Umigame opens in an almost cosy fashion. Soft lute strums fill your ears while scrolling text tells the story, accompanied by the oddly satisfying tap-tap of a keyboard. You play as an Umi, a water spirit summoned into the Haunted Swamp by the wicked Witch Maeve, whose corruption has turned nearly every creature against you.
It’s a roguelite, so that tranquillity is short-lived. From here, chaos sets in as you wade through swamp waters, clearing enemies, discovering upgrades, and occasionally being flattened by something far nastier than you expected. Developed and published by a dedicated two-person team along with Phoenix Game as publisher too, this Early Access title already offers a surprisingly deep experience, brimming with charm, strategy, and replayability.
Characters, Companions, and Pearl the Glass Cannon
You begin with Lyra, an archer, and Olaf, a melee fighter. The Sanctuary hub allows you to swap characters, each with their own combat style.
Combat is smooth, swift, and satisfying. With four playable heroes, over 150 unlockable skills, and multiple Guardian types, Umigame encourages experimentation. Whether you swing an axe, shoot arrows, blast magic, or dagger enemies, there’s a style for everyone.
Pearl, the fire-staff wielder, stands out. She excels at keeping enemies at a distance while dealing heavy damage, but her health is low, making her a glass cannon. Prioritise health upgrades early unless you enjoy flirting with danger. Dialogue choices with characters are a small but appreciated personal touch. While they don’t drastically change outcomes, they give the game personality, something many roguelites sorely lack.
Guardians: Tactical Decision-Making
Guardians are one of Umigame’s cleverest mechanics. These summoned turrets can be placed in each room and levelled up using “petals” currency. Set them wisely, and they can handle whole rooms themselves, adding a layer of tactical decision-making to combat.
The annoying thing is that while you can have more than one guardian on the field at once, only one can be activated. So, it is more about where you put them and when you’ll activate them. Furthermore, it will be the same guardian you choose at the beginning of the run. You can not change later in the run.
Reward rooms are signposted with icons. Hearts with up arrows increase health, scrolls grant new skills, and the clam shell, less obvious, represents currency. Permanent upgrades via soulshards ensure that each run contributes to your overall progression, turning failure into a productive step rather than a frustrating reset. You will also meet a healer and a blacksmith to give you armour or improve it slightly.
Replayability
Death is not the end. Returning to the Sanctuary hub allows interaction with saved characters, and spending “soulshards” to upgrade heroes permanently ensures that progress is never lost. Petals are spent on Guardians, reinforcing the importance of strategic choices.
The Omnicore Resonance system further extends replayability. Completed runs can be replayed with difficulty modifiers, offering stronger rewards and encouraging mastery of your builds. Early Access may be a work in progress, but the foundation already supports hours of strategic, engaging gameplay.
While a typical run might take four hours if you approach it methodically, skilled players could blaze through in under 30 minutes. The meta-progression ensures that every attempt is meaningful, transforming potential frustration into a satisfying grind.
The Sound and Feel of the Swamp
The soundtrack does a wonderful job of keeping you engaged. Dominated by Bouzouki tones and accented with lute and keyboard, it perfectly balances mystical ambience with a touch of melancholic charm. Each fight, each exploration, is elevated by music that feels thoughtfully crafted for this waterlogged world.
The music for each boss really sets the tone and urgency. Controls are flexible. While a controller is recommended, a mouse and keyboard are perfectly viable, especially for Pearl’s ranged attacks. However, some Early Access quirks remain, nudging the keyboard while using a controller locks the keyboard input for that run, and I experienced a full freeze requiring a complete restart. These issues are minor but worth noting.
Umigame’s visual stylings are wonderful. With rich saturated colours bringing the haunted swamp and its inhabitants to life. The digital art style is clean and nice to look at. While the characters appear to only have their upper bodies showing, and a pool of water for their lower half. They still look great in motion. With each animation feeling fluid.
Future Promises
The current Early Access release is robust, and the roadmap is exciting. Plans include:
- A fourth biome with a final boss
- Additional enemies and Guardian types
- Expanded online co-op for up to three players
- Greater build variety and synergy between characters and Guardians
- New skills, Soulbounds, and items
The story ending is currently ambiguous, leaving room for future expansion. Given the developers’ transparency and dedication, it’s clear they intend to grow Umigame into a fully realised, replayable roguelite.
Final Thoughts
Umigame is a delightful, charming, and strategic roguelite. Its core loop is satisfying, the meta-progression reduces frustration, and the atmosphere is backed by genuinely beautiful music. While Early Access bugs exist, they are minor in the face of a game that brims with personality and potential.
Fitz alone is worth the journey, but the real joy comes from experimenting with heroes, Guardians, and builds in a swamp world that’s as funny, tense, and heartwarming as it is challenging.
With Umigame’s current foundation and the developers’ roadmap, it’s shaping up to be one of the more charming, thoughtful roguelites available.
Umigame Trailer
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The game was provided to us for the express purpose of reviewing.
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