzard. A 24-hour convenience store. At 5:47 a.m., a car crashes outside — and time rewinds to 10 p.m. Only you remember.
You're the clerk on the New Year's Eve night shift. One by one, people drift in out of the snow: a high-school girl with a drawing tube, waiting for the first bus; a middle-aged man reeking of liquor, bragging to anyone who'll listen. Each of them has a reason they can't get home.
You don't pick from dialogue options. You type. The customers' replies are generated on the spot by a large language model, so they answer whatever you actually say. But the story, everyone's secrets and the endings are written by us: the AI only decides how things are said. It can't invent new plot or change your ending for you. Say the right thing and they'll open up a little at a time; bring the right clue to the right person and you'll hear the truth.
Every night, they forget you. You remember everything.
Where we are
The game is playable from start to finish, in English, Simplified Chinese and Traditional Chinese. We're playtesting, polishing, and getting the Steam store page ready.
What's next
We're aiming to release in early 2027, on Windows and Mac at the same time. Once the store page is up, we'd love it if you added Longlight to your wishlist.
Future devlogs will go out as Steam announcements, with a copy here.
