Getting kicked out of a tavern is embarrassing enough. You could accept your losses, head home, and find somewhere else to drink. Or you could grab a magic wand, march straight back into the building, and start blasting your way through everything standing between you and your missing cash.
That’s the petty premise behind One Dumb Wizard, a colorful action roguelike from indie developer Mixel launching into Steam Early Access today. Armed with an increasingly ridiculous collection of homemade wands, magical charms, and powerful spells, one extremely determined wizard is heading beneath the tavern to recover what he’s owed.
How much money are we talking about? We don’t know. Whether the resulting destruction is worth considerably more than the original debt is another question entirely.
One Wizard, One Bartender, One Very Bad Grudge
The adventure begins with a drunken wizard who has been thrown out of his favorite drinking establishment. Rather than sleeping it off and reconsidering his life choices, he decides the bartender owes him money and sets out to reclaim it. There’s just one problem. The route to getting his cash back involves exploring a dungeon beneath the tavern, fighting through the bartender’s goons, and uncovering whatever secrets are hidden below the building.
Combat takes place from a top-down perspective, combining fast-paced action with exploration and roguelike progression. You’ll dodge enemy attacks, fire magical projectiles, and search for useful equipment as you work your way through dangerous rooms.
The dungeons use procedural generation alongside handcrafted rooms, keeping each expedition unpredictable while giving the developer room to create more deliberate encounters. Then when things go badly, as they inevitably will, you’ll have another opportunity to return with a different collection of magical equipment.
Fifty Wands, Countless Ways to Cause Trouble
The wand-crafting system is one of One Dumb Wizard’s biggest attractions. Rather than relying on a single weapon throughout your adventure, you’ll collect wand parts and combine them into new magical creations.
There are already more than 50 unique wand combinations available in the Early Access version, giving players plenty of opportunities to experiment with different attacks and fighting styles. Finding new components can completely change how you approach the next encounter, encouraging you to adapt your strategy around whatever equipment you’ve managed to collect.
Maybe your latest wand is perfect for keeping enemies at a distance. Perhaps another offers a more aggressive approach that rewards getting closer to the action. The important thing is learning how to make the most of your current equipment before the next group of angry tavern employees arrives.
You’ll also discover magical charms that can be attached to your wand, adding powerful effects and allowing you to customize its abilities even further. And yes, the charms actually appear on your weapon. It’s a nice little touch, especially when you’ve spent an entire run assembling a wand that looks like it was put together by somebody who really shouldn’t be trusted with magical equipment.
The Basement Is Only the Beginning
One Dumb Wizard enters Early Access with its first complete act, appropriately titled The Basement. The core gameplay loop of fighting enemies, collecting loot, crafting wands, and casting spells is already in place, alongside its permanent progression system.
Mixel plans to expand the adventure over approximately six to twelve months, eventually introducing three complete acts, additional wand combinations, more spells, and a larger collection of charms. The developer also intends to use community feedback to help shape future updates, with the game’s Discord serving as a place for players to share suggestions and experiences.
There’s already a free demo available on Steam for anyone who wants to get acquainted with the wizard before committing to his rather questionable quest, and there’s a nice story behind the project itself.
Developer Mixel began working on One Dumb Wizard after losing his job earlier this year, turning an idea he’d been carrying around for years into his first major Godot game. What started as a solo project has since brought in additional help with artwork, music, and sound design.