{"id":66714,"date":"2026-05-18T01:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-05-17T16:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/?p=66714"},"modified":"2026-05-18T01:01:45","modified_gmt":"2026-05-17T16:01:45","slug":"die-deep-a-no-nonsense-extreme-combat-action-game-drawing-cues-from-hollow-knights-colosseum-of-fools-gets-free-steam-demo","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/news\/die-deep-a-no-nonsense-extreme-combat-action-game-drawing-cues-from-hollow-knights-colosseum-of-fools-gets-free-steam-demo\/","title":{"rendered":"Die Deep, a\u00a0no-nonsense\u00a0extreme combat action game drawing\u00a0cues\u00a0from Hollow Knight\u2019s Colosseum of Fools, gets free Steam demo\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Indie developer\u00a0PINIX\u00a0has\u00a0released a\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/store.steampowered.com\/app\/4267580\/Die_Deep_Demo\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Steam\u00a0demo<\/a> for the\u00a0soulslike\u00a0action game\u00a0<strong>Die Deep<\/strong>.\u00a0This\u00a0title is\u00a0focused\u00a0purely on combat, with no\u00a0map exploration or puzzles\u00a0to\u00a0get in the way of you\u00a0going hog\u00a0wild on enemies. The full release is planned for Q4 of\u00a02026.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In&nbsp;Die Deep,&nbsp;you&nbsp;battle monsters within&nbsp;the Abyss&nbsp;\u2013 where everything is devoured, and all desires turn to dust. The game features multiple stages, each consisting of waves of enemies followed by a boss encounter.&nbsp;A&nbsp;notable feature is that the arena&#8217;s terrain&nbsp;layout&nbsp;automatically&nbsp;changes between waves.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Die Deep Teaser v2.1 - June 2025\" width=\"1160\" height=\"653\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/3S_3s-oklGs?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>You&nbsp;can choose between two characters: the one-eyed warrior Gore and the dual-blade&nbsp;rogue Xeta.&nbsp;Gore&nbsp;wields both a sword and shield, allowing him to block and parry enemy attacks.&nbsp;The&nbsp;agile Xeta,&nbsp;meanwhile, fights with dual&nbsp;blades&nbsp;as her name suggests. She has no defensive abilities, but every successful attack instantly resets her dash cooldown, making aggressive play key to evading enemy attacks.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Different enemy types&nbsp;possess&nbsp;unique melee,&nbsp;ranged,&nbsp;and area-of-effect attacks. The direction, range, and timing of attacks are displayed on the floor beforehand, requiring players to read enemy patterns carefully&nbsp;and figure out&nbsp;opportunities to strike back.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1686\" height=\"941\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1686px) 100vw, 1686px\" src=\"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/20260515-66714-001.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-66718\" srcset=\"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/20260515-66714-001.jpg 1686w, https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/20260515-66714-001-380x212.jpg 380w, https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/20260515-66714-001-768x429.jpg 768w, https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/20260515-66714-001-1536x857.jpg 1536w\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Clearing enemy waves grants&nbsp;you&nbsp;a choice of one out of three randomly presented upgrades.&nbsp;These can increase maximum health or attack power, improve health regeneration, or speed up MP recovery,&nbsp;used for healing and activating active skills&nbsp;(MP gradually fills as&nbsp;you&nbsp;attack enemies).&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Players can also unlock&nbsp;charms by defeating bosses and progressing through the game. These function as passive and active skills that can be equipped into slots and used during stages. Some raise&nbsp;your&nbsp;stats, while others&nbsp;provide&nbsp;additional attack options.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1513\" height=\"852\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1513px) 100vw, 1513px\" src=\"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/20260515-66714-002.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-66719\" srcset=\"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/20260515-66714-002.jpg 1513w, https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/20260515-66714-002-380x214.jpg 380w, https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/20260515-66714-002-768x432.jpg 768w\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Die Deep\u2019s&nbsp;newly released demo includes the&nbsp;game\u2019s&nbsp;tutorial and&nbsp;first stage.&nbsp;It gives you a taste of the&nbsp;game\u2019s core mechanics,&nbsp;with both playable characters available.&nbsp;Defeating the&nbsp;demo\u2019s&nbsp;boss&nbsp;will unlock&nbsp;a high-difficulty challenge mode featuring especially formidable boss-class enemies designed for&nbsp;dying over and over again until you make it.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Taiwan-based&nbsp;development&nbsp;studio PINIX previously released the roguelike deckbuilding strategy game&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/store.steampowered.com\/app\/1668690\/Alina_of_the_Arena\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Alina of the Arena<\/a>&nbsp;in 2022, which&nbsp;currently&nbsp;holds a&nbsp;\u201cVery Positive\u201d&nbsp;rating on Steam&nbsp;out of over 1k reviews. According to the studio, the combat of&nbsp;Die Deep&nbsp;draws inspiration from Hollow Knight and Hollow Knight:&nbsp;Silksong. In particular, the developers say&nbsp;they&#8217;re&nbsp;aiming to recreate the&nbsp;kind of&nbsp;extreme back-to-back&nbsp;challenging&nbsp;combat&nbsp;of the&nbsp;former\u2019s&nbsp;Colosseum of Fools and&nbsp;Godhome&nbsp;areas.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Die Deep\u00a0is scheduled to launch\u00a0for PC (<a href=\"https:\/\/store.steampowered.com\/app\/3211560\/_Die_Deep\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Steam<\/a>)\u00a0in Q4 of\u00a02026,\u00a0with the <a href=\"https:\/\/store.steampowered.com\/app\/4267580\/Die_Deep_Demo\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">free demo<\/a> available from today.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Developed by Taiwan-based indie studio PINIX, Die Deep is Hollow Knight-inspired action game coming to Steam in Q4 of 2026.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":66717,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_gspb_post_css":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[62,3],"tags":[18],"class_list":["post-66714","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-indie-games","category-news","tag-global-news"],"blocksy_meta":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.6 - 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