Hi all!

Before we go any further, be warned! Spoilers abound in this post! If you have not yet played Endling, turn back and come join us when you have!

All set? Great!

To say that we've been thrilled, overjoyed, and humbled by your feedback and comments would be an understatement! Just shy of two months ago, we released Endling to the world, and ever since then, the game has taken on a life of its own. As developers, indie fans, and lovers of game communities, we could not be happier. From the bottom of our hearts, thank you!

Now, one of the most gratifying things about making a game, is getting to see other people play it! That's certainly how we felt, sharing Endling with friends, family, and preliminary testers. Imagine our reaction then, seeing people from all over the world uploading videos of Endling gameplay - players enjoying, commenting on, and critiquing the game in their own words, using their favorite medium. Truly, truly wonderful!

Watching other people play Endling, however, we discovered something shocking! There's a secret way to beat the game! As you will know by now, the game is set to end on the third day of the loop, but what if we told you... you can end it even sooner?

That's right! You can beat the game... well, we won't spoil when exactly, but way sooner than what we originally planned for. Discovering this "exploit", at first we were mortified: how did we miss this? How did we let it slip into the final game? And more importantly, how should we address the issue? 

Our perception of the issue quickly changed, however. The "exploit" isn't a bug or glitch, per say, but rather the unexpected result of the game's systems working together. To slightly misquote Rick Astley, "you know the rules, but apparently we didn't." After much deliberation, we decided to leave it in. Like a cute spider creeping up on you, we just couldn't bring ourselves to squash this serendipitous feature.

Moreover, the fact that we missed this vulnerability in the game's rules (not the code), placed us more firmly in the (eightfold) boots of the alien spider caretakers - like them, we were trying to create a safe and predictable environment for the player, and like them, we underestimated the ingenuity and need for independence of humans!

Enough talk, then! Just what is the secret way of beating Endling? Well, here's the fun part - we're not going to tell you! Instead, this is a challenge to all who played our game to go back and give it another shot. Can you find the secret? Can you break the cycle ahead of schedule? Show us with videos, images, memes, or let us know in the comments! 

We can't wait too see what you come up with - maybe you'll discover an entirely new way of playing, beating, and/or breaking Endling!