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• Announcements·13 Aug 2026Official

  From Pixel-Inspired Prototype to Fast-Paced Horror FPS: DEEPWARD's Evolution

  DEEPWARD did not begin with its current atmosphere, detailed environments, or fast-paced combat. It started as a small prototype built to answer one important question: was it fun to fight while pushing deeper and deeper into a cursed mansion? Over the past year and a half, that simple experiment has grown into a horror FPS roguelite set in a cursed mansion hidden in the Carpathian Mountains during the 1920s. Here is how the game changed along the way. We previously shared a short video showing how DEEPWARD has changed. In this devlog, we want to explain the development in more detail and show what changed and why. It All Started with a Small Prototype Our earliest prototype was deliberately simple. Both the visuals and combat were rough, and the game did not yet have the atmosphere it has today. At that stage, our goal was not to create final-quality graphics. We first needed to prove that the core experience worked. This comparison video shows how much DEEPWARD has changed since those early experiments: Building the Mansion's Atmosphere The environments in the earliest version were extremely basic. Since then, we have repeatedly rebuilt the lighting, shadows, color palette, architecture, and decoration to create the feeling of a cursed 1920s mansion hidden in the Carpathians. Rooms that were once luxurious have fallen into ruin. Beneath them lie cellars, torture chambers, caves, and ancient ritual sites. Our goal is not simply to make everything dark. We want every space to feel dangerous while still making you curious enough to discover what lies ahead. Making Combat Faster and More Intense Combat in the first prototype was much simpler than it is today. Over the course of development, we improved movement, weapon responsiveness, enemy reactions, and visual effects. The result is a faster and more intense combat system in which standing still can quickly become dangerous. We are still improving the weapons, enemies, and overall game balance based on feedback from...
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• Announcements·9 Aug 2026Official

  1,000+ Players Registered - DEEPWARD Playtest Ends Soon

  More than 1,000 players have now registered for the DEEPWARD Steam Playtest. Thank you to everyone who has joined so far!We’ve already received some very useful feedback from players, and it has helped us identify several things we want to improve. However, with more than 1,000 players registered, we would still love to hear from more of you before this testing phase ends.The current DEEPWARD Steam Playtest will remain open for a few more days, but we’ll be closing it soon so we can focus on the next round of improvements.If you’ve already played, please take a moment to share your feedback with us. Even a short message about what you liked, what didn’t feel right, or what you think should be improved can be extremely useful.You can also leave your feedback directly in the DEEPWARD Steam Community. We have dedicated forum sections for:- Playtest Feedback- Bug Reports- Suggestions & IdeasSo if you encounter a bug, have an idea, or simply want to tell us what you think about the current Playtest, feel free to create a post there. We are reading the feedback and using it while working on future builds.If you haven’t joined yet, we recommend registering for the Playtest now.The next beta may not be opened publicly in the same way. Instead, we may invite players who have already registered for the Playtest, so joining now is the best way to make sure you don’t miss future testing opportunities.What we’re already working onSome of the changes and improvements currently being worked on for a future Playtest build include:- More responsive Gatling gun behavior for Bruno- A new ability for Bruno- Squad selection controls- Improvements to the levels that will appear in the demo- Keeping unlocked characters when starting a new game, including corresponding dialogue changes- Performance improvements, including better optimization of destructible objects and other systems- Boosters dropping from destroyed containers- Keeping unlocked perks when starting a new game (?)- Improved ...
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• Announcements·2 Aug 2026Official

  Creating the Heroes of DEEPWARD

  We’re taking you behind the scenes of DEEPWARD.Watch one of our hero lineup concepts evolve from an early sketch into finished artwork in this short timelapse.Follow DEEPWARD for more concept art, gameplay and development updates. If you haven’t already, add the game to your Steam Wishlist.
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• Announcements·30 Jul 2026Official

  DEEPWARD Steam Playtest Registration Is Now Open

  You can now register for the DEEPWARD Steam Playtest.The playtest begins on:Friday, July 31, 2026 at 11:00 AM ET / 8:00 AM PT (5:00 PM CEST)Participation is limited in both capacity and duration. Access will be granted in waves, so we recommend registering as soon as possible.DEEPWARD is still in active development, and this playtest build is an early beta version of the game.In the current build, players can explore the first three levels of the manor, choose three heroes from a roster of six, and switch between them instantly during combat.We are actively looking for feedback on gameplay feel, combat readability, performance, controls, balancing, and the overall experience.If you join the playtest, please remember that this is a work in progress and that the game will continue to improve.Thank you for supporting DEEPWARD.
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• Announcements·17 Jul 2026Official

  How It Started vs. How It’s Going - The Evolution of DEEPWARD

  Every game starts somewhere.Today, we’re sharing a look back at one of the earliest DEEPWARD prototypes and comparing it with the game as it looks today.The original prototype was built to test the basic ideas behind the combat, environments, hero switching, weapons, and overall atmosphere. Since then, DEEPWARD has evolved significantly - but we’re still in the middle of development.We’re continuing to improve and expand the environments, enemies, weapons, animations, combat, visual quality, and overall experience before release.Turn on the sound for the full experience - the music and editing evolve together with the game.This is only one milestone in DEEPWARD’s development, and there is still much more to come.The first Steam Playtest is also getting closer. We’ll share more information as soon as the build and launch date are ready.Thank you for following the development of DEEPWARD.
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