Open now · By request
Tale of Ronin playtest
by Dead Mage
A game about a fallen samurai carrying out his lord’s final request. Travel as a ronin through a changing land and face the consequences of your choices along the way.
It's free to ask. The developer chooses who gets in.
- Access
- By request
- On playtest since
- Apr 14, 2026
- Planned release
- Coming soon
- Developer
- Dead Mage
- Platforms
- Windows, macOS
- Players
- Single-player
- Languages
- English, Japanese
How to join the Tale of Ronin playtest
- Open the game's Steam page with the Request access button. Sign in to Steam if it asks.
- Request access to the Tale of Ronin playtest there. It's free and doesn't commit you to anything.
- The developer lets players in, often in batches, so it can take a while. Steam emails you when you're in, and the playtest appears in your library.
New to playtests? How Steam playtests work
About Tale of Ronin
Tale of Ronin follows Akira, a former Toyotomi samurai who survived the fall of Osaka and now wanders as a ronin, carrying a final task left by his lord: to deliver a death poem to the monk Takuan. The country has changed under Tokugawa rule, and ronin are distrusted and often turned away, villages close their gates, and old loyalties have little value. As you travel through this world, you meet peasants, soldiers, monks, and other ronin; some need help, some offer it, and others bring trouble. Through these encounters, you shape how Akira moves forward and what remains of the man he was.
Features
- A narrative-driven journey following Akira, a fallen samurai in early Edo Japan.
- Grounded encounters shaped by observation, dialogue, and consequence.
- A focus on small human moments: trust, suspicion, obligation, and quiet violence.
- Simultaneous Turn-based combat focused on posture, tactics, and katana technique.
- Dialogue choices reflecting different attitudes: restrained, pragmatic, honorable, or bitter.
- A historically grounded setting with subtle ambiguity between belief and perception.
- Hand-painted sumi-e visuals inspired by traditional ink art.
From the game's Steam page.
