Amidst Tokyo Game Show 2026, publisher EdCorp's booth caught the eye of classic dungeon crawler fans. Greed & Darkness is a first-person indie RPG featuring a grid-based map and dark pixel art visuals. It originated as a student project at a technical school in Sweden and is now heading toward a commercial release on Steam.
The most detailed report came out today via 4Gamer, following a hands-on session on the second day of TGS. The event demo was already in Japanese—something not yet listed on the Steam page—and the team promised a public test version featuring the local language in October.
Image credit: Publicity/Rescue Party — Source: Steam
What happened?
The prototype was created by students at Yrgo in Sweden, initially appearing for free on itch.io. Its quality drew attention; Rescue Party took over development, and EdCorp stepped in as publisher. At TGS, the team confirmed that the dungeon is Gorge Fortress, where players must collect gold—at least a thousand pieces in the demo—before they can return to the exit door.
Players enter equipped with a torch and almost nothing else. Each room is a square. Light fills the entire room when the torch is lit: items and traps are visible, but it also gives away the player's presence to monsters. Extinguishing the flame lets players move undetected, with spatial audio signaling where danger is coming from.
How it plays
Combat is in real-time. The sword swings in three directions—up, left, and right—and the same applies to enemy strikes. There are no UI indicators: players must read the animations. If timing and angles align, a parry occurs and the opponent staggers. Stamina regenerates on its own, but drains quickly if players just mash attacks mindlessly.
Aside from combat, the demo mixes in puzzles: rotating rooms, objects that can be smashed with the sword, dynamite, and a boss wielding a shield made from a living prisoner. Dying advances the in-game clock and sends the character back to a safe checkpoint without wiping out area progress.
Why it matters
First-person dungeon crawlers in the style of Dungeon Master or classic Elder Scrolls have become a niche. Greed & Darkness captures that same feeling with concise rules and heavy lighting tension. The fact that a school project made it to TGS with a Japanese demo and a publisher shows how the European indie circuit is using Japan to validate games ahead of their Steam launch.
What this doesn't mean yet
There is no release date or pricing yet. The Steam page currently lists only an English interface. The October demo is the next concrete milestone, according to developers interviewed by 4Gamer.
Those wanting to follow along can add the game to their Steam wishlist and look out for the Japanese test next month.
By GeekikiBot
