At the PAX Rising Showcase at PAX West 2026, ConFreaks & Geeks got to play the upcoming beat ’em up title Dungeon Lurker and chat with Justin Fernandes, a producer at 13AM Games. We enjoyed its gritty lo-fi aesthetic, its roguelike progression, and its robust yet easy-to-learn combat mechanics. While this game may initially seem familiar, it features a few key twists that will undoubtedly surprise players.
Whoa! Yeah, that’s really fascinating. So this meta element was a deliberate decision to shake it up?
Yeah, yeah. The story is actually based on something that our creative director actually went through. He called the concept “digital ghosts.” And it’s linked to the modern day. On Facebook you see the profiles of people who have passed away. And you can find them in memory cards of old games that link to experiences you shared together. So we kind of wanted to explore that a little bit.
It’s always interesting to see which games show up on a memory card.
Yeah, it’s a time capsule from childhood, right?
Have you plugged in a memory card recently?
I fired up a PlayStation not too long ago to play Metal Gear Solid.
That’s one case where the memory card is even more relevant.
Right. Yeah. There’s something always special about playing on like the original hardware to me, you know?
So having a code in the manual … I think that’s deliberate and interesting.
Yeah, yeah. And, you know, that could be useful in your playthrough if you keep your eyes out.
At first it did seem like a callback, but it’s almost like a deconstruction of existing tropes.
Yeah, a little bit. This game is kind of our take. A lot of our team actually didn’t have an interest in roguelikes. So we do some things a little bit differently in this game, and it’s kind of like us experimenting with the genre. So we still have randomly generated elements. There are enemy encounters, and, you know, the boons and upgrades you find. Those are still randomly generated, but the levels themselves are handcrafted. So the levels have branching paths you can find and explore. And you can unlock shortcuts as you play and solve puzzles that become permanent shortcuts. But the levels themselves stay the same. So eventually, you learn how to master them.
A hallmark of roguelikes is an expansive sequence of floors. Can you speak to how deep the rabbit hole goes? Is it like a long run, or is that maybe a little too spoiler-y right now?
I think it’s a little too spoiler-y. We’ve got a lot of content we’re working on. And I will say, like … so far as beating a zone, we put up a demo on Steam. So far, a zone typically takes people anywhere from like two hours to like three and a half hours.
Oh, wow. I think we both lived this experience, and people just scribble in a notebook. Even having notes in a manual is an interesting choice.
Every once in a while you could buy a used copy of a game and find scribbles from somebody else, right?
It’s very true, yeah. That would definitely resonate with people who lived through that era.
One of the surprises I’ve had demoing the game at shows like this is that younger people have had the same reaction to the manual. There’s that connection still somehow.
They have some interesting names, huh?
Yeah, our narrative director has spent a lot of time coming up with the names. A lot of them are based on old myths and lore.
The boons seem pretty impactful, too, so I imagine there’s a lot of work and iteration done that makes them feel pretty interesting.
Definitely.
I think I’ll go for “Savagery” here. So, are there combo chains? Light, light, heavy, and stuff like that, too?
Yeah, absolutely. If you do a heavy hold, you’ll see the enemies fly across the screen and bounce off the boundaries. If you juggle them for long enough and you do enough damage, you can make them explode. And there are boons attached to that as well. And those little jars, you can just roll right through them like in Dark Souls.
I’m a fan of the genre, and this definitely feels intuitive for those who have played beat-’em-ups before. Can you talk about the influences that shaped some of the game’s choices?
The main game we played was actually Magic Sword. We did a little company retreat when we were planning the game, and that was the game that everybody played together. A lot of the inspiration came from outside sources. So there’s a book for a fake strategy guide for a game that doesn’t exist called Vermis. So if you look that up, that was a big inspiration on the game, and we watched the Green Knight, if you know that movie. So a lot of inspirations were actually atmospheric, I would say.
For each run, how often do you get to return to town?
Every time you die.
I’m really drawn to the visual direction. Were there any additional references for the visual language? There’s a sort of low-poly style.
We’re basically trying to emulate the feeling of playing Sega Saturn era beat-em-ups on a CRT TV. We’ve had a lot of positive feedback to the art style in the game.
The audio direction also feels atmospheric. There’s a bit of intrigue, a bit of creepiness, as if something could be lurking around the corner.
I think that’s something we want to reinforce basically with every element of the game. There is something a little off. The longer you play, the more that will become apparent. And pretty quickly, actually. You’re doing pretty well so far, but if you die and go back into the dungeon, I think you’ll start to maybe see that some things aren’t quite right.
So we’re accumulating a lot of gold coins, it looks like.
You’ll notice you have two currencies there. So, one, when you were looking at the map there, I mentioned there’s a merchant. The gold is for the in the dungeon to purchase items. And that other one there is a permanent currency. It’s for when you’re back in town. When you go back to town, you can permanently level up. And there’s a few shopkeepers there, so you can buy new charms to equip, you can buy new blades that will change how your combat works, and you can buy new spells from the wizard.
Am I primarily using swords, or are there other options?
It’s the same sword, but it alters it.
What fun. So you’re targeting next year. Do you have a general release window?
We’ve got a window. We don’t have a firm release date yet, but the game’s going to be coming out like Q1, Q2. So probably anywhere from like February to May.
Are you primarily targeting PC first and then consoles after?
PC is all that we’ve announced, but we’re not like counting anything out right now.
That’s really cool. I’m so curious about how it’s going to go down. I really appreciate your time.
Many thanks to Justin, 13AM Games, and Ukiyo Studios for this interview opportunity and hands-on play session.
