Garden of Witches Blooms on Steam Early Access
Team Tapas—the indie outfit behind mobile darlings A Girl Adrift and Bistro Heroes—makes its PC debut with Garden of Witches. Now live in Steam Early Access, this hand-drawn roguelike enchants players with tea-party spellcasting, relic-fueled firefights, and boss duels against quirky witches that feel plucked from a fairytale.
Early Access Overview
- Price: $19.99 / £15.99
- Launch Content: Five narrative-driven chapters, a dozen unique witches, 40+ weapons and relics, plus the core randomized skill-tree system.
- Planned Roadmap (Next 6 Months):
- Eclipse Mode—an endgame gauntlet with a brand-new boss encounter
- Seasonal festivals introducing limited witches and cosmetics
- Daily challenge mode and global leaderboard support
- Quality-of-life improvements: controller presets, enhanced performance, and extra accessibility options
- Known Risks: Occasional frame drops in busy scenes, balance tuning ongoing, and rare save-file errors.
Spellbinding Storybook Combat
Players assume the role of Sil, a young gardener drawn into an overgrown grove under siege from rogue witches. Each run weaves into a climactic showdown: one sorceress conjures blossom-shaped barrages, another dances her tea cups like whirling razors, while a third morphs the battlefield itself. Dodging intricate bullet patterns, timing dash-reloads, and recruiting defeated foes into your coven are all part of the signature roguelike loop.
Between boss fights, you’ll explore branching groves, discover relic altars, and unlock skill-tree nodes that open new tactical synergies—like combining a venomous flask relic with frost charms for lethal crowd control. Procedural encounter placement keeps each expedition feeling fresh, even after multiple repeats.
Art, Sound, and Worldbuilding
Artist Jane Lee hand-sketches every sprite, from dew-speckled leaves to pastel sky gradients, giving the game the feel of “a living storybook,” in her own words. Composer Luna Nguyen’s delicate harp melodies and chime-laced percussion underscore each chapter’s mood, shifting from serene exploration to frenzied boss crescendos without missing a beat.
The UI itself embraces the theme: menu scrolls look like aged parchment, relic icons appear hand-painted, and loading screens imitate turning book pages. This cohesive aesthetic extends to hidden lore journals and character portraits, inviting players to linger and soak in the atmosphere.
Developer Insight
“Transitioning from mobile to PC meant rethinking combat depth and user interface,” says Lead Designer Carlos Ruiz. “We want newcomers to feel welcome, but also reward veterans who master relic combos and dodge patterns. Early Access feedback will guide our final balance on synergies and boss AI.”
Community and Roadmap
Since launch, the Steam forums have lit up with fan-crafted build guides, fan art of Sil’s cast, and balancing suggestions—particularly around relic cooldowns and difficulty spikes. Developer diaries promise monthly updates, starting with the addition of a roguelike “Eclipse Mode” that ramps up patterns and grants exclusive rewards. Seasonal events will introduce limited-time witches—like a candy-themed sorceress for Halloween and a lantern-bearer for Lunar New Year—along with matching cosmetics.
How It Compares
While echoes of Hades and Dead Cells lurk in the tight dodge windows and evolving upgrade trees, Garden of Witches stakes a different claim with its cozy atmosphere and character-first design. It’s less about nonstop spectacle and more about charming encounters that double as tactical puzzles. That said, some runs feel slower off the mark compared to genre benchmarks, and seasoned roguelike players might crave an earlier difficulty spike.
First Impressions
Our hands-on session revealed a title that strikes a solid balance between approachability and depth. A chance combo of a poison-chalice relic and frost-shard weapon turned a mid-tier boss fight into a satisfyingly tactical duel. However, we did encounter a few crashes during horde-style onslaughts of enchanted tea cups—reminders that this is still Early Access.
At $19.99, Garden of Witches offers a robust slice of whimsical action, hand-crafted worldbuilding, and a clear road to more content. Players curious about a spellbook-fueled roguelike with a soft spot for cozy vibes should dive into Steam Early Access now. Join the community discussion, share your feedback, and help shape the final chapter of this blossoming adventure.







