Nova Drift's new game mode, Daily Challenge is now included as a free update!

But before I get into the details, I'd like to remind everyone that the World Ocean Day Steam Sale is live now.

100+ other games are participating, and any of your purchases will support vital conservation work to create safer seas for whales and dolphins, as well as fund a brand-new project to retrieve lost ocean fishing gear. Also, there are some amazing titles in the mix!

See what's for sale: World Ocean Day Steam Sale 2025

One week left to claim your Nova Drift OST on Vinyl!

Also, our Campaign to bring the Nova Original Soundtrack to Vinyl is more than halfway over but only just barely halfway to it's funding goal. Even if you don't want a record, there are a lot of digital-only rewards for those that just want to support the project, including steam keys for the game (that one could give to friends) at almost half price ($10).

The campaign ends June 12th: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/milestilmann/nova-drift-soundtrack-on-vinyl-and-cd

Without further ado,

New Game Mode: Daily Challenge

Take on a new seeded challenge each day, competing with players globally. All together, there are 10 main Daily Challenges, and 23 modifiers that can be applied to them to in different combinations. This results in an enormous number of unique challenges that cycle daily.

Here are the main Challenge Modes:

Super Nova Brothers

Begin your journey alongside a unique and powerful Ally construct. You and the Ally share a portion of damage taken.

20-Point Draft / 45-Point Draft

Begin your journey in Draft Mode with a different number of upgrade points.

Serpentine Drift

Begin your journey as a Leviathan and munch orbs to increase your size. Protect your head, and don't chomp your own tail! Your only threats are cosmic hazards and yourself.

Turbo // Turbo Endless

Experience a condensed and intense journey. Leveling and wave progression happen much faster.

Boss Rush

Face a gauntlet of every boss. Bosses are faster and much tougher. You earn massively increased score and experience.

Way Of The Sword

Begin your journey wielding a powerful variant of the Swords weapon. It can't be damaged by enemies or create spark projectiles. Only you may wield the Sword. You are faster and can use mobility powers more frequently, but you take more damage.

Purity

Begin your journey with a powered-up Ataraxia Super Mod. Once you have 7 Mods, you can't upgrade anymore.

Cosmic Egg

Begin your journey with a COSMIC EGG, which enemies want to destroy. You're tougher, but if it breaks, you lose.

And here are the modifiers to those Challenge Modes:

  • Long Shot - The battlefield size is greatly increased.
  • Grace - Power-ups last longer. Enemies and constructs drop more power-ups and orbs, and Cargo Trains are longer.
  • Unbreakable - Your Body Gear is stronger, and body powers are improved.
  • Unstoppable - Your Weapon Gear is stronger.
  • Immovable - Your Shield Gear is stronger and shield effects are improved.
  • Heist - Cargo Trains are much more common but spawn with dangerous escorts!
  • Hyperactive - You have improved recovery and faster shield cooldown.
  • Compact - You are much smaller.
  • Hurt Me Plenty - Everything takes more damage.
  • Ultra Violence - Everything takes much more damage.
  • I'm The Boss, Now - You are much larger, and have massively increased hull and shields, but they never recover.
  • Chosen One - Gear is predetermined, but stronger.
  • Wilder Metamorphosis - Wild Metamorphosis is enabled and Wild Mods are much more common.
  • Pandemonium - Wild Metamorphosis is enabled, and every other upgrade only Wild Mods are offered.
  • Cage Match - Screen wrapping is impossible, but your gear is stronger.
  • Sterner Stuff - Enemies are much tougher.
  • Rogue Harder - Rerolls do not exist.
  • Vengeance - Bosses are much stronger and provide greater rewards.
  • Slippery Fish - Friction is halved.
  • Frenzy - Enemies are much faster.
  • Celestial Shower - Comets are more frequent and numerous.
  • Cosmic Ballet - Special wave encounters happen much more frequently.
  • Wilderness - Wild Metamorphosis is enabled.

A few other highlights from 1.2:

  • Buffs for Blade and Self Destruction
  • QoL settings added for asteroid visibility
  • Difficulty adjustments for Scion, Dweller, Seraph, Spitfire, Station Omega, and Star Eater, making them more in line with the power curve of other bosses, especially for Boss Rush mode
  • Dozens of bug fixes, including some fatal crashes and memory leaks

Here's the full change log.

Thanks for reading. I hope you love the update!

-Jeffrey (Chimeric)

Don't want to miss my next project? Follow me!

On BlueSky (My preferred platform), or Twitter

We've got quite an active discord with a very chill and inclusive community. The dev team is also pretty active there. There are channels for #ask-the-devs and #feedback. I also enjoy the #game-dev-help channel, which is a space for current and aspiring developers to learn and collaborate. So... come chat with us!

Want to help Nova Drift grow?

Steam Reviews really help! As a tiny operation, Nova Drift relies on its quality and reputation to sell, and fantastic reviews help people choose games with less exposure. Please do take a moment to fill out a short review, even if it's only a few words. It just might make a difference.