Another SFW Public Newsletter, 07-26-2026
The wheels are all spinning... I need to pay attention to where they are spinning too...
So, I have over a thousand hours 'playing'* Wicked Island at this point. My top views, especially video, are all about what I have done on Wicked Island (build, find things, start a few galleries...) just in-case you are curious, here is my quick summary and then a recent post left by the games creator:
Wicked Island is a year old online, single player, open world game that includes a bit of everything including building, hunting, sex, adventure, cooking, survival... The game will be moving out of development soon to version 1.0. It has outdated free and beta versions as well. The current early access game has a lot of the refinements hashed out in the recently outdated beta version.
Here is a quick summary from Raw Darkness, this games (initially) solo creator:
One Year on the Island
A year ago today, Wicked Island launched into Early Access. I genuinely didn't know what to expect back then, and a year later, well over 100,000 of you have washed up on that shore. This started almost 5 years ago as a personal hobby and learning project, and over time it grew into something much bigger. I still have trouble grasping the reality of it. From the bottom of my heart, thank you!
What a year it's been
Looking back at everything that shipped since launch, it's honestly a longer list than I remembered writing, but to mention just a few:
· A complete rewrite of the Servant System, plus the Bonding Ritual that turned taming into a survival test
· Reworked armor tiers and several new armor models
· A complete rework of all building pieces, a huge amount of new ones, and shareable building presets
· A full rework of food, ingredients, and crafting
· New encounters, animations, and enemy balancing
· Localization into 10 languages
· Full Steam Achievements
· Multiple new dungeons, locations, and bosses
· New and rewritten questlines, dialogue, and story
· A complete rework of the dragon into proper endgame content
· Major improvements to visual quality
· Tons of optimization work, including better Steam Deck performance
· A huge slew of fixes and minor changes across the board
None of that direction happened in a vacuum. So much of what shipped this year came directly from your reports, your feedback, and your (occasionally unhinged) suggestions. This island is shaped by the people surviving on it.
What's next
Work continues; our small team is already deep in the next update, centered on something we've hinted at before: the Goddess questline, and the endgame armor that comes with it, alongside a wave of new building content and a batch of fixes and improvements.
Beyond that, there's one milestone left on the horizon: Wicked Island leaves Early Access with its 1.0 release later this year.
Year two starts with 1.0. See you on the island.
— RawDarkness
Here are some pictures I took on site:
This is my first open world game, actually, my first game. Raw Darkness talks about end game... I'm experiencing that there is no end game... just another day on the island.
The fire pit is done and lidded. The yard is being reassembled. Waiting a little for the season to be less hot, combustible, and firey. I don't want to be the guy that accidentally burns up the neighborhood.
Fire pit, deck, and french drain
(*) okay, 'play'
I am currently trying to decide what is play, work, entertainment, life's calling... etc. I am amuzed that all the work I have done in this game is subject to game change destruction, hard to see, and, in-fact, counted as disposable... 1000 hours... seems almost like my art practice.
Speaking of which there are always these:
Have a wonderful month, much love,
Richie
