Garden of Witches 1,0 Releases August 28th

The Developer Team Tapas game Garden of Witches is launching its 1.0 on August 28th, available on PC.

I reviewed the game when it's early access started, and even had the chance to interview the team. Here is what the developers shared about the upcoming major release.

About:

Greetings from Team Tapas!

We are thrilled to announce that Garden of Witches will officially enter 1.0 on August 28, 2026!

Since our Early Access release, many players have played our game and have shared their valuable feedback and support with us. Thanks to your support, Garden of Witches has gone through countless changes and improvements. Now, we are finally ready to present the 1.0 version of our game. We really want to take a moment to sincerely thank each and every one of you. Thank you.

Garden of Witches 1.0 will introduce major changes throughout the game, including a complete overhaul of the combat system, new content, and a variety of new progression elements.

For this announcement, we would first like to introduce some of the most important changes.

The Story Continues

Garden of Witches 1.0 will include two new additional epilogues, Epilogue 2 and Epilogue 3.

The story that began in Epilogue 1 will continue through Epilogue 2 and its narrative arch will conclude in Epilogue 3. So those of you who played until Epilogue 1 during the Early Access will finally be able to experience the whole story.

System Overhaul

This update introduces a major overhaul of the overall combat system, including the existing Synergy System, and adds new ways to activate abilities.

The previous Synergy System was a core combat system that connected different weapons and spells and allowed multiple abilities to interact with one another. However, even when players created different builds, the most efficient approach was generally to spam abilities off cooldown. As a result, builds often felt similar to play despite being composed of different abilities. 

To address this issue, we have removed the existing Synergy System and have redistributed its role across abilities, weapons, imprints, and relics. Now, each ability has been redesigned to have its own distinct identity and intended use.

In other words, abilities now each serve a unique role and feature their own mechanics. Crows and flowers can now only be generated through Shadow Surge and Butterfly Walk while Rush has been changed into an ability that generates needles and threads.

We have also redesigned weapons so that scissors no longer share the same universal critical hit rules. Instead, each weapon now has mechanics that reflect its individual characteristics. Sil’s base Scissors and Giant Scissors will land a critical hit with a powerful unique finishing animation when you reach the final attack of their combos. On the other hand, all attacks made with Broken Scissors will become critical hits once Sharpness (previously known as Sharpness efficiency) reaches 100%.

We have also expanded imprints beyond simply strengthening the identity of a spell. They now allow players to choose entirely new ways of using each spell. For example, Fireball can now be charged to create a single massive projectile for one powerful explosion or modified to fire multiple smaller fireballs in order to maximize on-hit effects.

We have also redesigned relics so they serve as the primary system responsibility for ability interactions. For example, the Slash Imprint that removed all threads, flowers, and crows to increase the spell’s damage is now a relic. This allows players to use them in builds that focus on generating threads, flowers, and crows.

Lastly, we have also diversified the way you can control how you want to use each ability or weapon. For example, you can now charge Magic Scissors to gather and fire multiple projectiles. When charged past the first gauge, all projectiles will land as critical hits.

Below are several examples of the redesigned abilities and options.

※ Detailed effects and numerical values may be subject to change.

Broken Scissors

When used, deals damage to all enemies within range. Gains Sharpness when an attack hits. When Sharpness reaches 100%, all attacks become critical hits.

Rush

When used, dash a set distance dealing damage and firing needles to all enemies within range. If used again within 2s, pull all targets connected by thread towards the player and deal an additional attack with 100% increased damage.

Sharpness

Increases weapon damage based on the amount currently held.

Duration: 4s

Max Amount: 100%

Imprints

	Hunger Increases the max amount of Sharpness by 100%. However, if no Sharpness is gained for 2s, all Sharpness is lost.
	Frenzy Increases Broken Scissors Attack SPD by 20% of its Sharpness.

Relic

Cat’s Eye Ring Gain 20% Sharpness when a Spell is used.

Magic Scissors

After charging, gather and fire a number of projectiles equal to its charge gauge. The projectiles pierce through enemies and damage all enemies they pass through. When charged past the first gauge, the projectiles always land as critical hits.

Fireball

After charging, launch a fireball that deals damage to all enemies within range based on its charge gauge. When charged past the first gauge, the fireball burns enemies for 20% of the damage dealt.

Spell Rampage

On Spell use, consume all Spell Ramage currently held to increase the damage of that spell.

Duration: 4s

Imprints

	Threading Reduces Magic Scissors DMG by 65% but causes its projectiles to track its target an additional 2 times.
	Downpour When Magic Scissors Charge Gauge reaches 3 or higher, fire an additional 1 projectile. However, its Max Charge Gauge is reduced to 3.
	Rapid Fire Reduces Fireball DMG by 60% and lowers its Max Charge Gauge to 1. However, when its Charge Gauge reaches 1 or higher, Fireball fires an additional 2 projectiles.
	Fragment Reduces Fireball DMG by 25%. However, when it explodes, it creates 3 Small Fireballs that each deal damage equal to 20% of its first Fireball damage.

Relic

Blue Chakram Gain 5% Spell Rampage when Magic Scissors lands a critical hit.

Keyboard and Mouse Controls

Many players have been requesting us to add keyboard and mouse controls, so we are adding a dedicated keyboard-and-mouse control scheme to Garden of Witches 1.0. This will be the default setting. With free mouse aiming and mouse-based skill activation, we hope that you will be able to enjoy more precise inputs and that the gameplay will feel more intuitive.

※ Players who prefer the existing control scheme can switch to Keyboard Only Mode in the settings.

Japanese Voice Acting

With support from the Korea Creative Content Agency’s Game Plus overseas export support program, we have been able to add Japanese voice acting to the story (until Chapter 5). Beginning with Japanese and  depending on player response and development funds, we hope to gradually expand voice acting to the Epilogue, additional content, and other languages in future updates after Garden of Witches 1.0.

Beta Test

Because this update introduces extensive changes throughout the combat system, we are considering holding a beta test before the official 1.0 launch. We are currently discussing the detailed timeline and scope of the test internally with the goal of conducting the beta sometime mid-August.

However, whether or not the beta test will take place and its schedule are both subject to change depending on how development progresses. We will provide instructions and further details in a separate announcement once we have a solid timeline.

Garden of Witches 1.0 Launch Price and Discount

Garden of Witches will remain at its current price after its full release, and we have no plans to increase the price either. On top of that, to celebrate the official Garden of Witches 1.0 Launch, we plan to include a 30% launch discount. Further details, like the duration of the discount, will be announced separately at a later date.

Closing Remarks

Garden of Witches has been able to grow into what it is today thanks to the incredible amount of feedback and support you have shared with us through its Early Access period. The official 1.0 launch is just around the corner.

We are excited to finally present the completed version of Garden of Witches, and we are currently carrying out the final stages of development and testing. We will continue doing everything we can until the very end to polish the game and make sure you have a satisfying time playing in the Garden of Witches.

We hope you will continue to support and follow Garden of Witches as we approach our official 1.0 launch.

Thank you.

Garden of Witches 1.0 launches August 28th, but you can already purchase the game today from its Steam Page.

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