- alpha 0.9.1 patch notes - 18 April 2026
+ Fixes Upgrade Rocket possibly failing and blocking level progress if the player did multiple runs in a row without restarting the game. Sorry about that. Thanks for your bug reports!
- alpha 0.9 is out now! - 25 March 2026
alpha 0.9 is out! It has lots of big changes to a run's flow, some fun new fellas to meet and shoot, and local co-op. I'll go into the details now!New MinibossesDEATH STARFISHSUNBEAM: I really like how this goofball's weird attack works and how you can match-3 to get past its armor.Upgrade Rocket, Item ShopNo more level-up interruptions! Level up all at once after minibosses/bosses, and spend your coins on items! For now, all items are heals. I'd like to add a variety of things in the future. This really changes the flow and pace of the game for the better, but it certainly changes a level's difficulty curve. I hope that the extra boss rewards provided by scouts will help that.Scouts, better level pacingThese fellas only show up once you buy the "Scouts" upgrade in the Ichor Upgrades Shop! They'll let you pick which boss to fight and which rewards to get. For now the rewards are kinda b…
- Local co-op is coming to Match Shot Chimera! - 23 January 2026
I've got local co-op working in Match Shot Chimera, for up to 4 players!Presently it's a "carry your kids" mode. Player 1 has the usual multiple hearts while co-op players each need resurrecting any time they're hit. Sit in a rez circle for a while or fetch an insta-rez item dropped by matching 3, and your co-op partner(s) will get another chance.It's certainly OP, but that's kinda the point!I've also tested a "die with your friends" mode where everyone shares the same health bar. That's lower priority at the moment, but I'm open to adding it later!My big move is mostly done now. This was a great way to get back into the thick of development. I'll be getting back to work on the rest of the next alpha now!
- Match Shot Chimera alpha 0.8 is out now! - 14 December 2025
I've added new bosses for level 1 and level 2: CARPY DIE 'EM and MAW MAW.Currently they spawn randomly on any run after you've beaten their respective levels once. That's proven pretty torturous in testing. In the next patch I plan to let you choose which boss you fight before you get to that part of the level.As I mentioned earlier, I've got a lot more updates planned than these bosses, and I'll be going over those shortly. But first, this alpha's change notes (alpha 0.8):Levels can now have one of multiple bosses. Defeat one to unlock the next!Added fish boss: CARPY DIE 'EMAdded factory boss: MAW MAWIncreased level 1 boss healthsImproved spear squid attack hit detectionImproved enemy beam attack cancelingImproved level randomness for repeated runs.Fixed Perry's parry potentially persisting past player pressFixed enemy bullet z-order conflicts just after firingFixed unexpected behavior…
- alpha 0.8 patch notes - 14 December 2025
- Levels can now have one of multiple bosses. Defeat one to unlock the next! - Added fish boss: CARPY DIE 'EM - Added factory boss: MAW MAW - Increased level 1 boss healths - Improved spear squid attack hit detection - Improved enemy beam attack canceling - Improved level randomness for repeated runs. - Fixed Perry's parry potentially persisting past player press - Fixed enemy bullet z-order conflicts just after firing - Fixed unexpected behavior after some enemy deaths
- Coming soon: 2 new bosses! - 4 December 2025
Along with a few fixes and improvements, Match Shot Chimera has 2 more bosses coming: Carpy Die 'em and MAW MAW!I'd hoped for more features in this release, but I've been swamped by a move that wasn't planned when I was picking the game's release date(s). That's wrapping up now, which means I've got even less time to spare at the moment! I don't recommend moving your family over the holidays.I'm looking forward to being done with the move! And I've still got lots of things to add to Match Shot Chimera after this next update; I just wanted to release these two soon so that there'd be something new for you all to play with!Happy Holidays!
- alpha 0.7.4: improved movement, security updates! - 4 October 2025
alpha 0.7.4 Patch Notes: Unity Engine security update Removed player movement acceleration, (more shmup-like movement, instant stops) Improved UI handling of ultrawide displays Level 2 laser enemies no longer fire while off-screen I'm releasing this patch a bit earlier than planned. A bigger patch is still on the way! If you're especially attached to the old movement style, tell me! I'm open to making this configurable.
- Match Shot Chimera is out now! - 24 September 2025
Match Shot Chimera's out now on Steam Early Access!It's been a lot of work, and I plan for it to be a lot more work after this!Compared to the demo there are lots of new things:New character: Wally (shield bubble, makes shield walls)New character: Perry (parries enemy shots on swap!)New level: SPACE!New enemies: alien-shaped baddies. Lots of brain jars and strange new enemy attack styles.Ichor upgrade shop: permanent progression between runsMultiple difficulties: stronger enemies, faster enemies, longer levels.I'm eager to hear what you think! How's it play? Favorite characters? Is blocking in a shmup a crime?I'm happy with the game so far, but it won't last you for ages at this point. Multiple characters and difficulty levels to play with is a start! Future releases will focus strongly on improving replayability and the overall content amount.What's next:More upgrades, for more varied…
- Match Shot Chimera is now coming out September 24th - 9 September 2025
Match Shot Chimera has been delayed to September 24.Sorry for the delay. Match Shot Chimera was ready for September 9th but there were some things out of my control in Steam's backend.I'm happy to have more time to polish and promote before release, though! Match Shot Chimera will be coming at you better than ever September 24th!
- Match Shot Chimera blends together a shoot 'em up with clever match-3 mechanics - 25 August 2025
Match-3 and blow everything up in Match Shot Chimera, a unique fusion of two rather different genres of games into something fun. Read the full article here: https://www.gamingonlinux.com/2025/08/match-shot-chimera-blends-together-a-shoot-em-up-with-clever-match-3-mechanics/
- Match Shot Chimera releases September 9 on Early Access! - 23 August 2025
Match Shot Chimera's coming to Steam Early Access September 9th! Wishlist and tell your friends, tell your mom, tell your pets!Here's a trailer with some new footage of the next level and boss. There will be more!
- What's next: New characters and persistent upgrades! - 15 June 2025
It's been great getting the latest version of the demo out to everyone for Steam Next Fest. I wanted to show you all what I've been working on for the full version of the game lately, starting with new characters and persistent upgrades!New CharactersThe starting character, ever-heroic Jeremy, has a pretty simple charge skill: Focus Fire. For the second character I wanted to have a skill that pretty dramatically changes the play-style.Meet Wally and his shield!It only adds to your break meter when taking a hit, but two hits will be enough to break a block entirely. On break you drop a temporary shield wall.A shield's pretty powerful in a shmup, but this is also much larger than your standard weak spot (the pupil). I think this is a fairly balanced place to start, but will certainly keep an eye on how this plays out.This is Perry!Persistent UpgradesYou'll be able to spend the ichor you a…
- Next Fest stream! - 9 June 2025
Tyrus Peace plays Match Shot Chimera! Hats by grandma.
- New Demo Version! (alpha 0.6) - 8 June 2025
As always, you can get the latest version of the Match Shot Chimera Demo right here:If you haven't tried the demo yet: please do! It's the best way to try out this lil' match-3 shmup at the moment, and I'd love to hear what you think so far. It works great on Steam Deck!I've improved the effects for matching blocks and player damage quite a bit in this update, which should improve the game's feel and make getting damaged much more noticeable!I've used some of that same tech to improve the "colored vector" render style, as well!There are a lot of other changes I've made recently which are focused on the upcoming early access release. I'll detail those in another post soon! But there are many fixes and improvements to the demo in this update, as well. I've included more comprehensive patch notes below.alpha 0.6 Patch NotesImproved effects for match explosionsImproved damaged player effect…
