Peak’s newest update just turned up the heat—literally. The Mesa biome, a sun-scorched addition filled with prickly cacti, dust devils, and scarce shade, replaces the Alpine terrain for the next week before both areas rotate randomly thereafter. Sunscreen, parasols, aloe vera, balloons, a Scout Cannon, and even dynamite are now essential gear for climbers braving the harsh new environment.
Alongside the sweltering new setting, developers Aggro Crab and Landfall have introduced eight more features to enhance the climb:
- Bug Phobia Mode to take the creep factor out of Mesa’s arachnid population
- Controller support in settings for smoother navigation
- Ten new badges and unlockable cosmetic rewards
- Balance adjustments to heat mechanics and Tropics visibility (fog rise)
View the Full v1.20.a Patch notes
FEATURES
- Added a new biome that replaces the Alpine: the MESA. The MESA will be present in every run for the next week – after which future maps will rotate randomly between the Mesa and Alpine.
- 10 new badges to collect! – New cosmetics as rewards for badges!
- Several new items were added! (And a couple more we won’t tell you about!):
- Balloons
- Scout Cannon
- Parasol
- Sunscreen
- Aloe Vera
- Dynamite
- There may be a surprise waiting for you in The Kiln…
OPTIONS
- There is now a “Bug Phobia Mode” option for players who don’t want to see arachnids and other creepy crawlies because, you guessed it, the Mesa has some of those.
- The Settings menu is now navigable via controller. Finally!
BALANCE
- The fog rises slightly slower in the Tropics.
- The Heat status will now decay faster, but it will take a bit longer to start decaying, and the hot rocks in the Caldera will inflict more Heat on you.
BUGFIXES
- Fixed an issue where biome-specific loot could sometimes show up in luggage in the wrong biome.
- Improved performance across the board on the mountain.
- Fixed an issue where players could teleport after a rusty piton they were hanging onto breaks.
- Fixed players sometimes obtaining the Naturalist Badge despite eating packaged food.
- Prevented players from interacting with their backpack while passed out.
- Adjusted luggage collision to prevent players from getting their legs stuck in it
- Fixed an issue where the Bugle of Friendship would still play its audio and visual effects when out of juice.
The Mesa’s debut, however, wasn’t without drama. Players were halted mid-climb by invisible walls, literally blocking progress when the biome first launched. Thankfully, the devs rolled out a hotfix in under an hour after the first reports came through.
This isn’t the first quirky update Peak has delivered. Last month’s controversial update let players turn their cooked companions into dinner—yes, cannibalism in the name of survival—a feature later softened to an opt-in mechanic after mixed reactions. On the development front, the team is keeping future plans tight-lipped. Localization and stability remain top priorities, with quality-of-life improvements coming next.
In the meantime, the Mesa update is Peak at its wackiest yet—grueling, surprising, and downright hilarious—but balanced with developer responsiveness that keeps the climb alive.
