We’ve been following the release of Unto Deepest Depths and have now had the chance to try the retro-inspired strategy title for ourselves. The game has been developed by McCollum Games and published on Steam and Switch by Flynn’s Arcade. Unto Deepest Depths is out on December 11th, 2025, priced at $6.99, and we’re playing the Switch version for this review. The game is similar to many other roguelite titles that encourage players to grind through many quick-fire runs. The more you grind, the more experience points you’ll add to your units, and this makes them permanently stronger.
This sounds simple, but each battle is usually won on the finest of margins due to the unique mechanic that requires every unit to move and attack, without exception, during each turn. Unto Deepest Depths feels more like a game of chess than a video game at times, and there’ll be just as many failures as victories. For such a simple premise, this excellent turn-based strategy title has that perfect loop that makes you want to keep retrying as your troops get better, and you’re able to get a little further than before.
You start the game with a few basic troop options and no choice but to grind through a few battles to gain some experience. Once your troops start looking a little bulkier, with more health, attack, and other buffs, you will eventually survive enough waves and have a chance at the first boss battle. Get through this tough contest, and you’ll get to a second set of missions to conquer. This also leads to unlocking more options that can be adjusted on the army creation screen at the beginning of each run.
Unto Deepest Depths tries its hardest to thwart your advance at every opportunity; some battles you’ll feel were just lost on a technicality of your unit’s abilities. But this is not a bad thing, as you start to sense the techniques and strategies needed to defeat each type of enemy. After about an hour of grinding, we found ourselves regularly getting two or three sets of missions in before the inevitable defeat. You also start to get smart about upgrades to your units to minimize losing unspent experience, so your forces are always building in strength.
The real beauty of Unto Deepest Depths is its good variety in the units, the upgrades you can aim for, and the depth of strategy each unit requires to learn. Some units are simple move and attack types, while others, such as the mage, need some real thought into how they move first so as not to blast your own army. The same goes for the enemy unit, as their abilities become more complex as you progress further in each run. What starts as basic attacks suddenly ramps up into difficult, awkward units to face off against.
The straightforward gameplay is backed up by a minimalist art style that includes small sprites and simple background battlefields. This game is very easy on the eye, and the stripped-back user interface keeps everything clear. Unto Deepest Depths wants you to concentrate on the strategy, and as your army grows, so will the time you spend on each turn. The choices in each run are also random; every so often, you’ll stumble on an event that either hinders or helps you, or sometimes both. To unlock every upgrade and every unit type, as well as all the maps and buffs, will take a long time; there is a lot of longevity for those wanting to see the entire game.
Overall, Unto Deepest Depths is an in-depth strategy title that has some unique ideas that help move the budget roguelike genre forward. The extra chess-like strategy layer that emerges is very rewarding when you win, and often cruel when you fail. It won’t be for everyone, as it does lack the presentation flair of similar titles, but there is some decent 8-bit-styled design that retro fans will appreciate. Fans of the genre will get hooked on the unique gameplay and the constant danger your army seems to be in. Unto Deepest Depths also has a great price and feels like a good fit for the Switch, as it would be perfect for journeys with its short run format.
