- Solo Developer Gunzee 2 Launches First Commercial Release, Free Demo Released on September 10
- Integrating Auto-Battle and Logic-Based Visual Programming into a Dungeon Crawler
Swedish indie publisher Raw Fury and Japanese publisher Kakehashi Games announced that they will co-publish the new dungeon crawler ‘Dungeon Automata’ by developer Medium-Rare Games.
This work, which was originally developed under the project name ‘Algolemeth’, has confirmed its official title and subtitle as ‘Dungeon Automata: Algolemeth’ through this announcement.
The game features unique gameplay that blends the exploration fun of a dungeon crawler with the strategic depth of an auto-battler and the mental savvy of logic-based visual programming. The development team has named this unusual combination a unique genre called “Autologic,” promising fresh entertainment.
The soundtrack, based on hand-drawn 8-bit pixel art and Sega Genesis synth-style music, also catches the eye. In particular, composer Yuzu Koshiro, well-known for ‘Bare Knuckle’ and ‘Sonic the Hedgehog’, handled the music, adding a retro vibe.
A dungeon crawler that programs the golem’s behavior instead of direct manipulation
The biggest feature of ‘Dungeon Automata’ is that the player does not directly control the character.
Players create a party of golems through alchemy and design how each golem will behave in various situations, such as against enemies, traps, and bosses, using blueprints.
Once the golems are sent into the dungeon according to the designed logic, all subsequent actions proceed automatically. Players can experience the fun of a feedback loop by observing the results of real-time battles and exploration, modifying the logic to address vulnerabilities, and challenging the dungeon again.
The setting world of Syntaxia is threatened by monsters that emerged alongside the Tower of Corruption. Players must synthesize and program golems to conquer the labyrinth leading to the top of the tower.
Handcrafted Dungeon Solved Through Trial and Error
The level design is also outstanding. Each floor of the tower, handcrafted by the development team, features unique gimmicks and challenges. To face the traps and monsters lurking throughout the map, as well as the screen-dominating bosses, players must analyze the environment and constantly update the golem’s ‘coding’ (behavioral logic) to optimize it.
Since players cannot directly intervene when sending a golem into a dungeon, they must observe the results and identify problems. The core gameplay involves trial and error: modifying the blueprint and sending the golem back into the dungeon if the outcome differs from expectations.
During the exploration process, you can acquire catalysts that boost the Golem’s physical stats, as well as nodes that add new behavior and targeting logic. By utilizing these, you can fine-tune the Golem’s characteristics and behavior patterns to create your own unique party.
The first commercial work of a solo developer who previously only made small-scale free games
‘Dungeon Automata’ is the first commercial game from Medium Rare Games, run by solo developer gunzee2. It is also the first commercial project undertaken by a developer who has previously focused on creating small-scale free games.
The game began to attract attention from the industry in 2022, and in 2023, at the indie game festival ‘BitSummit Let’s GO!!’ held in Kyoto, Japan, it was nominated for the ‘Excellence in Game Design’ category in recognition of its unique blueprint mechanism.
Subsequently, it also won the ‘2nd GYAAR Studio Indie Game Contest,’ an independent developer competition hosted by Bandai Namco, and received development funding and studio mentorship. The Steam page was launched in December 2023.
Along with the co-publishing announcement, ‘Dungeon Automata’ released a free-to-play demo on Steam, and the official release date has not yet been determined.
Information regarding ‘ Dungeon Automata ‘
| item | detail |
|---|---|
| Developer | Medium-Rare Games (Solo Developer gunzee2) |
| Publisher | Co-published by Raw Fury (Sweden) and Kakehashi Games (Japan) |
| Genre | Dungeon Crawler, Autobattler, Visual Programming (“Autologic”) |
| platform | PC (Steam) |
| Release date | Undetermined (Free demo released on September 10, 2026) |
| language | Unidentified |
| Reactions/Evaluations | Nominated for BitSummit 2023 ‘Excellence in Game Design’, Winner of GYAAR Studio Indie Game Contest |
| Steam Page | Shortcut |
