Smalland, one of the smallest (for the size of the players) open-world survival games, has released The Forbidden Monuments update, which introduces a new map area to explore, a few new enemies, new equipment, a new leveling system, and a lot more.

The New Map area is in the North area of the map, with towering remnants of an old giant civilization. The area is the subject of much Smallfolk lore and is a hallowed area, where only a few of the bravest Smallfolk have dared travel and fewer have returned, and when they do, it is with the fantastical stories of The Forbidden Monuments of the Long Dead Giants, with monstrous creatures that can paralyze you with their very smell and even large feathered creatures that will swoop down and carry away the unwary. Those who have returned have brought back strange weapons that look like they were crafted by Smallfolk, but are also alien in their design. There have even been rumors of another race of Smallfolk called The Aetherins.

These wondrous monuments appear to be the remnants of what the giants would call a playground, with sandy areas to explore, a play set, and even a toy train.

Some of the new enemies in the area are the Stink bug, a fearsome insect capable of poisoning you with its acrid secretions that it can use to create a toxic cloud. Take down this fearsome beast, and you can harvest its stink bug gland and even harness the power of the stink to craft your own toxic weapons, such as the stink bomb, that you can use to poison your enemies from a distance.

The Blue Tit is a fearsome Apex predator of the new area. A boss unlike any other as it has fast-swooping attacks, devastating pecks, and a brutal area slam attack. If you can defeat the Blue Tit, you can also tame it and take to the skies yourself, allowing you the freedom to truly rule the skies.

Character progression was one of the biggest complaints that players had, and now your character and even your pets have been overhauled. With the new experience and attribute system, every time you harvest, kill, or complete a mission, you will earn experience points that you will be able to use in your four new attributes. Strength determines how much damage you deal with weapons, Dexterity will increase your movement speed while Constitution will increase your base health, and Endurance will increase your stamina.

All new and current characters will start off at level one, but experienced players with some of the higher-tier equipment will quickly be able to progress to levels appropriate to their status. Currently, there is a level cap of 100. Your tamed creatures will also have a level, and wild animals will also spawn with different levels. Any tames will be able to increase their level by 10 beyond what they spawned with. Your creatures will also have stats, just like you, that you will be able to increase and make them even stronger. New mobs in the wild will also have new color variants of their species. All mounted creatures will now be able to jump and attack. The grasshopper’s jump is now a charged ability. Ladybugs, even when told to leave the party, will still act as a storage device and drop a gravestone upon death.

There isn’t much known about the other race of smallfolk, the Aetherin Outcasts; what is known is that there are two different types: the Aetherin Scout and the Aetherin Elite. Thou Smallfolk, they have adapted their own society, and with that, their own weapons; they have the Aetherin Hammer, the Aetherin Great Ax, and even Aetherin arrows.

The new armor, the Icarus set, will come with wings and the unique ability to air-dash by pressing the Sprint button. Wings can now be added to any armor by adding them to the new wing slot on the armor set. But as a result, old armor sets that had wings on them will have their wings removed, and they will have to be recrafted and added back onto the armor.

If all the above wasn’t enough to entice you to come back and try Smalland, they have even added some new resources to be gathered: Bluetit eggs, Stink Glands, Reishi Mushrooms, feathers, and you can even craft Mushroom leather.

And last but not least, combat and movement feel a bit more natural, with a new jumping and running animation; some weapons even have a faster attack animation; and even drinking an antidote potion is faster. And if you are like me and often go way off the beaten path, there is even a warning before you go out of bounds and get snatched up by the infamous eagle.

Are you excited about all the new changes and additions? Let me know in the comments below.