The upcoming RPGA Tale of Silent Depthspresents players with a large underground open world for players to explore aboard their submarine. However, the game, which was presented atGamescom LATAM 2025, is more than just an open-worldrole-playing game.A Tale of Silent Depthscombines the exploration focus of traditional open worlds with roguelike elements, including a procedurally generated world, the need for multiple “runs” due to the game’s permadeath mechanic, and a variety of upgrades and characters that players can unlock.
Speaking to Game Rant at Gamescom LATAM, Tavern Tale co-founder andA Tale of Silent Depthslead programmer Eduardo Santos revealed how the team balanced the open world and roguelike elements of the game. The open world aspect comes through via the focus on exploration, the biome-based structure of the world, and players' ability to earn EXP through non-combat paths such as trading, discovering lore, or completing missions for NPCs around the world. On the roguelike side,A Tale of Silent Depthsfeatures aprocedurally generated world, a player-driven upgrade system, and the ability to recruit characters who then become playable during later missions.
A Tale Of Silent DepthsCenters Exploration
Exploration is at the core of theopen-world RPGexperience, andA Tale of Silent Depthsis no exception. Players start the game as James, the captain of an Ark, one of many submarines humanity now lives in after the apocalypse made the surface world uninhabitable. From the central hub level, a “ruined wasteland, full of dead buildings”, they can explore a variety of biomes ranging from the beautiful kelp forests to the mysterious “Dark,” a sinister region inhabited by eldritch horrors.
Everywhere the player explores, they can learn more about the lore of the world, including ruined past civilizations and even “a religious faction that tried to convert the whole ocean.” Players can even earn EXP by collecting information about this faction and delivering it to a priest interested in the group’s history. This EXP can then be used to purchase upgrades necessary to defeat the game’s many mandatory andoptional bosses, such as the “Shrimp Ant Queen” who lurks inside a giant hive.
Roguelike Elements Include Recruitment And Upgrades
While players start with the ability to control Captain James, they can recruit other party members who can then join them on later missions intraditional roguelike style. These characters, who include religious figure Wilhelmine Brooks and trader Malik, must be defeated in combat before they will join the Ark’s crew. As the game features a procedurally generated world with many difficult monsters to defeat, recruiting new characters is crucial to survival inA Tale of Silent Depths’forbidding setting.
In addition,A Tale of Silent Depthsutilizes a roguelike-inspired progression system, with the ability to unlock player-chosen upgrades upon leveling up. Santos described the system as such:
“Once you level up, your status will grow a little overall, and you’ll get a draft of upgrades. Depending on the level, you’re presented with either a game-changing upgrade, or an upgrade with some synergies, or just a stat change or attribute change. So there’s a draft of upgrades, a randomly generated world, and permadeath but meta-progression.”
Both those who enjoy exploring in open-world RPGs and gamers who like challenging andcomplex roguelike gameswith tactical combat can find something to like inA Tale of Silent Depths,which is currently planned to release in 2026. Players must take advantage of roguelike mechanics to be able to survive in a particularly challenging open world rife with dangers and fearsome enemies deep beneath the surface of the sea.
A Tale of Silent Depthscurrently has a demo available on Steam.
