Dark Hours New Major Update & Easter Eggs Returns!

Hello everyone,

A brand-new major update is now live in Dark Hours, bringing back our seasonal event Easter Eggs, along with major performance optimizations, monster improvements, and a wide range of fixes based on your feedback.

🐇 Easter Eggs Is Back

Our Easter Eggs event is back in Dark Hours! From now until April 21st, we’re bringing a festive vibe back into your heists with decorations, collectibles, and exclusive cosmetics to unlock.

• Fully decorated maps & lobby inspired by Easter

• Collect eggs and earn seasonal tickets

• Exchange your tickets for exclusive themed cosmetics

Find more details about the event in this dedicated news:

[dynamiclink href="https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/2208570/view/507350346821010116"][/dynamiclink]

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⚡ Performance & Optimization

This update also includes a series of improvements to make your heist sessions smoother, more stable, and comfortable.

We’ve worked on:

• Improved texture streaming, including a fix for textures not loading properly on lower-end PCs

• Optimized visual effects to reduce their performance impact (e.g. fire extinguisher effects)

• Reduced the memory footprint of various in-game assets

• Improved VRAM usage, especially beneficial for lower-end graphics cards

• Significantly improved performance for hosts during multiplayer sessions

• Optimized RAM usage by only loading certain elements when needed

• Improved lighting performance for less demanding real-time rendering

💀 Monster Improvements

Monsters have also received several fixes to improve their behavior and make encounters more intense and consistent:

• Better navigation and interaction with doors and the environment

• Improved consistency across multiple monster abilities and behaviors (Hidebehind, Banshee, Drifborn, Voltaic Wraith, Trickster)

• Adjustments to make certain encounters more fair and less frustrating (Cursed Pharaoh, Stone Stalkers)

• Fixes to spawning and positioning issues (Blind Ghoul)

• Improved reliability of certain gameplay interactions (Voltaic Wraith, Trickster)

• Reduced unnecessary controller vibrations caused by distant monster activity

🔧 Bug Fixes & General Improvements

Alongside these changes, we’ve made a number of bug fixes and general improvements to enhance your overall experience. You can find the full list of changes in the detailed patch notes just below 🔽

Thank you for your support, and I hope you enjoy this update!

Raven

Patch notes #76 for Dark Hours (v1.0.25650) - 21/03/2026

Monsters

• General

  • Monster Blocking Fix: Fixed an issue where a monster could get stuck because another monster was blocking its way.

  • Doorway Stuck Fix: Fixed cases where monsters could get stuck or struggle to move properly around doors.

  • Monster Speed Balancing: Adjusted movement speed for several monsters, especially phase 3 speed tuning.

  • Post-Teleport Door Movement Fix: Fixed an issue where monsters could move incorrectly after teleporting while in a doorway.

  • Monster Teleport Vibration Fix: Fixed an issue where monster teleports could repeatedly trigger short gamepad vibrations.

• Cursed Pharaoh

  • Partial Body Appearance Fix:Fixed an issue where the Cursed Pharaoh's body could appear only partially during game startup.

  • Teleport Height Fix: Fixed an issue where the Cursed Pharaoh could teleport onto the player but appear too low.

• Trickster

  • Trickster Card Hint Update: The Trickster card now gives a hint about where it was picked up.

  • Trickster Dance Minigame:

    • Dance Result UI Fix: Fixed an issue where the Trickster Dance result could display the wrong outcome when the sequence was interrupted or ended early.

    • Last Round Arrow Fix: Fixed the last round arrow not working

    • feedback Fix: Improved feedback in the Trickster Dance minigame.

  • Chase After Catch Fix: Fixed an issue where the Trickster could keep chasing other players in phase 2 and 3 after catching someone.

  • Targeting Consistency Fix: Fixed several cases where the Trickster could target the wrong player.

  • Polaroid Reaction Fix: Fixed an issue where the Trickster would not correctly look at a player using a Polaroid on him.

  • Solo Inventory Key Fix: Fixed the failed Trickster minigame in Solo mode when pressing the inventory key on keyboard.

• Voltaïc Wraith

  • Mirror Counter Timing Fix: Fixed an issue where using a mirror at the last moment against a Voltaïc Wraith Dash could still result in the player getting hit.

  • Chase After Catch Fix: Fixed an issue where Voltaïc Wraith could keep chasing other players in phase 3 after catching someone.

• Blind Ghoul

  • Chase Speed Tweak: Adjusted Blind Ghoul chase speed in phase 3, Hard and Nightmare difficulties.

  • Staircase Navigation Fix: Fixed an issue where the Blind Ghoul could get stuck and stop moving on staircases.

  • Taser Stuck Fix: Fixed an issue where the Blind Ghoul could get stuck after being hit by the taser gun.

  • Ragdoll Fix: Fixed an issue affecting the Blind Ghoul’s ragdoll behaviour.

• Banshee

  • Mirror Break Fix: Fixed an issue where mirror could fail to break properly when the Banshee screamed.

  • Polaroid Counter Fix: Fixed the Polaroid counter interaction with the Banshee.

  • Chase/Search Audio Fix: Fixed an issue where players could hear Banshee chase/search sounds without seeing her.

  • Song Duplication Fix: Prevented multiple Banshee songs from playing at once.

  • Song Sync Fix: Fixed Banshee song synchronization between players.

• Stone Stalkers

  • Chase Speed Tweak: Adjusted Stone Stalkers chase speed in phase 3.

Gameplay

• Heist Items

  • Thrown Truncheon Physics Fix: Fixed truncheon physics when thrown.

  • Water Gun Reload Persistence Fix: Fixed an issue where the water gun could fail to refill if it was empty when changing level.

  • Plunger Attachment Fix: Fixed an issue where the plunger could remain stuck in mid-air after being thrown at certain monsters.

  • Mirror Catch Animation Fix: Fixed an incorrect animation when using the mirror while caught.

  • Flare Projectile Glass Break Update: Flare projectiles now break glass.

  • Defibrillator Charger Prompt Fix: Fixed an issue where the defibrillator charger could display the wrong interaction prompt, reusing the prompt from the previously interacted object.

• Player Ragdoll Wall Fix: Player ragdolls can no longer pass through walls.

• Objective Items Spawn Failsafe: Objective items are now forced to spawn even if no room is left.

• Level Transition Input Lock Fix: Inputs are now blocked during the transition screen between the van and the exit to prevent items from being dropped in unreachable areas.

• Safe Prompt Refresh Fix: Fixed an issue where safes could display the wrong interaction prompt, reusing the prompt from the previously interacted object.

• Padlock Safe Reopen Hit Fix: Hitting an already opened padlock safe no longer reopens it.

• Paper Code Text Persistence Fix: Fixed an issue where the paper code number could remain on furnitures when picking it up while already holding another item.

Level Design

• Cruise Ship Door Pickup Fix: Fixed an issue on the Cruise Ship map where items placed on the floor near certain doors could no longer be picked up.

• Bathroom Interaction Fix: Fixed interaction issues with certain furnitures in bathrooms that were difficult to interact with.

• Washing Machine Outline Fix: Fixed selection outline on the washing machine door.

• Cardlock Spawn Fix: Fixed cardlocks spawning inside safes.

• Vending Machine Item Collision Fix: Fixed an issue where items could be thrown into the vending coffee machine and hidden inside it.

• Vent Exit Opening Fix: It is no longer possible to open a vent from its exit side. Players must now enter from the correct entrance and open the exit from inside.

• Tile Weight Activation Fix: Fixed an issue in the Casino vault tile puzzle where the combined weight of multiple objects was not always counted correctly to activate a tile.

• Breakable Glass Panel Update: Added breakable glass panels and fixed materials that were only visible from one side.

Performance & Optimisation

• Lighting Optimisation: Cleaned and optimised lighting in lobby and environments.

• Golden Tag Level Lighting Optimisation: Cleaned and optimised lighting in Golden Tag map.

• Museum Light Synchronisation Fix: Fixed cases where museum lights could become desynchronised.

• Interaction Camera Optimisation: Reduced unnecessary camera-related processing during interactions to improve performance.

• Ragdoll Optimisation: Applied several optimisations around ragdolls.

• Extinguisher VFX Optimisation: Optimised extinguisher visual effects.

• Item Light Shadow Optimisation: Disabled cast shadows on item lights, flare gun, flare, and glowsticks.

• Unused Reference Cleanup: Cleaned several references so it is no longer unnecessarily loaded in memory.

• Monster Loading Optimisation: Monsters such as the Driftborn and the Hidebehind are no longer loaded by default when not in use.

• Overall Assets Optimisation: Several environment assets have been optimised.

Game Modes

• Golden Tag

  • Item Locker Fix: Golden Tag items can no longer be put into the locker.

  • Item Save Fix: Fixed Golden Tag items being savable.

Network

• Relay Connection Fallback: The game now automatically tries different relay configurations on connection failure to improve join reliability.

• Duplicate Session Handling Fix: Fixed incorrect handling of duplicate find-session results.

• Save Backup Recovery Fix: If no main save is found but a backup exists, the backup is now loaded correctly.

• Platform Login Feedback Update: Improved feedback shown on platform login errors.

• Kick Message Localisation Fix: Fixed an issue where the kick message could appear in the host’s language instead of the player’s own language.

Audio

• Voice Occlusion Improvement: Improved voice occlusion so voices are now better blocked by walls and ceilings.

• Urinal Flush Sound Fix: Fixed an issue where urinals did not play a sound when flushed.

• Gramophone Attenuation Update: Updated gramophone attenuation sound.

• Crowbar Hit Sound Volume Fix: Fixed an issue where the sound of being hit by a crowbar could still be heard even when the Sound Effects volume was set to 0.

UI

• Gamepad Navigation

  • Improved gamepad navigation in different menus: Customisation, Score Screen, Locker.

  • Missing Focus Fix: Fixed several missing focus issues after closing windows.

  • Color Wheel Gamepad Support: It is now possible to use color wheels with a gamepad.

• Color Wheel Input Update: Updated color wheel UI input behaviour.

• Player Volume Gamepad Fix: Fixed player volume changes being affected incorrectly by gamepad inputs.

• Mafia Items Locked Icon Update: Added a lock icon for Mafia-locked item in the shop.

• Mafia Reputation Layout Update: Updated the Mafia reputation layout scaling for better readability.

• Contract Selection Settings Menu Fix: Fixed an issue where opening the settings menu during contract selection could break the interface display.

• Press to Skip Widget Alignment Fix: Fixed an alignment issue affecting the “Press to Skip” widget.