Dead Blocks - Briarwood Update

V 0.8.9
8 November 2026
Areas
34 changes in this update

Added

15 changes
Maps
  • Briarwood Maze – a hedge maze behind a burnt-out manor, in the Shop for 1,600 coins

  • Solid hedges – no shooting through them, only grenades thrown over the top

  • Eight ways in and loops everywhere, and the maze is on the minimap

Bosses
  • The Groundskeeper – Briarwood's boss: bursts out of a hedge, vaults over the hedges onto a ring by you, sends briars through the hedges at you

  • Boss music for the Groundskeeper – an out-of-tune music-box waltz

  • Achievement – Pruned: defeat the Groundskeeper

Upgrades
  • Game-changers – a fifth upgrade row, one per weapon, earned after the signatures

  • Deadeye, Porcupine, Wildfire, Ricochet Rounds, Shatterpoint, Explosive Belt, Breaching Blast, Shrapnel Storm, Firestorm, Singularity, Hellfire Rain, Orbiting Blades, Razor Wire, Re-Arm, Absolute Zero, Overload, Napalm, Lightning Rod, Thunderstrike, Supercell, Orbital Strike, Seekers, Event Horizon, Pinball

  • Game-changers column in the Tab upgrade view

Skins
  • Legendary skins built into their theme – a dragon's head, a crown and cape, a halo, a wobbling egg, a mirror ball, a storm cloud and more

  • Legendary kills – zombies turned to gold, burnt to ash, frozen and shattered, sucked into a void, lit up by lightning, turned to crystal, dissolved to stardust, sent to heaven or popped into confetti

  • Animated hotbar backgrounds for Legendary skins

Co-op
  • Invite Friends card – on the title screen, pause menu and lobby, with the friends you've played with lately

  • Host & Invite Friends – opens a lobby, then your friends list

  • The host's friends skip the lobby passcode

Improved

11 changes
Bosses
  • Entrances – every boss lands near your team, with a glowing ring where it's about to land

  • The Abomination leaps in through the nearest gate

  • The Gravelord bursts out of a nearby crypt or open grave after the bell tolls

  • The Yardmaster bursts out of a boxcar on the passing train

  • The Stormbringer leaps out of the river after lightning strikes your side

Zombies
  • Bodies – zombies leave their own bodies, in their own skin, clothes and hat

  • Skeleton and mummy eyes – bigger and glowing

Sound
  • Minigun – a new barrel spin that sounds like spinning metal

Settings
  • Reduce flashing – also dims muzzle flashes, explosion lights and hit flashes

HUD
  • Capped high scores show as 999,999+

  • The game over banner stays up longer

Fixed

8 changes
Maps
  • Wrecks carrying over into a new match on the same map

  • Rail Yard lamps breaking apart instead of falling over

  • The Bridge's side wall breaking like a road barrier

Co-op
  • "Thanks!" called out without a revive

Zombies
  • Bodies left hanging in mid-air

Sound
  • Minigun rounds cutting out with more than one Minigun firing

HUD
  • The minimap showing during the opening shot

Camera
  • Heavy guns not kicking the camera