Cleared Hot update adds Steam Deck support, arcade missions, missile slingshots

Cleared Hot, a helicopter action game from Not Knowing Corporation, channels the destructive pleasures of 1992's Desert Strike. Its launch last year brought thousands of players one step closer to that particular thrill.

Developer Karpfinger says he had been waiting months to revisit missile catching. Chapter 1B will make missiles more reliably redirect back to the turret or NPC that fired them, and they will deal three times the normal damage when you pull it off.

The update also boosts Steam Deck performance by 30%, adds optional arcade missions ranging from survival to skeet shooting and missile-based minigolf, and introduces a water system with dramatic splash effects when debris falls in. A planned new chopper and extra helicopter customisation were postponed so the team could ship this update quickly and begin production on Chapter 2, which will swap Chapter 1's arid landscapes for rainforest environments in a nod to Jungle Strike. Chapter 1B arrives on March 17.

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