Never Wither's first small-scale test concluded a few days ago. Over the course of three days, the first group of Gardeners stepped into Verdant Valley and helped us complete this important technical verification.

During the test, we received hundreds of feedback submissions through the in-game feedback system, surveys, and community channels — covering suggestions, bug reports, balance observations, and feature improvement requests. Both the quantity and quality of feedback exceeded our expectations. We have carefully organized and evaluated every piece of feedback, and they will directly influence our upcoming development plans.

Regarding the creature collection and nurturing system, many players said it is currently the game's most compelling mechanic. Creature affixes, Iridescent appearances, and random attributes provide strong motivation for replayability. Meanwhile, the dynamically refreshing Corruption Outbreak events kept the map lively and were among the most actively engaged-with activities during the test.

Another frequently mentioned aspect was the art style and atmosphere. We're delighted that Verdant Valley's environment design has earned players' approval. That said, some players noted that the overly cute art style at first glance might deter more hardcore-oriented players — one of them almost missed this test himself!

We've also noted feedback regarding travel, inventory and storage management, too few Following companions, melee combat experience, companion collection, the building system, and more — and we are currently evaluating and optimizing these areas.

We will work on allowing players to use the abilities of multiple companions more freely while out exploring, and will also expand convenient relocation features. Quality-of-life improvements related to storage and inventory, marking, and building upgrades have already been planned.

Combat balance and animation refinements will continue throughout subsequent development. We've also noticed that the current capture system is prone to misoperation and makes it difficult to precisely target rare creatures within a large group — we'll explore ways to improve this experience.

As for creature collection content, we will continue adding new creatures as development progresses, including more precious rare companions with special acquisition conditions.

For the building system, we will add more decorative structures and furniture in the future. And with the introduction of stone buildings, you'll be able to construct multi-story buildings and experience new building gameplay.

Additionally, once the core game content has stabilized, we will add a more comprehensive tutorial to help new players arriving in the land of Edda get started more smoothly.

Due to space constraints, we can't list every issue and optimization plan here — but please rest assured that we will carefully read every single suggestion.

We also received lengthy feedback from some players — their in-depth experiences and enthusiasm are truly heartwarming.

Jasc O Nine shared his experience with combat feel, creature diversity, building flow, and progression pacing, and also brought up issues with capture target selection and PvE travel convenience.

Renjimaru provided an in-depth analysis of the starting area, corruption events, and the creature affix system, and even hand-drew a set of UI mockups, visually presenting ideas such as creature marking, one-click item stacking, building upgrades, and an in-game bestiary. Thank you for your dedication!

Herr_Kenn_Rich really enjoyed the corruption events and creature affix system, and expressed a desire to see rare creatures tied to specific conditions — such as those that only appear at night, or require special items to capture — a direction that aligns with our own thinking.

凯丶烙 wrote down his lengthy observations on the open-world experience, combat balance, and environment design; 银岭雪狐 offered over a dozen specific improvement ideas, covering everything from resource storage, combat survival, and companion switching to the guidance system. We have already begun addressing many of the issues raised by both.

Due to space constraints, we can't showcase every player's feedback individually here. But we promise to take every suggestion seriously!

This test also attracted the attention of dozens of media outlets and content creators. Thank you to GameSpark, Dashup, Gameoneer, Kontreck, ChuApp, and all the media friends who covered us, and to every creator who shared playtest content on YouTube, Twitch, and Twitter — you brought Never Wither's test hundreds of thousands of impressions and helped more players learn about our progress.

A special thank you also goes to Kim and Nana for your incredibly thoughtful review videos. You've given Never Wither tremendous exposure and helped many more players learn about our game and its progress.

The test has concluded. Moving forward, we will continue to enrich the game's content and make optimizations based on the feedback we received. We'll need some time to finalize the arrangements for our next milestone. In the meantime, everyone is welcome to join our official community to submit feedback and connect with other players.

Finally, thank you once again to all players who participated in this playtest — your feedback has given us a clearer vision of the path ahead. We hope that the next time we meet, you'll find that the land of Edda has become an even better place.

See you next time!