Due to release in the first quarter of next year, Fear Tall Grass is a cute yet dark creature collector roguelite. Before it lets everyone loose among its monster-filled fields, it wants a few players to go in first and put it through its paces.
Developer Forgotten Bastions and publisher Entalto Publishing have recently launched a closed Steam playtest for the upcoming roguelike creature collector, giving selected players an early look at its unusual mix of monster catching, autobattler combat, dice-driven exploration, and persistent progression.
This isn’t an open demo that anyone can jump into straight away. You’ll need to head over to Steam, hit “Request Access,” and wait to see whether you’re invited into the current test.
If you like getting into games while they’re still taking shape, this is your chance to see Fear Tall Grass well before its planned 2027 launch.
The Grass Is Definitely Not Your Friend
Tall grass usually means one thing in monster-catching games…something is about to jump out at you. In Fear Tall Grass, that something has already helped push humanity close to extinction. Creatures known as Vilekin have begun emerging from supernatural grass, leaving civilization struggling to survive. You play as Gray, a young steward of the Oathguard who suddenly finds himself responsible for helping what remains of humanity fight back.
There’s one fairly major issue with that plan. The Oathguard doesn’t have many capable fighters left.
Children and elders are among those being pulled into the battle, leaving Gray with an alternative that’s probably not covered in the standard hero handbook…capture the Vilekin and make them fight each other instead.
Roll the Dice and Hope for the Best
Rather than following a traditional dungeon or overworld map, each run plays out across a looping board. Two dice determine how far you travel, with every landing spot potentially bringing something different. You may stumble into combat, pick up useful resources, find another opportunity to strengthen your run, or land somewhere you immediately wish you hadn’t.
Conquered tiles can also be claimed and turned into buildings, providing additional bonuses as you work your way around the board. That makes exploration more than simply finding the next fight. You’re gradually building up territory while trying to put together a team capable of dealing with whatever is waiting further along the route.
Your Monster Collection Also Happens to Be Your Army
More than 90 Vilekin are planned for the full game, spread across six elemental types including Hydro, Pyro, Nature, Physical, Volt, and Rock. Catching them expands your available lineup, but there’s more to progression than simply filling out a monster collection.
Vilekin can evolve into stronger forms, while repeatedly capturing creatures from the same race increases your mastery and unlocks additional passive bonuses. The more familiar you become with a particular monster, the more useful that species can become across future runs.
Battles lean into autobattler territory, with active Vilekin attacking automatically once their focus bars fill. You’re not completely off duty, though. Command Points can be spent to activate abilities from creatures sitting on the bench, while items, elemental matchups, and mid-battle swaps give you ways to rescue a fight when your carefully assembled team suddenly starts getting flattened.
Finding strong Vilekin matters, but knowing what to do with them matters more.
Getting Wiped Out Still Moves You Forward
Eventually, a run is going to end badly. When it does, Gray returns to the Sanctuary of Light, where resources gathered during previous attempts can be used to improve buildings and unlock permanent upgrades.
Vilekin mastery and evolutions also carry between runs, so being sent back home doesn’t mean starting from scratch. Each failed attempt can leave your monsters, Sanctuary, and future chances looking a little better than before.
It’s a familiar roguelite idea, but Fear Tall Grass wraps it around a much stranger combination of monster collecting, dice rolls, board control, and autobattler combat. The closed Steam playtest is running now, with access available by request and spaces limited. Fear Tall Grass is currently aiming for a Q1 2027 release, with PC, PlayStation, Xbox, and Nintendo Switch versions planned.
For now, though, a select group of players gets to find out exactly what’s hiding in that grass first.e loop wrapped around a much less familiar combination of dice-driven board movement, creature collecting, and timed autobattler combat.