Endor Awakens Goes Paid Oct 8: Grab It Free While You Can

Ever had a free game sitting in your Steam library that you kept meaning to try — right up until it stopped being free?

That's the clock ticking on Endor Awakens: Roguelite DRPG. Solo indie developer Javier Hernández Torres has announced the dungeon crawler will stop being free to play on October 8, switching to a one-time purchase. The Steam version's in-game purchases are being removed at the same time, so after the switch everything comes with the base game — no microtransactions on top.

Here's the part you'll want to read twice: if the game is already in your library before the change, you don't have to buy it again. Your existing characters, progress and gems all carry over untouched. So if you've been curious, the smart move is to add it to your library now while it costs nothing.

So what are you actually getting? Endor Awakens is the follow-up to Depths of Endor: Dungeon Crawler, blending classic party-based dungeon crawling with procedurally generated mazes, character building and roguelite runs. You explore a world thrown into chaos after Mordoth's fall, fight monsters in turn-based combat, scoop up gear and treasure, and shape a party around how you like to play.

Your home city does a lot of the heavy lifting. There's a shop for weapons and armour, an inn where you take on quests and push the main and side stories forward, a guild with a skill tree, a monster encyclopedia that logs the enemies you meet, a bank for stashing items, a daily chest for rewards, and a morgue where fallen characters can be revived. When you roll a character you pick a race, gender, guild and portrait — and you can even use an image stored on your device as a custom avatar. Feeling brave? Hardcore mode makes death permanent. In combat you choose between attacking, casting, using an item or defending, all while watching for traps and special events in the dungeon.

The paid switch lands alongside a hefty 2.0 update. A new playable race, the Ratmen, joins the roster — described as cunning survivors with keen senses and a natural resistance to poison and disease. Auto-battle also arrives, letting your whole party fight on its own: characters repeat their last skill and pick targets automatically, and healers prioritise teammates below 40% HP. Want the wheel back? Tap the robot button and you're in control again.

2.0 doesn't stop there. Once your party returns to town you'll get an expedition summary screen rounding up the gold, gems, exp, enemies defeated, level-ups and items from the run. Party building now has a "recommended party" button for quick four-person setups, plus a "select useless items" option for clearing out junk gear fast, and party and interface controls got a broad polish pass.

Endor Awakens is on Steam right now and free to claim until October 8. It currently sits at 54 player reviews with an overall "Mostly Positive" rating, though it's worth knowing the game was originally built with mobile devices in mind — some players feel the PC version's controls and interface still have room to improve.

So, are you grabbing it before the paywall drops, or waiting to see how 2.0 lands? What do you make of the one-time purchase swap? Let us know in the comments.