Roguelikes have been in vogue for the past few years. From indies like Hades, Dead Cells, or The Binding of Isaac, to bigger games like Returnal and the upcoming Saros from Housemarquee, there's no denying the genre has gone mainstream. You also got games getting updated with unique modes centered around the main roguelike mechanic of repeatable runs in, usually, procedurally generated environments such as Donkey Kong Bananza or God of War: Ragnarok.
Each brings a different take on gameplay. Some are more action-oriented, while others focus on exploration a bit more. But with increased competition, how does a developer stand out? Well, Ghost Vanguard, the indie project developed by Wombo Combo Games, a small studio based in Fukuoka, Japan, led by former SEGA developers Peiming Jin and Takara Kuroda, answers that question beautifully: imagine a roguelike with Devil May Cry-esque stylish combos.
As someone who grew up with character action and fighting games, there was always a part of me that yearned for a roguelike with emphasis on high-octane gameplay. I'm not a huge fan of Soulslikes, so the focus on punishing gameplay and dodging mechanics to take down big bosses that a lot of these high-profile titles bring to the table doesn't really appeal to me. Even more frantic, bullet-hell type like Hades 2, my favorite game of 2025, still doesn't scratch that itch.
After playing the demo via Steam, I'm excited to see the evolution of Ghost Vanguard. The game borrows the aesthetics of Castlevania and mixes it with the combo-heavy combat of DMC to very fun results. During your early runs, you'll start with a basic one-handed sword and limited abilities. You can do a basic combo string into a launcher to follow up with an aerial combo. That's very neat, however, the game starts to open up after you find permanent abilities that expand what you can do with each weapon: there are parries, double jump, lunging attacks, and a few more I didn't get a chance to try out yet.
Mixing that with spells that you can find throughout the world is when the wheel started spinning inside my head. Neuron activation, if you will. The big moment where it all clicked for me was when I was facing the boss of the first area: after I managed to stun him, I pulled off a basic attack combo into a launcher to start an aerial rave, then utilized one of the spells I found (a Light-infused projectile that maintained the boss in the air while receiving continuous damage) to extend the combo, finally, used another spell that teleported me right next to the boss, resetting my aerial rave limit letting me dish out a whole extra combo all in an entire dopamine-inducing aerial sequence.
That's all, without mentioning the buildcrafting potential. There are elemental damage types, critical rate modifiers, and other sorts of boons that will grant you various benefits. Even the room variety is already making Ghost Vanguard look like a complete experience, as you'll run into rooms featuring different types of minigames with incredible rewards should you choose to take on the challenge head-on.
The bosses I've faced all have unique move sets that retain a solid level of challenge without feeling needlessly difficult. You'll have the opportunity to go for a safe approach or go for broke trying to perfect parry or dodge to dish out that extra bit of damage.
There are some minor issues I have with the game in its current state, mainly when it comes to general mobility. There is no dedicated dash button, and to get a dash, you need to double-tap forward, which can feel a little unintuitive.
Another QoL I'd like to see added in the spirit of maintaining that fast-paced action is a way to quick rise after taking damage. Like maybe by pressing the dodge button at the right time, the character can get back up in an instant.
Beyond that, I'm incredibly excited to see what else developer Wombo Combo has in store for future versions of Ghost Vanguard. I know I'll be there day one.
You can back Ghost Vanguard via Kickstarter. The game is currently scheduled for release sometime in 2026, and it'll be playable on Steam and Nintendo Switch, with further stretch goals potentially bringing it to PlayStation and Xbox.