Metis Creative and Shoreline Games have revealed Wane, a PC-bound occult turn-based RPG where archaeologist Declan Wayne’s memories reshape the map, battles play out on tactical grids, and relics fuel roguelike progression between expeditions.
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Store links: Wane on Steam, After the Wane on Steam, Waning Moon Z on Steam
Wane’s first pitch is a map that cannot be trusted
Metis Creative has revealed Wane, an occult turn-based RPG for PC in which archaeologist Declan Wayne’s deteriorating memories shape the explorable map itself. The announcement came during the PC Gaming Show Tokyo Direct, according to MonsterVine and Noisy Pixel, with Shoreline Games publishing the game on Steam. No release date or release window has been announced.
That absence matters because Wane is being introduced on the strength of a systems promise rather than a calendar beat. Its core hook is unusually direct for a new turn based RPG: Ravelle, the game’s central labyrinth, is formed from Declan’s defining moments, trauma, obsessions, and regrets. MonsterVine reports that routes can change as players push farther into Ravelle, while repeated expeditions gradually uncover more of Declan and the people tied to his past.
For RPG players, that makes Wane’s reveal more interesting than a simple genre tag. The game is being positioned as a Wane roguelike where exploration, memory, party building, and long-term progression all point at the same premise. The open question is whether the memory map becomes a meaningful strategic layer, or whether it functions mostly as narrative flavor wrapped around familiar runs.
Ravelle turns memory into exploration structure
The confirmed setup follows Declan Wayne, an archaeologist losing his sense of self. In Wane, his memories have transformed Ravelle into a shifting labyrinth rather than a stable fantasy overworld. MonsterVine describes the setting as being shaped by moments of trauma, obsession, and regret, and Noisy Pixel reports that Ravelle can change between expeditions.
That gives the game a useful archaeological irony. Declan is not simply digging through a dead civilization from a safe academic distance. Based on the announcement details, he is sending parties into a ruin made from his own collapse, where progress through space also becomes progress through biography. RPGamer frames the ruins of Ravelle as a labyrinth of Declan’s memories, while Techtroduce notes that repeated expeditions are intended to expose more of his history.
The practical design challenge is clear. A memory map RPG only stands out if the player can read, anticipate, and exploit the instability of the map over time. The reveal confirms shifting routes and repeated expeditions, but it does not yet specify how much agency players have over route changes, whether memory states can be manipulated, or how failure affects the next descent. Those unanswered details will likely decide whether Wane feels like a themed dungeon crawler or a more ambitious narrative roguelike.
Three-person parties, grid tactics, and attrition give the premise teeth
Wane’s combat is confirmed as grid-based and tactical. MonsterVine and Noisy Pixel both report that players recruit adventurers, assemble teams of three, and fight with an emphasis on positioning, cover, and line of sight. Percentage-based attacks add uncertainty, while random battles, bosses, and attrition pressure the party across a run.
That is a compact party size for a tactics RPG, and it suggests that individual recruitment choices could carry real weight. With only three active characters, each slot has to justify itself. A healer, control specialist, durable frontliner, ranged attacker, or relic-focused utility character would all have sharper opportunity costs than they might in a five- or six-member party. The sources do not yet confirm classes, skill trees, character rarity, or whether recruited adventurers persist between expeditions, so those buildcraft details remain unannounced.
The percentage-based attack system also raises a familiar tactical question: how much risk tolerance will Wane expect from players? Hit chances can create memorable recoveries and painful collapses, especially when attrition is part of the run structure. If cover and line of sight meaningfully let players improve odds rather than simply gamble around them, Wane could appeal to players who like deliberate tactical RPG play inside a roguelike loop. If the numbers swing too hard without enough mitigation, the memory theme may not be enough to soften failed runs.
The antiquarian shop is Wane’s long-term progression engine
Between expeditions, Wane returns players to Declan’s antiquarian shop. MonsterVine reports that relics recovered during a run can be appraised and auctioned, with proceeds used to improve facilities and fund later attempts. The same report says continued runs can open shortcuts, permanent buffs, and new party synergies.
That structure is where the Wane RPG pitch becomes clearest. Runs are not isolated dives into a procedural dungeon. They feed a home base economy, and that economy appears to feed future routes, stats, and party combinations. For completion-minded players, the shop could become the place where relic collection, appraisal outcomes, facility upgrades, and expedition planning all converge.
There is one terminology wrinkle worth noting. MonsterVine describes Wane as using roguelike progression, while RPGamer calls it an occult roguelite turn-based RPG. That distinction has become blurry across Steam-era RPGs, but here it matters because permanent buffs and shortcuts are specifically reported. Until Metis Creative or Shoreline Games clarifies the exact run reset rules, the safest description is that Wane uses roguelike expeditions with persistent progression between attempts.
Three biomes anchor the occult archaeology angle
The reveal identifies three major biomes: the Ravellian Sanatorium, the Palace of Arvanshah, and the Death Pilgrimage to Erabel. MonsterVine reports that each area connects to Ravelle’s history and pieces of Declan’s memories.
Those names do a lot of tonal work. A sanatorium suggests institutional decay and a history of treatment or confinement. A palace implies power, lineage, and the possibility of political or imperial memory. A death pilgrimage points toward ritual, belief, and final journeys. None of those interpretations are confirmed story details, but the announced biome names support Wane’s occult archaeological frame more strongly than a generic dungeon list would.
For a new occult turn based RPG, biome identity is especially important because repetition is built into the structure. Players are expected to return to Ravelle across multiple expeditions, so the three regions will need tactical texture as well as lore value. Different cover layouts, line-of-sight puzzles, encounter pressures, relic pools, or boss patterns have not been detailed yet, but those are the systems that would make each biome feel like a distinct corner of Declan’s fading mind rather than a visual theme swap.
Metis Creative is bringing tabletop instincts into a new medium
Wane is also a studio transition story. MonsterVine reports that Wane marks a new medium for Metis Creative, a studio previously known for tabletop games. Noisy Pixel quotes Metis Creative CEO Sarp Duyar as saying the studio has found success creating original visuals matched with deep narrative across several award-winning tabletop games, and that Wane is intended to continue that tradition in a new medium.
That background helps explain why the reveal leans so hard on premise, setting, and systems that could plausibly interlock. Tabletop design experience can be valuable for party composition, resource pressure, relic economies, and narrative discovery, but video games add different demands: readable UI, pacing across repeated runs, combat feedback, encounter balance, and technical polish. The announcement confirms the concept, not the execution.
Shoreline Games’ involvement gives Wane a clearer publishing path. Noisy Pixel quotes Shoreline Games CEO Keith Kawamura as saying the publisher had worked with Metis Creative before and wanted to help bring Wane to players after seeing what the team was creating. The sources provided do not identify that prior collaboration in detail, so the confirmed takeaway is narrower: Shoreline is publishing Wane for PC, and the publisher is presenting this as a renewed partnership with Metis.
Platform, release timing, and whether to wishlist on Steam
Wane is currently announced for PC via Steam. RPGamer reports that it is available to wishlist, and MonsterVine says Shoreline Games has not announced a release date. The provided sources do not mention console versions, Steam Deck verification, price, editions, early access plans, system requirements, or localization details.
That makes Wane a watchlist candidate rather than a purchase decision. If you are searching for a new turn based RPG with tactical grids and persistent progression, the Steam page is the practical place to track updates. If your interest depends on release timing, controller support, accessibility features, or how punishing the roguelike structure will be, those details are still missing from the public reveal covered by the cited outlets.
The reason to pay attention is the cohesion of the pitch. Wane’s best idea is not any single listed feature in isolation. It is the way Declan’s fractured memory, shifting routes, expedition attrition, relic auctions, shop upgrades, and three-person tactical parties could reinforce one another. Steam has no shortage of tactical roguelikes, but a memory-driven archaeology RPG with a strong home-base economy has a distinct lane if Metis Creative can turn that premise into legible choices across repeated runs.