“Small fins. Big trouble.” Shark Tales: Reef Rogues, an underwater roguelite bullet heaven from RadDad Basement Studio, has a free demo out now — and it brings the Vampire Survivors formula somewhere it has rarely gone: down into the reef.
Swarms, Pearls, Evolution
You battle underwater swarms solo, in four-player local co-op or Steam online co-op, spending pearls between waves and evolving “oddball weapons” as you go. The demo covers the shape of the thing: ten waves, two zones and four starting characters, with a crew-outfitting layer the store page promises “looks as ridiculous as it fights.” The studio also hunts buried stories beneath the waves — and discloses upfront that the game uses pre-generated AI-assisted art and music.
October 19 Target
The full release targets October 19, 2026, subject to Steam approval — which would make its launch-week audience largely Next Fest alumni. The demo is free on Steam now.
Shark Tales reached us through GamerMenu’s indie submissions program — one of the week’s most complete submissions, with the honesty disclosures included.