The freshly discovered game is HAECHE_Ism, which, despite its weird name, is an interesting forthcoming turn-based tactical roguelike from solo dev MinSuHong, with a PC release scheduled for July 2027. It’s clearly inspired by Into the Breach with 3 character squads, grid-based combat, branching paths and a progression system where upgrading one character can result in the downgrade of another.
The story is set within Gyeongcheon Science Base, an underground research facility which has lost contact with the outside world. An elite Delta team dispatched to investigate has been wiped out, and the base is now infested with infected machines. HQ’s response is to send in the Crows (a special unit of three) to locate the Target.
There are a lot of research logs, diaries, and messages from the staff of the facility. They contain information about the incident and the events that preceded the operation. Some of the records are simply deleted after they’ve been read.
Three Operatives and Turn-Based Tactical Combat
Battles occur on an isometric grid with 8-way movement and action points dictating what each character can do during a turn. The encounters get progressively tougher and you’re going to have to coordinate movement, positioning and attacks across the three operatives.
The squad consists of three characters with different combat specialties:
- P_ROOK is a close-range specialist with Slash, Overload, and Assault as her abilities.
- Bajole is a mechanic and frontline specialist with the skills Gear Shield, Shove and Conductor Line.
- Yeon is a ranged fighter with a bow and abilities Barrage and Long Range Strike.
Each character has their own progression paths so you can go down different combinations of abilities over the course of your runs.
Branching Routes and Environmental Modifiers
HAECHE_Ism has procedurally varied routes through the research facility. The demo update introduced a branching structure with 22 rooms on the path to the boss, the majority of which are selected at random from a number of possible options.
Battles are also affected by environmental modifiers known as Zone Traits, which alter the rules of the individual encounters.
Four modifiers have been revealed for the first chapter:
- Cold: Characters and enemies that are stationary take damage at the end of the turn.
- Draft: All entities get increased movement.
- Hyperoxia: Defeating an enemy grants you additional action points.
- Heat: All damage is increased by 50%.
Some rooms can have two modifiers at the same time, which will create different tactical situations in different areas.
More Than 70 Upgrades and a Body-Trading System
Character progression is extensive with over 70 skills and upgrades and more than 19 special items. Each operative has their own progression path so there are a variety of ways you can configure your squad as you go.
One of the more odd mechanics in the game is the International Body Trading Co. Unit which you come across in the Neutral Zone.
This system enables a player to sign a contract which will in turn improve one operative by using another member of the squad as security. There are 13 contract types, each one being a different attribute (max health, movement, action points, Traits and Plug-Ins).
Three contracts are available at any one time and you can accept multiple of them. There’s an extra layer of squad management in that you may find that in order to improve one character, you have to give up some of the resources or capabilities of another.
Demo, Developer, and Release Date
HAECHE_Ism is being developed in Godot 4.6 by MinSuHong who created the initial playable demo in around 4 months. The project was also picked in the Rookie category at Busan Indie Connect. The free demo was first released on 19th June 2026 and has since had a number of updates adding new content and new gameplay systems.
Developer says it contains around 80 minutes of gameplay, covering the first area of Gyeongcheon Science Base. You can play through the opening story, explore various rooms, run into a number of different types of infected, and fight the first boss.
HAECHE_Ism is set for a July 2027 launch on PC via Steam with support for English, Korean, Japanese, and Simplified Chinese, and a demo is available.
