Rhythm tactics game Wardrum hits Steam in May

Team17 and Mopeful Games have set a May 7 release date for Wardrum, a tactical turn-based rhythm roguelite coming to Steam. A playable demo is currently available on the game's official Steam page.

Originally revealed at the PC Gaming Show in late 2025, Wardrum comes from Mopeful Games. The studio previously developed Fashion Police Squad, a retro shooter that swapped out shotguns and rocket launchers for sewing machines and belts. Their new project takes that same willingness to experiment with established genres and applies it to strategy games. Instead of first-person shooting, Wardrum mixes grid-based tactical movement with rhythm-based combat execution inside a dark fantasy setting.

Grid-based beats

The combat happens in two distinct phases. First, players move their warband of five characters around a tactical grid viewed from an isometric angle. You position units for back attacks, set up overwatch zones, and push enemies into environmental hazards. The map design combines 2D pixel art characters with 3D environments to give the battlefield a clear sense of depth.

Once the positioning is locked in, the actual attacks require you to hit button prompts in time with the game's tribal drum soundtrack. Different weapons and abilities have their own beat patterns to memorize. Fast attacks require quick tapping, and drawing a bow involves holding and releasing a button on the beat. Missing a perfectly planned flank attack because you lack a basic sense of rhythm is either genius or madness. Possibly both.

Status effects change the music

Between battles, players navigate a roguelite overworld map with branching paths, nodes, and fog of war. The map randomizes encounters, environmental hazards, and weather conditions for each run. The overarching goal is to clear out off-beat magic that has infected neighboring settlements.

Character progression borrows heavily from traditional tactical RPGs. Players can choose from multiple classes, such as warriors, assassins, and summoners. Each class has its own skill tree, and units can equip two trinkets to modify their stats and abilities. Players can also create custom rhythm abilities that mix damage, heals, and buffs into personalized beat patterns.

Enemy status effects tie directly into the rhythm mechanics rather than just draining health. If your characters get hit with a haste debuff, the music speeds up and forces you to play faster. Bleed effects add extra buttons you have to press to stop the damage, and confusion scrambles your button prompts entirely.

Wardrum is currently only announced for PC, though Team17 has a history of bringing its published titles to consoles later on. The demo covers the early sections of the game and lets you test out the core combat loop before the full version drops next month. The system requirements are relatively light. The game only needs an older Intel Core i5 and 8GB of RAM, so it should run easily on older laptops and handheld PCs like the Steam Deck.