The Ember Guardian

Tower defense with hands-on shooting and a fire to protect

Ratbit Games · Published by Slug Disco · Released Apr 17, 2026

Reviews: Mostly Positive; 78% of 300
Recent reviews: Mixed; 61% of 13 in 30 days
Players: 5; daily peak, Oct 28, 2026
Steam Deck: Verified
Last update on Steam: 1 month ago; Sep 1, 2026
Minimum PC: with shader model 4.0+; 2 GB RAM · 1 GB disk; Full requirements

What is The Ember Guardian?

This single-player twin-stick shooter takes place in a dying world, where you and your hound seek to rekindle lost flames. You scavenge resources, craft ammunition, assign workers, and expand your camp before defending it against nightly creature waves. Between levels, you return to a hub to permanently unlock weapons, skills, structures, and dog abilities.

For you if...

+you like balancing resource management with direct combat
+you enjoy customizing weapons, perks, and defensive layouts

Not for you if...

−you want a purely hands-off tower defense game
−you prefer exploring without a deadline to return home

What players say

78% of 300 reviews are positive · 61% of 13 in the last 30 days

Players praise the strategic depth and progression between levels. Recent complaints center on bugs and performance drops, with reports of later-game problems and slowdowns during intense fights.

Screenshots and trailer

The Ember Guardian system requirements

Minimum: with shader model 4.0+, 2 GB RAM, 1 GB of disk space.

As published by the developer.

Can my PC run The Ember Guardian?

Tell us your graphics card once and every game page will answer this for you.

Set up my PC →

Minimum

OS: Windows 10 or newer
Processor: 2 Ghz
Graphics: Graphics card with shader model 4.0+
Memory: 2 GB RAM
Storage: 1 GB available space

Does The Ember Guardian have co-op or multiplayer?

No: single-player only, no multiplayer modes declared.

Single-player

Does The Ember Guardian run on Steam Deck?

Verified Yes, Verified by Valve: it works on Steam Deck out of the box.

All functionality is accessible with the default controller configuration
Shows Steam Deck controller icons
In-game text is legible on Steam Deck
Default graphics settings perform well on Steam Deck

PC version details

DRM: None declared on Steam
Controller: Full controller support
Platforms: Windows
Achievements: 38
Steam features: Cloud saves, Family Sharing
Languages: Text only: English, French, German, Spanish - Spain, Japanese, Simplified Chinese, Korean.

Does The Ember Guardian use AI-generated content?

No AI-generated content is disclosed on the game's Steam page.

Self-reported by the developer under Steam rules: it covers AI content that ships in the game, not tools used to make it. Steam page checked on Oct 27, 2026. How to filter AI games on Steam