Something special is in store for everyone who has ever loved classic dungeon crawlers, but also for those who seek more from a game than nostalgia and monster battles. Paper Dungeon – Deep Down is the debut title from the Czech studio NiBo Games. The game combines proven foundations of the genre, first-person perspective, grid-based movement, and managing a four-member party, with modern systems, quality user interface, and tactical turn-based combat. The goal is to offer an experience inspired by Dungeon Master, Wizardry, Eye of the Beholder, and Legend of Grimrock, but tailored to contemporary expectations. The Early Access version is planned for the end of 2026, while the full version of the game is expected in the first half of 2027.
One of the key features of Paper Dungeon – Deep Down is its environment. The game is set in a gigantic miniature tabletop world, composed of props, game components, and items inspired by the aesthetics of the 80s and early 90s. The main character finds themselves in a vaguely defined space between life and death, while progress through the game is overseen by the Overseer, a high figure resembling a Dungeon Master. Each level of the dungeon presents a different theme and type of environment, from crypts and laboratories to hospital rooms or spaces filled with toys. Between exploring levels, the player returns to The Attic, a functional safe zone where they can organize the party, upgrade characters, prepare equipment, and access a simple crafting system.
The combat system plays an important role in the experience. Battles are turn-based, with a focus on tactical thinking, character positioning, turn management, and utilizing a wide range of status effects. There are twelve heroes available in the game, each with their own set of abilities and role in the party. The progression system includes over twenty perks, seventy abilities, and a large number of items with traditional RPG statistics. More than forty status effects can be combined according to clear logic; for example, certain effects cancel each other out, while others increase the likelihood of related reactions. Certain enemies have the ability to evolve during combat, becoming more dangerous than their initial version.
Exploration of levels relies on hand-designed spatial units. Each contains puzzles, secret passages, traps, teleports, and optional hidden rooms. This approach encourages the player to methodically observe, solve puzzles, and search for hidden mechanisms that can unlock new parts of the level or grant access to special items and story fragments. Instead of procedural generation, each location is shaped to have a clear structure, purpose, and rhythm of progression. From a technical standpoint, the game uses the Unity 3D engine. The expected duration of a standard playthrough is between twelve and twenty hours, with additional longevity thanks to various combinations of heroes and tactical approaches to combat. Paper Dungeon – Deep Down will be localized into a large number of languages. Full text and voice localization will be available in English and Czech, while text localization will cover French, Italian, German, Spanish, Polish, Russian, Ukrainian, multiple variants of Portuguese, as well as Japanese, Korean, Thai, Vietnamese, Indonesian, and Chinese variants. The primary platform for release is PC (Steam, Windows), while a Linux version and possible console versions for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation, and Xbox are planned with potential publishing support.
NiBo Games was founded by experienced professionals with years of work in the industry, including projects such as Dračí doupě+, Cold War, Painkiller: Overdose, Memento Mori 2, and work in larger studios such as Bohemia Interactive, Warhorse Studios, and Techland. Paper Dungeon – Deep Down represents their first title under the new studio name.
Given the hand-crafted levels, tactical combat system, wide selection of heroes, and precisely defined mechanical systems, Paper Dungeon – Deep Down is already positioning itself as a project that aims to take its place among contemporary representatives of the dungeon crawler genre and offer a clearly structured, compact, and strategically focused experience. With a clearly defined development plan and an experienced team behind the project, it remains to be seen how the game will shape up by its release, but it already shows enough potential to attract the attention of genre enthusiasts and become a valuable new name in the RPG scene.
