Deep Ward is a 2D pixel-art dark fantasy tactical RPG and dungeon crawler.

Explore handcrafted regions and enter turn-based battles directly where you encounter enemies — without switching to a separate battle arena. Position your party, choose your targets carefully, and reshape your build through equipment, Essences, and Code items as you venture deeper.

Features

• Seamless tactical combat — Battles take place directly on the exploration map, turning the terrain around you into the battlefield.
• Turn-based party battles — Position your characters, manage movement and actions, and make decisions around turn order and enemy threats.
• Four playable classes — Choose a distinct combat style with its own weapons, skills, and class mechanics.
• Recruit companions — Build a party of up to three characters and choose between AI-controlled or manual companion combat.
• Build-focused progression — Each enemy type grants EXP only the first time you defeat it, shifting repeat encounters away from level grinding and toward equipment, Essences, Code items, and build refinement.
• Handcrafted exploration — Explore authored dark-fantasy regions filled with enemies, rewards, hidden points, and boss encounters.

Demo

Deep Ward is currently in development.

The current demo covers the early Forest route and concludes with the Orc Commander encounter. Balance, content, UI, and other systems may change during development.

Demo Information

• Windows
• Keyboard & Mouse
• English & Korean

AI Usage

Generative AI was extensively used as a development tool for programming assistance, asset creation, and iteration.
Game design, mechanics, balancing, playtesting decisions, direction, and final implementation decisions are developer-led.

Feedback

Feedback is very welcome. If you encounter bugs or have thoughts about combat, controls, balance, progression, or overall readability, please leave a comment below.

Playtest Information

Platform: Windows
Controls: Keyboard & Mouse
Build: Current public demo

The demo covers the early Forest route and ends with the Orc Commander encounter.

Feedback I’m especially looking for:

• Combat difficulty and pacing
• Enemy AI and boss patterns
• UI readability and clarity
• Controls and overall usability
• Character progression and equipment
• Any bugs or confusing moments

If possible, please let me know how far you played and which encounter you reached.

Copyright

© 2026 Deep Ward. All rights reserved. Unauthorized redistribution, re-upload, or resale of this game build is prohibited. Third-party assets are used under their respective licenses.