TL;DR: KAREI – Endless Death Match is a turn-based puzzle roguelike from Tokyo studio Phase Co., Ltd. You play a lone kunoichi climbing a castle that never ends. A free demo covering floors 1 to 10 is out now on Steam, Android, and iOS, and the game joins Steam Next Fest from October 19 to 26. The full release is set for Q4 2026.
Most roguelikes reward fast hands. KAREI rewards patience.
The setup is simple. You’re a kunoichi on an 8×8 board, and every time you move, the enemies move too. That’s the whole hook, and it’s a nasty one. Each turn becomes a small puzzle: do you step back and keep your distance, throw a shuriken, slip into hiding, or go for the first strike? One careless step and the run is over. Walang button-mashing dito, puro basa ng board.
The castle itself is called the Endless Castle. According to the game’s lore, many have climbed it and none have come back. Every floor is a locked room, and the layout, the enemies, and the loot change on every run. So kahit ilang beses ka mamatay, hindi mo makakabisado ang mapa. What you’re really learning is how to read it.
Your ninja toolkit
The demo gives you three core ninja tools, each with its own job:
- Scrolls set up traps and break enemy formations
- Shuriken control distance, so you can hit enemies before they reach you
- Stealth hides your presence when you’re boxed in
You’ll also pick up gadgets and talismans along the way, and there’s a merchant who makes you choose what to buy and what to give up. The walls matter too. Faintly glowing walls hide items, while ominous-looking ones can hold weapons, cursed charms, or things you’d rather not have dug up.
Some rooms are pure puzzle rooms with a hard move limit. Other floors are “karakuri” mechanism floors, where even the floor can turn against you.
No grinding, just getting better
KAREI is strict about one thing: when you die, you lose everything, including your items and upgrades. You can’t grind stats until a boss becomes easy. The only thing that carries over is your own understanding of how the castle works. Brutal, pero fair. If you’ve played Into the Breach and loved how every enemy move is telegraphed, this kind of thinking will feel familiar.
Gashadokuro, and a leaderboard
The demo ends at floor 10 with the first boss, Gashadokuro, the giant skeleton yokai of Japanese folklore. The official site also teases deeper bosses, including Tsuchigumo, the earth spider.
The fun part is the online leaderboard. It tracks the fastest kill of Gashadokuro, so if your barkada likes competing over scores, there’s a built-in bragging contest right in the free demo.
Pang-commute din
The mobile version is a strong angle for Pinoy players. The Android demo and the iOS version, called KAREI Prologue, can be played one-handed in portrait mode. Since it’s turn-based, you can pause anytime, perfect for the MRT or a long jeep ride. The Google Play listing doesn’t show ads or in-app purchases for the demo.
On PC, the requirements are light: Windows 10 64-bit, an Intel Core i3, 4GB RAM, integrated graphics, and about 1GB of storage. Kaya kahit pang-office na laptop, kakayanin.
Good to know
- Languages: Japanese and English only
- Demo content: Floors 1–10, unlimited retries
- Track record: Phase Co. showed KAREI at Tokyo Game Show 2026 in September before the demo dropped on October 10
KAREI is a small game with a sharp idea, and the demo costs nothing to try. Before Next Fest opens on Monday, it’s worth adding to your wishlist and taking a few runs at Gashadokuro.
Kayo, ilang floors ang inabot niyo?
Image courtesy of Phase Co., Ltd.