Friday the 18th of July 2025: Available today is a new update to Team Empreintes reflective, conversation-led experience Fireside Feelings. The Lost Messages, the first in a series of free post-launch content packs, invites players to contemplate the unsaid, notes never finished, conversations never started, and the words we wish we’d spoken. In a medium where expression is often about speed and visibility, this update asks a different question, what if being heard doesn’t require being seen at all?
“After launch, we suddenly had time to reflect, and what came back to us were all the moments we never got to speak. Things we didn’t say, either because we didn’t dare, or because it was already too late.” – Says Vidu
Within two weeks after launch, more than 2,000 players had responded anonymously, and the developers quietly curated over 350 of the most powerful responses, across six languages, to feed back into the system. However, once the hype of launch had died down, the team realised that what players wrote wasn’t always what stuck, it’s what players kept leaving unsaid.
The idea didn’t just come up through personal reflection, it also came from reading and moderating all the submissions and noticing patterns in what players shared, as well as things they hesitated on. Many players use the game as a way to process unfinished conversations with some writing like they were sending letters, and others read like a confession. With that in mind, Team Empreintes didn’t want to steer away from that, they wanted to instead lean on this and encourage players to not leave things left unsaid.
“If we want to foster vulnerability and kindness, we need a system built specifically to support and reward those behaviours. That’s why Fireside Feelings was designed as a space of trust, human moderation, no direct replies between players, no AI, asynchronous conversations, no likes, and no rewards for popular responses.” – Says Vidu.
The Lost Messages is the first of several topic packs planned in the months ahead, each offering a more contemplative tone shaped by both personal reflection and community feedback. Topics such as anger that was selected by a community Discord vote, and Tell Me #01, inspired by heartfelt player submissions during moderation, further show the ongoing dialogue between the developers and their community.
In addition to The Lost Messages being added to Fireside Feelings today, Team Empreintes will also be sharing a brand-new soothing soundtrack.
More Information:
- Players can unlock small decorative items to personalise their campfire, making it their own safe space to stop and take a breath
- An opportunity to step away from noise and expectation, even for just a few minutes
- Fireside Feelings is designed to be left and returned to, like a real fire you tend over time
- Ideal for players who enjoy games like Kind Words, but want something even calmer
For more information about Fireside Feelings, and to stay updated on future developments, visit the official Steam page or follow the game on BlueSky, Twitter, and Discord.
If you’d like to interview the developers, or receive a key to experience Fireside Feelings for yourself, please let me know.
About Team Empreintes
Team Empreintes is a small indie studio based in Angoulême, France, formed by writers, artists and designers passionate about storytelling. Before Fireside Feelings, they developed a turn-based title called Str!ve, that combines storytelling with strategy.
About The CoLab
Founded in April 2025, UK‑based publisher The CoLab was established by industry veterans Darren Newnham (Disney Interactive, United Label), John Lewis (Codemasters, Criterion) and Mark Faulkner (Jagex, Bossa Games). The CoLab works closely with independent developers to bring original, thoughtfully made games to players, with a roster of titles that include Counter Clash, Fireside Feelings, and DeadWire. In addition, The CoLab also works in partnership with Safe in Our World to promote mental health awareness across its projects and internal practices.