- Did Someone Say Snake Mommy? - 17 September 2026
Hey Zodiac Challengers! We’ve shown quite a huge bit of Act 1 by now, so today we’re heading somewhere less traveled… Act 2, the Desert of a Thousand Swords!This vast biome was built over the remains of an ancient and mysterious war, with new enemies, hazards, and plenty of things that would very much like to kill you. Oh, and this is also where you’ll meet the Snake Zodiac. Or, as some of you will inevitably call her...Snake Mommy.Watch our video devlog:(P.S. Her hair physics aren’t in yet, but they will be!) This desert was once home to a thriving city, before a war between immortals left it scarred and forgotten. As you make your way through Act 2, you’ll find traces of that ancient conflict still buried among the ruins.We’ve still got a lot more from Act 2 that we haven’t shown yet.For now, though, tell us what caught your eye first:the new biome, the enemies... or the Snake Zodiac?…
- 『Dev Diary』 ✨114,000 Wishlists ✨, Panda Power & Community Fanart Spotlight! - 1 September 2026
Hello Challengers! It’s time for another little roundup of what’s been happening in and around 13Z: The Zodiac Trials.But first things first...WE HIT 114,000 WISHLISTS! 🎉THANK YOU!!! We probably should have celebrated when we hit 100,000. But, to be completely honest, we've been so busy devving the game that... we forgot. So instead, we're celebrating at 114,000 wishlists! Now we're this close to another nice round number… Can we make it to 115,000 soon? 🤞Dev Diary Highlights🐼 Highlight #1: PANDA! ...ICYMI. Yes. There's a Panda. His name is Cai Li the Iron Brawler, and he's the third playable Challenger we've revealed for 13Z. Full Deep-Dive Here: 🐓 Highlight #2: Rooster’s CallCan the Rooster’s airship be part of the Zodiac Call lineup? Seems possible... 👀Imagine calling it in to rain absolute destruction on your foes with a heavy bombardment — and maybe even having defeated enemie…
- Meet Cai Li, the Panda Iron Brawler! - 18 August 2026
Hey Zodiac Challengers!Some of you have seen him eating dumplings in Turtle Village since our very first playtest in 2024. He has never left his seat. But one question remains: what makes this ‘lazy’ Panda formidable enough to enter the Zodiac Trials?Today, we’re finally introducing Cai Li (tsai-lee), the unstoppable Iron Brawler! He tanks. He punches. He flops. He rolls. More on that last one later. Watch our devlog here:Meet Cai Li Imbued with the Panda Spirit, Cai Li is a formidable warrior known for his immense strength, unwavering resolve and... slightly clumsy nature. He has stepped on one too many bugs.With a heart of gold and a desire to protect those in need, Cai Li enters the Zodiac Trials to atone for the tiny lives he has accidentally taken and uncover why demons have been appearing in greater numbers across his childhood home, Cloud Bamboo Grove. He also heard that Turtle V…
- 『Dev Diary』Are There Ghosts in the Zodiac Trials? + Playtest Reset News - 1 August 2026
Greetings Challengers! Our Dev Diary roundup this month is gonna be quick but loaded with sneak-peeks regarding our future content, and plans for future private playtests. Highlight 1: The Horse Zodiac is gonna be one of the bosses!Here is an early WIP glimpse of our upcoming Horse Zodiac fight! In case you missed it, we had a deeper dive hereThis preview showcases The Mistress of Wind’s high mobility and arena control. Expect long-range AoE strikes and horse followers summoned to distract you.We also shared some shots captured while we’re testing our Photo Mode. More of them can be found on our Discord. Highlight 2: Throwback to Goat Zodiac’s early beginnings.Time for a developer flashback! This was how the Goat Zodiac (and 13Z) looked like during the very early phase of dev. Arena control and wide-range strikes were already part of the Goat’s core kit. Highlight 3: Ghosts?!!!These are…
- Horse Boss Preview and Mysterious New Elemental Seals!? - 15 July 2026
Hey Zodiac Challengers! If you haven’t checked in for a while, there’s quite a bit to catch up on!For those of you who are new, 13Z is inspired by the legend of the 12 Chinese Zodiacs: Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Goat, Monkey, Rooster, Dog, and Pig. You’ve already met some of them in the demo, but today, we want to talk a little more about the first six Zodiac Guardians you’ll encounter, their personalities, and roles in the Trials.Before we dive in: if you’ve already wishlisted 13Z, please click 「Follow」 too! That way, you’ll receive important updates about future content, news, and private playtests. (Psst… we’re going to be reviving our playtest branch again soon. 👀)12. The Pig Zodiac, Bo2019, 2007, 1995, 1983, 1971…Bo probably loves welcoming new Challengers almost as much as he loves food. As the Master of Feasts, his main duty is making sure seeds remain potent…
- Thank You for Playing the 13Z Limited-Time Demo! - 26 June 2026
Hey Zodiac Challengers! The gates to the 13Z limited-time demo are closing for now.Whether you chilled in the village, got smacked by the Goat Zodiac (or Goldcroak!), cooked up ridiculous builds, reported bugs, left a review, or simply wishlisted the game — we saw you, and we’re really grateful. Thank you!Wishlisted 13Z already? Click 「Follow」 to make sure you receive future updates too! 😁 (Shoutout to all the Horse Zodiac fans on our Discord!)More than 15,000 new Challengers entered the Trials, and the demo ended at 92% positive reviews. We are still trying to process it, so we can't sleep yet. :love_gq:It’s been incredibly encouraging to see so many of you enjoying the new changes, sharing your thoughts, and helping us shape 13Z as we keep working toward launch!If you love seeing WIP snippets, check out our #dev-diary channel on our Discord. ^^Discord / X (Twitter) / Tiktok / Youtube…
- POLL: Which Zodiac Guardian has captured your heart (and ears)? - 18 June 2026
Hey Zodiac Challengers!You’ve now met the last six Zodiac Guardians (yes, we’re counting our way back to one!):12. Pig, 11. Dog, 10. Rooster, 9. Monkey, 8. Goat, and 7. Horse.Now we’d love to hear from you.✨Which Zodiac Guardian is your favorite so far?✨And whose voice caught your attention the most?Cast your vote on Discord, or share your pick in the comments below. Tell us who stood out to you, why you liked them, and which Guardian you’d love to know more about. We’d love to start sharing more about each Guardian soon, including their personalities, their roles in 13Z, and some of the little details behind their designs and voices. Speaking of voices, we’re also getting ready for our official VO call, likely around next month. If you’d like to lend your voice to 13Z, keep an eye out for the announcement! Please don’t send anything in just yet. We’re not set up to go through them pro…
- 13Z is Keeping Busy During Summer Game Fest Season! - 1 June 2026
Hey Zodiac Challengers! We’re thrilled to share that 13Z: The Zodiac Trials will be appearing in several June showcases during Summer Game Fest season, including Women Led Games, Southeast Asian Games Showcase, and The MIX Summer Game Showcase.Catch some new and exclusive dev deep dives and trailers on their respective Youtube channels:Mix Summer Showcase (June 1st @ 12PM ET): Women Led Games (June 4th @ 7PM ET): South East Asian Games (June 6th @ 11AM ET): As part of this showcase window, we’re temporarily making the 13Z demo available on Steam from June 1 to June 25. If you’ve just discovered 13Z and missed all our previous playtests, this is your chance to hop in, smack some enemies around, get launched by things that probably should not have launched you, and see what the Zodiac Trials are all about.For returning Challengers, this is a lighter showcase preview. That said, there have…
- 『Dev Diary』 Blazing Fire Pillar, Spider Boss & Mounted Enemies - 28 April 2026
April was another busy month in the dev basement! We’ve been focusing on refining our long-standing icons while introducing some multi-armed chaos to the trials. Here is a look at what we've been polishing lately.Highlight 1: Spider Miniboss Phrase 2This eight-legged nightmare is finally graduating from a trailer cameo to a full-blown multi-armed Asura. In his second phase, he drops the web-slinging to quadruple-wield a hammer, spear, and dual swords.Highlight 2: Ranged SentinelsThe Sentinel army is officially expanding its reach. The raining volleys of standard Crossbowmen and the high-speed kiting of the new Crossbow Cavalry keep you on your toes to survive the frontline.Highlight 3: The Goat Zodiac UpdateOur OG Goat is getting a high-fidelity facelift. We’ve tweaked his charging slams and spear throws to make sure that when you get skewered, it at least looks professional.Highlight 4…
- 『Dev Diary』Q4 2026 Launch Target, Demo Closure and Exploding Eggs!? - 1 April 2026
Hey Zodiac Challengers, Before we dive into this month’s dev highlights…We’re targeting Q4 2026 for 13Z: The Zodiac Trials's launch on Steam.We’re getting closer to the finish line… but that also means the dev kitchen is more chaotic and hotter than ever! 🔥Demo Closure 👋We’re also taking the demo down today as we focus our efforts on making the game.It might pop back up now and then for a few days during Steam events, but otherwise it’ll be offline until we have a major update that makes it feel a lot more like the 13Z we’re building.To everyone who played it, dropped a review, or sent us feedback, THANK YOU.We may also put out smaller playtests, so join our Discord if you want to keep up with the latest.Here our the highlights from our Patreon blog this month. As always, a bunch of these are still WIP. Some are just random 'experiments' and may not make it into the final game, but if…
- 13Z Wins the IGF x WINGS Award! - 12 March 2026
Hey Zodiac Challengers, there’s something we’ve been quietly holding close… and today, we finally get to share it.13Z: The Zodiac Trials was one of finalists for the IGF x WINGS Award… and we WON 🙏This is a deeply special moment for our team. Not just because it’s the first award we’ve ever received together, but because of what it represents. WINGS recognizes the people and stories that help make this industry bigger, kinder, and more welcoming. To be part of that, even in a small way, means more to us than we can put into words.Watch the full show here: We know many of you have only just discovered the Trials, so to celebrate, we’ll be extending the current demo until April 1, 2026. Behind the scenes, a lot has changed since this demo build. The version we’re making now has moved on in a bunch of ways, so what you’re playing here is a snapshot of an earlier chapter. Still, we hope th…
- 『Dev Diary』If you're a fan of the Heaven Seal, this is for you. - 27 February 2026
Hey Zodiac Challengers! We’ve been heads down in the kitchen this month, and we wanted to share a quick wrap-up of a few of the progress snippets we’ve been posting over on our free Patreon blog. Highlight 1: Lucky & Unlucky SpotsLucky spots grant a massive crit boost, while Unlucky spots make you more vulnerable—and occasionally drop a giant sword from the heavens to punish anyone standing in the wrong place.Highlight 2: Fire Seal VFX EvolutionThe Fire Seal is getting a visual overhaul to better reflect its power level as you stack Ignite effects.Highlight 3: The Snake FollowerMeet the Snake Guardian’s little helpers from Act 2. These scaly sentries fire projectiles that explode into toxic clouds, and they can even cling to the environment to create tricky vertical hazards.Highlight 4: Water Seal & WalkingInvesting in this seal lets you fire frost projectiles continuously on the move,…
- Demo Update: Year of the Horse Quest! - 12 February 2026
Hey Zodiac Challengers! We’ve got a brand new demo update to share… and with it, we’re also going to close out this chapter of the Trials soon.This update is part celebration, part milestone, and part farewell to the current demo before things start shifting in much bigger ways. Year of the Horse ArrivesIn celebration of the Year of the Horse, you’ll finally get to meet none other than the Horse Zodiac herself.Normally, she’s busy with a very important job… driving the sun and guiding the passage of time for all realms. Casual. No big deal. But for this special occasion, she’s taking a short break to wander Turtle Village, take in the sights, and watch the fireworks display. But whether there are fireworks at all depends entirely on you. 🙂 Fireworks, Red Packets, and an Exclusive SkinIf you want to celebrate with her, Fuxi the Village Intern has prepared a festive activity just for Cha…
- 『Dev Diary』Bubble Hell, Snake Boss Preview, Sylith Skydive and More - 1 February 2026
Welcome to our first Dev Diary Roundup!Over the past few weeks, we’ve been posting sneak peeks, dev notes, and the occasional WIP chaos on our Patreon blog. Here are some highlights from January 2026:Things are getting a bit slithery in the dev den. We shared a super early look at the Snake Guardian's combat mechanics. Expect some WIP jank and bad acting. You’ve been warned.Raven is all about using his environment to his advantage. So we wondered… What if he could drag a pesky enemy right off the edge of a cliff? Should this be legal, though?We have more sneak peeks for Act 2’s desert biome. In the BTS screenshots, we showcased the scale we’re aiming for which deviates from Act 1's smaller levels.We’re also experimenting with some bullet hell-like mechanics. But I guess you can call this Bubble Hell instead. 🤔If you enjoyed this roundup and would love to know about all the updates and…
- Top 10 Demo Bugs of 2025... The Real Zodiac Trials? - 31 December 2025
Hey Zodiac Challengers!As we wrap up another year of development, we wanted to share a peek at the absolute chaos behind the scenes. While you’ve been proving your worth to the Zodiac Guardians, we’ve been busy battling some very creative ghosts in our code. Turns out, keeping Lyra on the ground is sometimes harder than becoming a 13th Zodiac.Here are the 10 Worst (But Also Best?) Bugs of 2025Time for a Stretch?Game development is equal parts planning and accidental comedy, and one of our favorite moments was Sylith the Raven deciding to transcend his physical form in the most unsettling way possible.Dancing SporebashersAt one point, the Spore Bashers decided combat was optional and broke into what can only be described as a synchronized dance routine. It’s raining Jade!Remember this from our #sneak-peeks on Discord? For a short, dangerous moment, the Jade Tree was perhaps a little too…
- Demo Patch Notes [0.7.2.937] - 4 December 2025
Dev team vs all the bug reports >:DHey Zodiac Challengers, we’ve got another round of bug fixes and QoL updates for you. Keep those reports, feedback and suggestions coming! ;) * All items with ⭐ were inspired by the Community.BUG FIXES⭐Invert mouse Axis setting now functions properly⭐Flying blades can now damage properly throughout a lengthy trialSylith's daggers can now deal damage properly to Cosmia under all conditions⭐Cosmia and Goldcroak should appear at the right time of day in trialGiant terracotta warrior is displaying properly now at the background of Act 2Mountain boulders will now function appropriately across stages⭐Zodiac Guardian UI now functions properly when using controllerMonkey's flawless challenge now rewards bonus jades properlyDog's giant appearance in level renders normally nowPlayers will now return to the safezone after dropping from Monkey's platform challenge…
- Demo Patch Notes [0.7.2.935] - 26 November 2025
Hey, Zodiac Challengers! First patch notes for our Co-op Demo, fresh out of the oven. This update smooths out Twitch integration, fixes a few quirky skills, and tightens overall balance and stability.We’re also experimenting with a new shader to boost character readability, so give it a spin and tell us how it feels in the comments on or on Discord. Hotfix 0.7.0.935 - Nov 26 2025MAIN HIGHLIGHTSFixed a critical issue where certain save file conflicts prevented players from loading the Main Menu.Fixed multiple Twitch-related bugs.Added an experimental shader the team is testing to improve character readability.UIPatron UI in the village is no longer cut off at the bottom.HP bar now updates correctly when viewing the pause menu.The Challenger avatar is now displayed in the inventory menu.Cursor now hides properly after closing the Tutorial Popup View.Welcome Message updated.Dialogues no lo…
- 🔥Co-op Demo is LIVE and that's not all! - 22 November 2025
Hey Zodiac Challengers! Co-op Mode is officially live on the demo, and it’s exactly as chaotic as we promised! If you prefer running solo, don’t worry. This update comes with some treats for you too. ;)Stay tuned! Our official co-op demo trailer drops on Nov 22 at 4 PM PST. Why is it dropping later that the update, you ask? Because we're revealing it first on the OTK Games Expo happening @ 12PM PT today! 😉 You can also 'Set Reminder' to watch it albeit much later on our channel.Co-op Mode is Up!You can now tackle the Zodiac Trials with up to four players online through public matchmaking or private parties.Friendships may be tested. Trust may be strained. To support multiplayer runs, several systems have been expanded so your co-op runs feel like true group efforts, not four solo players sprinting in different directions. For example -+20 new Jade Tree nodes dedicated to multiplayerLot…
- Demo Hotfix [0.7.1.906] - 29 October 2025
13Z Demo Hotfix \ - Oct 28 2025General and QoL UpdatesImproved chest cost UI display that show discounts⭐Adjusted Qi cost for various techniques and upgradesConsumables now play VFX & SFXBug FixesCamera lock now no longer lingers on targets that are already deadFire Special can function properly on Flying Swords nowFirst Light critical damage calculation logic is fixedOmni seals can now appear properly at start of trial once the corresponding tree node is unlockedGlory bar now displays XP value properly before stronghold levelsDash reset message no longer spamsYou can find us on: Discord / X (Twitter) / Tiktok / Youtube / Reddit Crafted with Love, Mixed Realms Team
- ✨Demo Update Live Now — Co-op Demo Date Revealed!✨ - 23 October 2025
Hey Zodiac Challengers! Big news today — we’re officially announcing that 13Z’s Co-op Mode will land on the demo build this November 21, 2025.It’s the feature many of you have been waiting for, and we can’t wait for you to experience the Trials together. But before that, we’ve rolled out a new update to the current demo (details below!), packed with new gameplay content (like 80+ new seals and boons 😎), balancing, QoLs, system updates, bug fixes and a brand-new way to show off your skills through Glory, our new performance-based currency.🙌 A Small Favor, ChallengersBefore we dive into the details of this update, we’d love your help spreading the word.If you’ve enjoyed your time in the Trials, please tag “13Z: The Zodiac Trials” on Steam with “Action Roguelike” and “Hack-and-Slash.”It’s a small gesture that helps more players who love games like this discover 13Z. Thank you for giving…
