Gathering the Witches to Save the Garden
Action roguelike Garden of Witches launched on August 28, 2026, at 6 PM KST. It's the new title from Team Tapas, the Korean indie studio behind Drifting Girl and Hero's Restaurant — and the studio's first PC title. It's available on both Steam and STOVE, with a 30% launch discount running to mark the release.
The game is set in a garden on the brink of collapse. Players follow the witch Sil, who must stop that collapse by calling her scattered fellow witches back to a tea party. Storybook art, cute characters, real-time combat, and organically interlocking build combinations form the core.
15 Months of Early Access, Then 1.0
Garden of Witches first appeared in Steam Early Access on May 23, 2025. Over roughly 15 months, Team Tapas iterated on balance, systems, and new content based on player feedback and play data. This full release is the sum of that work.
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Early Access start | May 23, 2025 |
| Full (1.0) release | August 28, 2026, 6 PM KST |
| EA duration | ~15 months |
| Dev / Publisher | Team Tapas |
| Platform | PC (Steam · STOVE) |
The Big 1.0 Change: A Rebuilt Combat System
The largest change in 1.0 is the combat structure. Team Tapas removed the old synergy system and rebuilt the game so that skills, weapons, engravings, and magic tools each carry their own distinct mechanics. Instead of funneling every combination into a single "synergy" calculation, each element now expresses its own identity independently.
- ▶Synergy system removed → distinct mechanics per skill, weapon, engraving, and magic tool
- ▶New mouse controls added
- ▶New story content and character voice acting
- ▶Broad polish to content and presentation
A roguelike's appeal lives in each run's combination. Separating the mechanics element by element reads as a deliberate move to widen the build space and raise the weight of each choice.
The Report Card: Already 'Overwhelmingly Positive' in Early Access
Before its full launch, Garden of Witches had already reached Steam's top user-review tier, "Overwhelmingly Positive," during Early Access. As of June 10 it held a 96% positive rating across 541 reviews, hitting the tier roughly three weeks after its EA debut.
The milestone isn't trivial. It's the first time a Korean indie has reached "Overwhelmingly Positive" since Sanabi and Kill the Crows in 2023 — about two years. The tier is one of Steam's hardest to reach, demanding both a high review count and a high positive ratio at once.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| User rating | Overwhelmingly Positive |
| Reviews (June 10) | 541 |
| Positive ratio | 96% |
| Time to tier | ~3 weeks into EA |
| Prior Korean indie case | Sanabi · Kill the Crows (2023) |
Price and Purchase
The game is on sale at a 30% launch discount on both Steam and STOVE. On the Korean Steam storefront the pricing is as follows.
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| List price | ₩22,000 |
| Sale price (30%) | ₩15,400 |
| Storefronts | Steam · STOVE |
| Genre | Action / Roguelike / RPG / Indie |
With a low-₩20,000s list price stacked with a launch discount, the barrier to entry is low. Given the polish accumulated across Early Access and the "Overwhelmingly Positive" rating, it's an easy price point for both roguelike newcomers and supporters of Korean indies.
Reader Checklist
| Item | Status |
|---|---|
| Release date | August 28, 2026 |
| Language | Korean (with additional localization on the store page) |
| Platform | PC (Steam · STOVE) |
| Price | ₩15,400 (30% off, list ₩22,000) |
| Best for | Fans of real-time roguelikes, build variety, and storybook indies |
Best for: players who love roguelikes where each run's build drives the fun — think Hades or Risk of Rain — or anyone wanting to check a Korean indie's polish firsthand.
Hold off if: you have no interest in run-based structure, or you prefer story-driven linear progression.
GamePeak Takeaway
Garden of Witches is Team Tapas — a studio that proved its narrative sensibility with Drifting Girl — flexing a different genre muscle for the first time: the PC roguelike. Already banking "Overwhelmingly Positive" in Early Access gives 1.0 a safety net, but the real test is how much the fully rebuilt combat system deepens repeat play. With a 30% discount live now, this is a low-cost moment to vet a Korean indie roguelike.
Buy: Steam
Sources: Inven — full launch August 28 · Kyunghyang Games — Drifting Girl team's new title · Gamemeca — Steam 'Overwhelmingly Positive' · Steam store page