Deepward: 1920s Hero-Swapping Brutal FPS Roguelite in Development for PC

Deepward, a new high-speed first-person shooter roguelite from Echofall Games, is now officially in development for PC. The game drops you into a 1920s nightmare where you can swap between three different heroes in real time, death permanently ending each run as you fight through increasingly brutal depths.

Deepward mixes 1920s hero swaps with permanent-death roguelite runs

Echofall Games has announced Deepward, describing it as a fast, melee-and-gun focused first-person roguelite set in the 1920s. The core hook is flexibility: you pick three distinct heroes from a roster of six, then switch between any of the three on the fly during combat. That means your loadout and approach can change mid-fight, rather than being locked to a single character for the entire run.

The studio frames the premise as a descent that gets worse the deeper you go: “What begins in a cursed, god-forsaken place sinks into stranger depths below. Explore gothic interiors, caves, prisons, ritual spaces, and impossible places as the truth buried underneath starts to surface.” In other words, each run pushes you through horror-themed environments that escalate both in scale and in strangeness.

Each of the six heroes is said to offer something meaningfully different, with distinct weapons, abilities, playstyles, and backstories. The game also emphasizes harsh consequences: death is permanent for each attempt at reaching the depths. To survive, you’ll be relying on aggressive close-quarters tactics—shooting, kicking, slashing, and improvising—while dealing with “relentless horrors.” The description also highlights the pace of encounters: quick reactions, accurate shots, and “violent impact” are positioned as the tools that keep fights moving as rooms fill with enemies and pressure builds on your squad.

What’s been shown so far

Deepward – First Screenshots

Combat has been characterized as “gore-heavy,” leaning into the game’s horror tone and close-range intensity. If you want to keep an eye on it early, the game is available to wishlist on Steam.

What to watch next

Deepward is currently listed as a PC project with no release date or window announced yet. For now, the primary way to track the game is to follow the reveal trailer and watch for further details on hero selection, combat mechanics, and when the first playable build lands.