Players will be able to face off in the magical world of Emrys, courtesy of the new Versus Mode from The World Next Door. The PC, Mac, and Nintendo Switch title utilizes tile-based gameplay as the characters cast magical spells on enemies, but thanks to a free update, players will now be hurling fireballs at their friends.

Released at the end of March, The World Next Door featured a single-player story that had players take the role of Jun, an Earth-based fanatic of Emrys who wins a contest to visit the mystical world, but is unexpectedly trapped. With the help of her magical friends, Jun learns how to control magic and battles enemies called Grievances as the group figures out how to get her back home.

The character designs, world-building, and music stuck out to me when I reviewed The World Next Door, but what ultimately disappointed was the lack of content. The single-player story was charming with its visual novel-like approach, but everything came to an abrupt end, with several plotlines still hanging by the time all was said and done. But with this free update, I at least feel more optimistic that more is to come.

It wasn't a game I planned to return to in the near future, but the relatively quick turnaround with this Versus Mode may have me boot it back up. That being said, I'm curious to see how the gameplay will hold up with more than one player, rather than pelting magical spells at computer-controlled enemies—I imagine there will be a new layer of strategy now. I'm mostly excited that I'll be able to play as other characters than Jun—my beloved Rainy in particular.

Hopefully, this means that there is more to come with the title from VIZ Media and Rose City Games. If they were to make extra story content, I would totally be down. The free update for The World Next Door is available now, and be sure to check out a short trailer for the new Versus Mode below.