Sunken Realms Descends Onto Steam After Six Years of Development

Sunken Realms, the action RPG dungeon crawler from solo developer Brad Warren and Magic Puncher Games, has launched on Steam following six years of development. Released on September 18, 2026, the game takes players beneath the surface into Aedaria, a cursed city of shifting ruins, dangerous monsters, valuable loot, and unanswered questions.

The PC release is priced at $16.99 / £13.99 / EUR16.99. A 10% launch discount will be available for the game's first two weeks on Steam. Players still deciding whether to commit to the full expedition can also try the demo, which remains available until September 21.

Interest has already been building around the project before release, with more than 45,000 Steam wishlists logged for the game. That is a notable foundation for a title built by a single developer over an extended production period, particularly in a genre where moment-to-moment combat, replayable runs, progression systems, and atmosphere all need to work in tandem.

A journey into the Lost City of Aedaria

Sunken Realms is framed around the long-buried city of Aedaria. Decades before the game begins, the underground settlement was cursed by gods and consumed by darkness. Its gates became the subject of fearful stories: anyone reckless enough to enter was said to vanish into the depths. Over time, Aedaria faded from public memory, except among those still tempted by its promise of wealth, secrets, and the unexplored unknown.

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Players take the role of Alric, an adventurer whose descent is driven by more than treasure hunting. He is searching for the truth behind his father's fate. That personal objective sits at the center of the game's narrative, which develops between expeditions through conversations around a campfire. The setup gives the dungeon-crawling structure a character-focused thread, with the relationship between two friends intended to provide a quieter contrast to the fighting and scavenging below ground.

Aedaria itself is designed to feel handcrafted without offering exactly the same route every time. Sunken Realms includes 109 individually made rooms divided across six distinct sections of the city. Rather than presenting those spaces in a fixed layout on every descent, the game procedurally rearranges them for each run. The approach aims to retain carefully designed encounters and environments while keeping exploration unpredictable.

For players, that means learning the broader identity of each area while adapting to new room orders, combat situations, and decisions during successive trips into the ruins. The city is not simply a backdrop for a linear campaign. It is a place meant to be repeatedly entered, understood, and survived.

For another perspective on this story, read Sunken Realms Opens Aedaria's Gates on Steam After Six Years of Solo Development.

Action RPG combat with rogue-lite structure

At its core, Sunken Realms is a focused ARPG dungeon crawler with rogue-lite elements. Alric can confront enemies with both melee and ranged combat, allowing players to adjust their approach depending on the weapons they carry and the threats in front of them. The game also features spells that can be learned, giving adventurers access to old magic hidden within the fallen city.

The combination of close-range weapons, ranged options, and spells suggests a combat loop based on flexibility rather than locking players into one style. Some encounters may favor careful positioning and distance, while others could reward getting in close or using a powerful magical ability at the right moment. As players move deeper into Aedaria, balancing offensive tools with preparation will be an important part of each attempt to return alive.

Enemies and treasure chests provide gold and crafting materials, feeding into the longer-term progression surrounding each dungeon run. The goal is not solely to clear rooms or reach a single endpoint. Successful expeditions can create opportunities to improve equipment, acquire supplies, and make the next descent more manageable--or more ambitious.

The rogue-lite framing also puts weight on risk. Aedaria's reputation is built around swallowing those who enter, and Sunken Realms asks players to make repeated trips into a hostile place where loot must be earned and survival cannot be assumed. Procedurally rearranged rooms help make that danger less familiar over time, even as players become more capable and better equipped.

Camp preparation is part of the adventure

Between dives into the ruins, Alric returns to a surface camp. This hub is where the game's preparation and advancement systems come into focus. Players can craft new weapons and armor, brew potions, cook food, trade for useful items, and upgrade stats through the Soul Forge.

That return-to-camp loop is central to Sunken Realms' identity. Instead of treating the space between dungeon runs as a brief menu stop, the game makes it part of the rhythm of the adventure. A difficult expedition may end with hard-won resources, and those materials can then be transformed into equipment or consumables that support a different strategy next time.

Food and potions add another layer to planning. Before heading back through Aedaria's gates, players will need to consider what they can make, what gear they want to carry, and how they want to prepare for the dangers ahead. Trading broadens the options available at camp, while stat upgrades at the Soul Forge provide a more lasting avenue for growth.

The game also allows players to select higher difficulty levels when returning underground. Tougher settings raise the stakes by presenting more demanding fights, but they also promise better loot. This gives experienced players a reason to revisit the dungeon once they have improved their loadout and grasped its systems. It also creates a choice between a safer resource run and a riskier attempt with greater potential rewards.

An adventure shaped by a solo creator

Warren has identified Outward as the game that pushed him toward creating his own project. He highlighted its sense of adventure and the feeling of facing a broad, uncertain world as an inspiration. While Sunken Realms developed in its own direction over the course of production, Warren's stated goal was to preserve that spirit of discovery.

"The game that inspired me to make my own was Outward," Warren said. "It has such a feeling of adventure and the wide unknown that I haven't quite felt anywhere else. Sunken Realms went in its own direction over time, but I hope it kept that same spirit."

That influence is visible in the game's emphasis on entering an unfamiliar, threatening environment with limited certainty about what lies ahead. Sunken Realms is more concentrated than an open-world journey, placing its adventure within the boundaries of a single underground city, but its structure still leans into the appeal of preparation, exploration, danger, and incremental discovery.

Six years is a substantial development period for any game, and especially for a solo project spanning combat design, procedural assembly, crafting, progression, narrative moments, environments, and an original score. The Steam launch represents the point where those systems finally come together for the public, with Aedaria now open to players willing to test its legends for themselves.

What Steam players can expect

For players looking for a dungeon crawler with repeatable structure, Sunken Realms offers a defined set of ingredients: hand-built rooms reshuffled on each run, melee and ranged fighting, learnable spells, gathering and crafting, camp-based upgrades, adjustable difficulty, and a story tied to Alric's search for his father.

• 109 handcrafted rooms procedurally rearranged across six sections of Aedaria
• Melee combat, ranged attacks, and learnable magic
• Gold, materials, loot, and treasure chests to uncover underground
• Crafting for weapons and armor, along with potions and food preparation
• Trading and permanent stat progression through the Soul Forge
• Higher-difficulty descents that increase challenge and improve loot opportunities
• A campfire story centered on Alric and his friend between runs
• An original score built to support the descent into the cursed city

Sunken Realms is available now on Steam. Its limited-time demo provides a final short window for players to sample the descent before September 21, while the launch discount reduces the full game's price for the first two weeks. For those drawn to compact action RPGs with a strong repeat-run loop, Aedaria's gates are no longer sealed.