Häxeri

What Is Häxeri?

Häxeri (Swedish for "Witchery," pronounced "hek-se-REE" / Japanese: ヘクセリ) is a grid-based first-person dungeon crawler DRPG with turn-based combat, developed by solo Swedish studio Tarpit Games and coming to Steam in 2027. Built in Unity, it draws on the golden era of dungeon mapping and party-driven strategy — explicitly citing Etrian Odyssey (mapping, party building), Shin Megami Tensei (Press Turn weakness exploitation), and Wizardry (brutal difficulty, grid exploration) as primary inspirations. The name itself is an homage: just as "Wizardry" evokes witchcraft, "Häxeri" is the Swedish word for the same concept.

You form a party of up to four adventurers and descend into a labyrinth beneath a troubled kingdom. A cult seeks to resurrect an ancient evil sealed in the depths. The king has called for heroes. What follows is methodical grid-based exploration, random encounters, resource management, and turn-based battles where exploiting elemental weaknesses grants extra actions — while hitting resistances costs them.

What makes Häxeri stand out:

• Press Turn Combat. Exploit enemy weaknesses to earn extra actions for the entire party. Hit a resistance and lose turns instead. Enemies use this same system against you.
• 6 classes with branching skill trees. Berserker, Paladin, Rogue, Bard, Priest, and Sorcerer. Three tech trees per class, attribute point distribution, and gear choices create deep build variety across a 4-character party.
• Manual or auto mapping. Draw your own map on blank graph paper Etrian Odyssey-style, or toggle auto-mapping. The game supports both approaches.
• 5 distinct biomes. From damp catacombs to volcanic depths, each biome has unique enemies, hazards, and loot.
• Full controller support. Fully rebindable controls, clean UI navigation on both gamepad and keyboard/mouse.
• Bilingual release. English and Japanese supported at launch.

Tarpit Games is the one-person studio of developer sfabian, based on Sweden's west coast. Häxeri is their debut commercial title, developed in Unity and shared with the DRPG community since 2024.

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Story & Setting

Far beneath the kingdom, in a labyrinthine dungeon, the soul of a monstrous being has been imprisoned for ages. The magical seal was thought eternal — but the gate has been forced open and the binding enchantment shattered. Whispers spread: a shadowy cult has infiltrated the dungeon, working to resurrect the ancient evil.

The king issues a call to arms. You lead a hand-picked party into the darkness to uncover the truth, stop the cult, and ensure the monster never sees daylight. The narrative unfolds through environmental storytelling, NPC encounters in the hub town, and dungeon discoveries. The deeper you descend, the more you learn about what — and who — is behind the broken seal.

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Character Classes

Each class has three branching skill trees, unique attribute priorities, and a defined combat role.

Berserker

• Role: Frontline physical damage dealer
• Key Attributes: STR, CON
• Weakness: Low INT/WIS — vulnerable to magic and mind ailments (Confusion, Charm)
• Skills: Rage (self-buff damage multiplier), Cleave (multi-target physical), War Cry (party ATK buff)
• Playstyle: Your boss-killer. Ramp Rage stacks, unleash devastating attacks. Protect from magic and ailments. Pairs excellently with Bard buffs and Paladin's Taunt.

Paladin

• Role: Tank / off-support
• Key Attributes: CON, WIS
• Weakness: Low AGI — acts late. Heavy armor imposes initiative penalties.
• Skills: Shield Wall (party DEF buff), Holy Light (single-target heal, scales with WIS), Taunt (force enemy aggro)
• Playstyle: Anchor the front line. Taunt to redirect damage, layer Shield Wall, spot-heal with Holy Light. Can supplement or replace a Priest in some comps.

Rogue

• Role: Speed, utility, back-row physical damage
• Key Attributes: DEX, AGI
• Weakness: Extremely fragile. Low CON — dies quickly if focused.
• Skills: Backstab (bonus damage from back row), Disarm Traps (field skill — negates trap damage), Smoke Bomb (party evasion buff)
• Playstyle: Initiative king. Open with Smoke Bomb, chain Backstab from safety. Disarm Traps saves healing resources across dungeon runs.

Bard

• Role: Buffer / debuffer / ailment specialist
• Key Attributes: CHA, AGI
• Weakness: Minimal direct damage. Dependent on teammates to close fights.
• Skills: Inspire Courage (party ATK buff — stacks with War Cry), Lullaby (sleep ailment), Countermelody (cleanse ailments, grant immunity)
• Playstyle: Force multiplier. A party with a Bard hits harder and shakes off ailments faster. Lullaby neutralizes dangerous groups for multiple turns.

Priest

• Role: Primary healer
• Key Attributes: WIS, INT
• Weakness: Defenseless alone. Must be protected in the back row at all costs.
• Skills: Heal (single-target, scales with WIS), Purify (cure ailments), Bless (party-wide HP regen)
• Playstyle: Keep in the back row, keep alive, and everyone else stays alive. Bless is your most mana-efficient sustain tool. Prioritize the most threatened character.

Sorcerer

• Role: Magic damage / elemental coverage
• Key Attributes: INT, WIS
• Weakness: Glass cannon. Very low HP. Mana-dependent — useless when dry.
• Skills: Fireball (fire), Ice Lance (ice, chance to freeze), Lightning Bolt (electric, pierces defense), Arcane Ward (party magic shield)
• Playstyle: Elemental Swiss Army knife. Cover at least 3 elements — you never know what resistances the next biome holds. Conserve mana on trash; unleash on bosses.

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Party Building & Composition

You create a party of up to 4 characters at the adventurer's guild. Each gets:

• 7 attribute points to distribute (STR, DEX, CON, INT, WIS, CHA, AGI)
• Class selection — determines skill trees, proficiencies, and stat growth
• Starting equipment — varies by class

Respeccing attributes costs gold at the inn, increasing with each respec. Plan before committing.

Recommended Compositions

Balanced (recommended for first playthrough):

Covers tanking, physical damage, healing, and full elemental magic. No glaring weaknesses.

Aggressive / Speed:

Maximum initiative and elemental coverage. Devastating turn-one burst but falls apart if the enemy survives. No dedicated healer — live by potions.

Survival / Turtle:

Nearly unkillable. Excellent for learning patterns without wipe risk. Battles take forever and magic coverage is absent.

Row Positioning

• Front row: Melee attacks only. Targeted more frequently. Put Paladins and Berserkers here.
• Back row: Ranged attacks, spells, and certain skills (Rogue's Backstab). Reduced melee damage. Put Priests, Sorcerers, Bards, and Rogues here.

Back-row-reaching enemies are rare early but increase in later biomes.

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Combat System

Häxeri uses the Press Turn model popularized by SMT, adapted for party-based DRPG combat.

Turn Flow

1. Initiative roll: AGI + equipment determines turn order. Visible at the top of the battle screen.
2. Actions: Attack, Skill (costs mana/TP), Item, Defend (reduce incoming damage), or Flee (not guaranteed).
3. Press Turn effects: Hitting a weakness = party gains +1 action icon. Hitting a resistance = party loses icons.
4. Enemies follow the same rules. They exploit your weaknesses and suffer penalties for hitting your resistances.

Affinity Table

Elements & Attack Types

• Physical: Slash, Pierce, Bludgeon
• Fire, Ice, Electric: Sorcerer's domain — exploit biome-specific weaknesses
• Holy: Devastating vs. Undead (Catacombs); Paladin/Priest skills
• Dark: Used by cult enemies and bosses

Ailments

Ailments stack. Bard's Countermelody and Priest's Purify are essential defenses.

Buffs & Debuffs

ATK, DEF, MAG, and AGI can be buffed/debuffed in stacking layers lasting 3–5 turns. Bard's Inspire Courage + Berserker's War Cry stacking is the core boss-killing combo.

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Exploration & Mapping

Grid-based first-person movement, one tile at a time. Q/E (or shoulder buttons) rotate 90°. Each step may trigger an encounter, trap, or discovery.

The Mapping System

A direct Etrian Odyssey homage. The dungeon map appears as blank graph paper on a configurable panel:

• Auto-Mapping On: Automatically fills visited floor tiles, walls, doors, stairs, and teleporters. Recommended for casual play.
• Auto-Mapping Off / Manual: Draw everything yourself — floor tiles, walls, doors, traps, annotations. Toggleable at any time.

Even with auto-mapping, place custom markers for traps, hidden passages, and treasure — auto-map doesn't annotate threats.

Map Tools

• Tile types: Floor, wall, water, pit
• Icons: Door (locked/unlocked), chest, stairs, teleporter, trap, event, boss
• Color coding: Freely assign colors — red for danger, blue for safe paths, yellow for incomplete
• Memo function: Write short notes on tiles ("come back at Lv15")
• Fog of War: Unexplored areas are black. Reveal items/skills clear fog in a 3×3 radius.
• Maps persist across saves.

Environmental Hazards

• Spike traps: Discolored floor tiles. Party-wide damage. Mark them.
• Pitfalls: Drop to lower floors. Find stairs back up.
• One-way doors: Lock behind you — the only exit is through.
• Dark zones: Reduced visibility. Torches or light spells mitigate.
• Lava/hazard tiles: Damage per step. Pathfinding around hazards is navigation.
• Teleporters/spinners: Disorient. Map both entry and exit points carefully.

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Dungeon Biomes

1. The Forgotten Catacombs (Floors 1–3)

Starting biome. Damp stone, skeletal remains, forgiving layout.

• Enemies: Skeletons, zombies, giant bats, slimes — all weak to Holy
• Hazards: Spike traps, occasional pitfalls
• Boss: Bone Golem — high physical defense, weak to Holy and Ice

2. The Crystal Mines (Floors 4–6)

Abandoned dwarven mines with luminescent crystals.

• Enemies: Crystal golems, burrowing worms, dwarf specters — Earth-element, weak to Fire/Electric
• Hazards: Falling crystals, locked doors (keys in side rooms), cave-ins
• Boss: Crystal Wyrm — burrows between phases, weak to Fire/Electric

3. The Fungal Groves (Floors 7–9)

Giant phosphorescent mushrooms, toxic air.

• Enemies: Spore walkers, myconid mages, giant insects — Poison-themed, weak to Fire
• Hazards: Spore clouds (Poison/Sleep), sticky mycelium (AGI penalty), confusing loops
• Boss: Myconid Overmind — summons adds, ailments party-wide. Focus-fire the boss. Weak to Fire.

4. The Molten Depths (Floors 10–12)

Volcanic caverns. Difficulty spikes sharply — unprepared parties wipe here.

• Enemies: Fire elementals, lava golems, hellhounds, cult pyromancers — Fire-themed, weak to Ice. Do NOT use Fire.
• Hazards: Lava tiles (damage/step), geyser eruptions (periodic AoE), superheated rooms (constant drain)
• Boss: Magma Wyrm — massive HP, AoE fire breath, desperation phase. Ice damage mandatory. Bring Arcane Ward.

5. The Void Sanctum (Floors 13–15)

The cult's inner sanctum. Reality frays — floating platforms, non-Euclidean corridors.

• Enemies: Cult fanatics, void spawn, shadow assassins, elder abominations — mixed elements, no universal weakness. Scout each type.
• Hazards: Teleporter mazes, void rifts (instant death), anti-magic zones (double mana cost)
• Boss Rush: Gauntlet of respawned biome bosses before the final boss. No saves between fights.
• Final Boss: The Ancient Evil — multi-phase with elemental shifting, ailment spam, and party-wipe desperation attack.

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Equipment, Progression & Skills

Equipment

Gear comes from four sources:

• Vendor: Hub town merchant. Inventory expands at story milestones.
• Dungeon loot: Enemy drops, rare spawns, boss uniques.
• Chests: Fixed-location treasures. Some are trapped (Rogue disarms).
• Crafting/Enchanting: Blacksmith NPC crafts from monster materials, enchants weapons with elemental damage/status effects, and upgrades existing gear.

Equipment slots: Weapon, Off-hand/Shield, Head, Body, Hands, Feet, Accessory ×2.

Skills & Progression

• Three branching trees per class. No global level cap confirmed; trees have finite nodes.
• Specialization matters. Deep-tree capstones are powerful. Spreading thin gives flexibility at the cost of peak power.
• Skill costs scale — a maxed nuke you can only cast twice may be less practical than a mid-tree spam skill.

Attribute Breakdown

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Getting Started

Häxeri is a slow, deliberate dungeon crawler — a session is about mapping, party management, and exploiting enemy weaknesses, not twitch reflexes. Your first hour should focus on learning the rhythm: form your party, map the first dungeon, and understand the affinity table.

First-session priorities:

• Build a balanced party from the start. A frontline (Berserker/Paladin), a support (Priest/Bard), and a back-row damage dealer (Sorcerer/Rogue) covers the basics. Row positioning matters — see the Party Building section below.
• Learn the affinity table before fighting. Elements and attack types determine damage output. Exploiting weaknesses is the difference between a clean win and a grinding slog.
• Map as you go. Grid-based mapping is a core loop, not an afterthought. Fill the map carefully — hidden corridors and treasure rooms are easy to miss if you rush.
• Stock up before long expeditions. Consumables and spare equipment make the difference on multi-floor delves. Retreat is always an option; a dead party is not.

Tips & Strategies

For Beginners

1. Save obsessively. No auto-save exists. A party wipe loses everything since your last manual save. Save before new floors, suspicious chests, and every boss.

2. Map traps immediately. Place a custom trap icon the moment you trigger one. Stepping on the same spike trap twice means you weren't paying attention.

3. Scout before committing. First encounter with a new enemy = reconnaissance. Test elements with your Sorcerer, note weaknesses and resistances. Blindly attacking without knowledge wipes parties.

4. Carry consumables. Healing herbs, antidotes, mana potions, and ailment cures should fill a third of your inventory. Mana runs out. Poison happens. Items are your safety net.

5. Don't overextend. At half resources (HP + MP), head back. Greed is the #1 cause of DRPG party wipes. Learn warp point and shortcut locations.

6. Row position is life or death. Squishy classes always in the back row. A Priest in the front row is a dead Priest.

7. Elemental coverage over raw power. A Sorcerer with three tier-1 spells beats one maxed nuke. Spread elements across your party. Enchant weapons for coverage.

For Intermediate Players

1. Stack buffs for bosses. Bard's Inspire Courage + Berserker's War Cry stack multiplicatively. A fully-buffed party deals 3× the damage of an unbuffed one.

2. Master the Press Turn economy. First action exploits a weakness (gaining icons), then unload big attacks with bonus actions. If no safe weakness exists, consider Defending rather than risking a Resistance penalty.

3. Farm strategically. Learn enemy spawn zones. Flee from trash that doesn't drop what you need — every fight drains resources.

4. The Rogue's Disarm Traps is underrated. Trap damage adds up over 15 floors. The HP saved translates to fewer items consumed and more mana preserved for combat.

Advanced Tips

1. Double-Sorcerer comps clear fastest. With perfect elemental knowledge, two Sorcerers chain Press Turns indefinitely. Requires willingness to reset on unlucky ambushes.

2. Save enchanting materials for weapons you'll keep. Enchanting a dual-threat weapon (inherent bonus + elemental infusion) outperforms raw stat sticks. Don't enchant every weapon you find.

3. The Void Sanctum boss rush is a marathon. Conserve MP and consumables through the gauntlet. Use auto-attacks on respawned biome bosses. Entering the final boss at 20% resources means you've already lost.

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Controls

All controls are fully rebindable. Full controller support confirmed.

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System Requirements

Minimum

Recommended

The game is Windows-only (no macOS/Linux build announced) and requires a Vulkan-capable GPU (most GPUs from 2015+). The 2 GB footprint suggests a tightly-optimized build prioritizing art direction over texture bloat.

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FAQ

When does Häxeri release? The Steam page targets 2027 — no exact date announced yet. The developer is aiming for a full 1.0 launch rather than Early Access, with English and Japanese supported at launch.

What kind of game is it? A grid-based first-person dungeon crawler (DRPG) with turn-based combat, in the lineage of Etrian Odyssey and Wizardry. You form a party, map corridors, manage row positioning, and exploit elemental affinities.

How much will it cost? Price is to be announced. It's positioned as a debut indie title from a one-person studio — wishlist on Steam to get notified when pricing is announced.

Who is behind the game? Tarpit Games is the one-person studio of developer sfabian, based on Sweden's west coast. Häxeri is their debut commercial title.

Developer & Community

Tarpit Games is the one-person studio of developer sfabian, based on Sweden's west coast. Häxeri is their debut commercial title.

In their own words, sfabian grew up with NES/SNES classics — Mario, Zelda, and watching a "really cool aunt" play Secret of Mana 2 and Final Fantasy on PlayStation. Too young for complex RPGs at the time, the fascination stuck. As an adult, RPGs became their favorite genre, with Etrian Odyssey holding a special place as "challenging yet strangely calming." That meditative rhythm of mapping, party management, and tactical combat is what Häxeri aims to capture.

Links

• Steam: store.steampowered.com/app/3296970
• Website: tarpitgames.com/haxeri
• X (Twitter): @TarpitGames (EN) / @TarpitGamesJP (JP)
• YouTube: @TarpitGames
• Discord: discord.gg/mxwYUqJ5aM
• Press Kit: tarpitgames.com/press/en/
• Contact: fabian@tarpitgames.com

Media Coverage

Häxeri has received early coverage from Famitsu, 4Gamer, Game*Spark, Gamer (Japan), RPGamer, Niche Gamer (West), and FZ (Sweden) — strong bilingual attention for an indie DRPG.

Release

• Platform: Steam (Windows)
• Release: 2027 (exact date to be announced)
• Price: To be announced
• Languages: English, Japanese
• Players: Single-player
• Early Access: Not announced — targeting full 1.0 launch

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Guide compiled from the Steam store page, official press kit, developer website, and coverage by Famitsu, 4Gamer, GameSpark, RPGamer, Niche Gamer, and FZ. Last updated: August 2026. This guide will be updated as more information becomes available closer to the 2027 release.*