The Art of Reflection — patch notes and updates
Stored observation / content update:
Dated developer announcements recorded from Steam. Open the source for the complete update.
| Update | Date | Excerpt / source |
|---|---|---|
| The Art of Reflection is now Steam Deck Verified! | 2025-12-15 | The Art of Reflection is now Steam Deck Verified!It was important during development that the game ran well on a wide variety of hardware. And Steam Deck is such a cool device it seemed like a no-brainer to make sure it ran smoothly there as well.If you find any bugs while playing on the Deck, please don't hesitate to let me know via the discussion forums or the game's discord. |
| Patch notes for version 2469 (released December 11th, 2025) | 2025-12-11 | - Fixed several exploits in the finale sequence- Improved clarity and target positioning in the last finale puzzle- Force the correct button glyphs to be used on Steam Deck, even if input is received from the touchscreen or the gyro - Fixed flickering on a platform in the blue acrobatics area - Fixed bug where in-motion mirror gun mirrors continued moving even while the game was paused - Mirrors fired by the mirror gun can now be destroyed by pressing the C key (LB/L1 on controller). Saved games from before this update will be shown the mirror gun tutorial key prompts again in order to teach that you can now destroy fired mirrors. |
| Patch notes for version 2465 (released December 5th, 2025) | 2025-12-05 | Added a controls option for toggling mouse acceleration on/offAdded a controls option for toggling mouse smoothing on/offWhen showing hubs and remaining portals, the music boxes now glow that hub's colourBlue-green objects, mirror sheen, and a specific couple portals are now dimmed properly showing hubs and remaining portalsFixed exploit in a red area puzzle sequence where you could jump on the key stand to solve a puzzle triviallyMade an early secret puzzle less annoying to finish if you enter in an unexpected wayThe game should no longer trap the mouse in the center of the screen if you alt-tab or change desktops during startupShow the "Joi |
| The Art of Reflection is Available Now! | 2025-12-01 | After five years I can't believe the day is finally here! I've been overwhelmed by the immense support I've gotten from everyone, and I still can't fully believe so many people see the same promise in this game that I did all those years ago. Thank you so much to everyone who played the demo, discussed the game, or stopped by to check it out. You all make this worth it.I can't wait to hear about everyone's experience with the game over the coming days and weeks :)Launch DiscountThe game will be 10% off until December 14th! Now is the perfect time to pick it up and give those spatial reasoning skills a flex.How You Can Support UsAs a solo deve |
| New release date: December 1, 2025 | 2025-11-10 | Bad news: I'm delaying the game again. Good news: It's by one week :)The Art of Reflection needs just a little more time to get everything ready for launch. The game's final release date is now December 1, 2025! Thanks for your patience, and I can't wait for you all to get to play in just a few weeks! |
| New release date: November 24, 2025 | 2025-08-30 | The Art of Reflection has a new release date: November 24, 2025! The final stages of level design and polish need just a couple more months, but are coming along well. I can't wait to get the game into everyone's hands in November! |
| Patch notes for version 2174 (released May 28, 2025) | 2025-05-30 | Added particle vortex effect to draw attention to remaining optional cylinders Added graphics option to disable the paint-in effect (disabling leaves the world fully painted-in) Added minor hue, and saturation, and lightness variation to wall, floor, and ceiling textures. Added support for resolution scaling. Added 0.2s delay before gravity kicks in after a zoom. Music box cylinder and hole shapes now match. This is to more clearly associate cylinders with the correct hub they should be brought to. Added metal wall panels to several areas to try and visually differentiate the two sides of puzzle rooms that are split in half by a glass wall Fo |
| Patch notes for version 2139 (released March 26, 2025) | 2025-03-27 | Improved layout and lighting of the Acrobatics area movable mirror puzzle to better draw attention to certain locations Made key pedestals more visible in a couple areas Orange entry area fizzler no longer resets gravity Made door-key area upper ledge target more visible (and harder to walk too far in and miss) Door-key partial zoom puzzle now uses barriers instead of gaps. This keeps the fundamental puzzle the same while making the execution easier (particular given that it shows up so early, players are sometimes not comfortable with precise zoom interrupts yet) Fixed target collision bounds so the player no longer sticks to them when walki |
| The Art of Reflection is in Steam Next Fest! | 2025-02-24 | The Art of Reflection is participating in Steam Next Fest, starting right now! The demo got a major update, now's a great chance to check it out if you've been waiting. Or dive back in and solve those last few hidden puzzles ;) |
| Patch notes for version 1997 (released October 19, 2024) | 2024-10-20 | Added support for DirectX feature level 11.0. Until now, the game required feature level 11.1. This should allow some older video cards to run the game (eg. GeForce 600/700 era cards). Added a subtle distance fog Tuned ambient occlusion to be stronger, especially in the distance Added point of no return to the start of the first puzzle in the green upside-down combinations area (the tall narrow column) to reduce disorientation. Swapped green upside-down combinations puzzle #2 (open air key grab) and #3 (closed room key grab) to encourage more interesting solutions to puzzle #2. Moved green upside-down basics puzzle #3 (two-mirror closed room) |
| Language update! | 2024-08-12 | It's been a long time coming, but The Art of Reflection now supports multiple languages! Officially supported are: English French Spanish German Brazilian Portuguese Polish Russian Simplified Chinese Japanese Korean If you speak any of these languages, please don't hesitate to report translation issues for both the game and the Steam store page. They can be reported in the Bug Reports section of the discussion forum. Thank you! |
| Patch notes for version 1956 (released June 28, 2024) | 2024-06-28 | Adjusted the sensitivity curve when zooming in. The zoom-in speed is now slower than before when not zoomed in very far, which should make short zooms more ergonomic. Adjusted grey wall material to improve look Minor improvements to line-of-sight visibility between areas Added an entryway to the Hub 2 transition area so that something is visible in the portal when looking up at it from Hub 1 Music cylinder colours now match the areas they're found in 'Return to hub' functionality is now mapped to a key/button. To teach this, a tutorial prompt is now shown upon entering a new area. Fixed bug where you could change the non-zoomed FOV temporaril |