The Button Effect

About this game

Latest news

• Announcements·27 Jul 2026Official

  News – Release Window Delay

  Hey everyone, It's been an overwhelmingly busy time for me working on The Button Effect. I had initially planned to launch the game this August, but unfortunately, I will not be able to make that date. The sheer amount of work left to do has caught up to me. To be safe and to ensure quality, I have decided to move the release window to Q1 2027 Your excitement and support these past few months have meant a lot to me, and I did not make this decision lightly. Wrapping up the late-game puzzle design and the game's finale is taking longer than expected, affecting my timelines for proper play-testing, implementing feedback and final voiceovers. I want to make sure the ending receives the same level of care and polish as the rest of the game. Since it is just me working on the game, this extra time protects both the quality of the game and my health. I'll share more specifics with you as soon as the game is ready for it. Thank you for your patience, and for your continued support. -Tim (Frycandle)
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• Patch Notes·6 Jun 2026Official

  Demo Build - Update 0.1.7

  Updated the game's logo and added it to the Steam Demo build. After receiving a lot of feedback about the readability of the previous logo, I worked with the community to find an improved version for it. The main goal was improving the readability of the 'O'. Changes: Updated the logo in the title screen Updated the logo in the options menu / pause screen Special thanks to Hiyshhiysh and everyone else in the Discord for workshopping it with me! {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/45292736/cdf5e920442d180ce5ba8539666b43b07d83e63c.png
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• Announcements·26 May 2026Official

  Trailer – New Puzzles & Release Window

  Hey Steam! The Button Effect will take part in the Cerebral Puzzle Showcase and Steam Next Fest June soon! To celebrate, I've released a new trailer. It features new buttons and puzzles set in the mysterious downstairs area of the museum – planned to open to the public August 2026 Q1 2027: I can't wait for you all to explore beyond the previous limits of the demo barriers! These new areas introduce additional buttons, rule sets, puzzle types and art installations. I've worked hard to keep the building's secrets (and the narrative) under wraps for now. I want to thank you all for your support so far; I'm incredibly proud of the game, and I couldn't have made it this far without your feedback. I'll be working hard these next few months to bring the game's finale together. In the meantime, please feel free to spread the word to any first-person puzzle fans you know. Wishlists and word-of-mouth will make a huge difference – I'd love to keep making puzzle games in the future! If you'd like to try the demo, you can play it right here on Steam: https://store.steampowered.com/app/3563110/The_Button_Effect__Demo/ Thank you for playing, -Tim (Frycandle)
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• Patch Notes·22 May 2026Official

  Demo Update – Translations & Improvements

  Hey Steam! I've updated the demo with translations for 12 new languages, several puzzle improvements and additional polish. Huge shout-out to the LocQuest team for localizing the UI and narration with great care! The demo is now available in English, Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese, French, German, Italian, Spanish, Brazilian Portuguese, Dutch, Polish, Russian, Korean and Japanese. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/45292736/84ef141758c341c1f0f0fc2a5269ba564cc4696b.png I've also made several quality-of-life improvements and adjusted a handful of early-game puzzles to better introduce certain mechanics. If you've played the demo before, I'd be curious to hear your thoughts on the changes – feel free to share feedback on my Discord. Due to changes in the puzzle design flow and other technical adjustments, save files from version 0.1.5 are not compatible with this updated demo. For a complete list of changes check out the patch notes: Demo Update 0.1.6 Thanks again to all playtesters for your feedback – it's been incredibly helpful! -Tim (Frycandle)
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• Patch Notes·22 May 2026Official

  Demo Build - Update 0.1.6

  Added localizations and improvements to the Steam Demo build. Note: Due to changes in the puzzle design and other technical adjustments, save files from version 0.1.5 are not compatible with this updated demo. Added Languages: - 繁體中文 (Traditonal Chinese) - 简体中文 (Simplified Chinese) - 日本語 (Japanese) - 한국어 (Korean) - FRANÇAIS (French) (AZERTY keyboard option included) - DEUTSCH (German) - ESPAÑOL (Spanish) - ITALIANO (Italian) - PORTUGUÊS BRASILEIRO (Brazilian Portuguese) - NEDERLANDS (Dutch) - РУССКИЙ (Russian) - POLSKI (Polish) Improvements: - Improved the introduction puzzles to improve onboarding - Added a rotary phone sculpture with sound effects to improve onboarding - Added to and improved the black window introduction puzzles - Added clarity to the tower puzzle to improve visibility - Added clarity to the poem puzzle - Changed the rotation logic of a certain sculpture Bugs: - Fixed an issue where running over large floor buttons would break animations - Fixed an issue where clicking through the floor would activate buttons - Fixed an issue where clicking through clear glass would activate buttons - Fixed missing sound effects for a certain elevator - Fixed an issue where resetting the game would not save any option settings - Fixed an issue where rotating into portals would launch you across the museum - Fixed an issue where moving trackers would save and load incorrectly - Fixed an issue where pistons would save and load incorrectly when loading from auto-saves - Fixed collision gaps in all sliding doors - Fixed and improved the crouching logic
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