Last week we launched a full revamped itch desktop client and I may be a little biased, but it’s downright incredible. You may have seen our interview with the app’s steward, Amos last week where we talked about what it was like to design this update, but I think there’s still more to be said about what’s changed. Now, I’m not any kind of code wizard so I wasn’t involved in the design process for v25 but I wanted to highlight some of my favorite features included in the update.

New UI

Ok so I wasn’t wholly honest earlier when I said that I wasn’t involved in the design process for the app. When asked for feedback I told Amos that I wanted a new UI for the desktop client and boy oh boy did he deliver. Look at that UI! It’s so clean and easily readable! No longer will you have to close out a stack of tabs, you’ve got everything you need immediately accessible. As an aside — tab fans can turn tabs back on in the settings menu. Yup, the UI is customizable beyond what you initially see.

Furthermore it’s even easier than ever to find your collections,  grab all of the games you were checking out at the office, or look at what members of the community think are the best free games. With collections integrated into the app you can get even wilder with one of our most powerful features. (Note: collection editing is not available in the app)

SWEET MERCY IT’S QUICK

Once you get a decent number of games in your itch.io account the app takes longer and longer to boot– or at least it did. For those among us with sizable itch.io libraries, the app launches way faster than ever before. Of course this has also extended out into the rest of our desktop client: nearly everything about the itch app is faster and leaner than ever. Boot it up and see for yourself.

That Library view

We’re not ready to leave the Library tab quite yet. While you’re marvelling at how quick things load you can also check out how fresh and scrollable the new design is. Your games will look better than ever with those big and beautiful covers, and now you can look at your backlog in condensed horizontal view or a full vertical arrangement.

Do you have any favorite features from itch v25? Let everyone know in the comments below.