Grain Rot

The world is a post-apocalyptic ruin, long abandoned by its biological creators. The surface is an endless, sun-baked desert where the heat is intense enough to incinerate the weak. Amidst the dunes lie the skeletal remains of the "Old Age" buildings and bunkers waiting to be reclaimed.

Players assume the role of a Living Spark, a sentient, artificial soul created by the Ancients. To interact with the physical world, a Spark must inhabit and animate a vessel. However, players are not bound to a single form, they can eject from their vessel at any time, swapping bodies with one another or scavenging for new hosts with unique abilities.

The player’s current vessel belongs to the "Builder" class, whose purpose is to gather materials and build/repair structures. These wooden forms come with a significant vulnerability: they are highly flammable. The intense sun makes the wood brittle and prone to combustion, making the shade of a shelter a vital necessity.

The game opens with the player’s vessel nearly burnt to a crisp, collapsing at the doorstep of a derelict, high-rise building. Rescued by two wooden brothers, Biggie and Murch. The player joins their growing colony. As the outpost improves, it becomes a beacon for wandering Sparks who offer specialized quests and blueprints/items essential for rebuilding this ruin into a new home.

To find wood and resources, players must use the outpost’s mysterious elevator. The machine is beyond the characters comprehension, spitting out cryptographic symbols before transporting them to the "Deep Layers" seemingly infinite, shifting floors underground.

Players venture into procedurally generated dungeons to scavenge furniture. These objects are disassembled into resources to upgrade the outpost above. The depths are infested with the Corrupted, whose Sparks have degraded into madness. Various enemy archetypes stalk the dark halls, requiring different strategies to defeat. A blend of survival horror and construction. Players must fight off the Corrupted while using building powers tactically: barricading doors, constructing traps, and repairing cover mid-combat.

If your vessel breaks, it’s not the end. You remain as a hovering Spark, accompanying your friends to offer scouting, support, and advice. Your Spark stays charged as long as you remain nearby powered vessels. But if you can locate a replacement vessel within the dungeon, you can hijack it, unlocking unique abilities to help the team escape the depths. If the whole team dies, you lose everything you collected together (for that particular run).

Upon successful extraction, players return to the Sanctuary to reinvest their resources. Upgrading specific outpost rooms functions as a talent tree. Improving the dining hall might boost stats, while improving the Warehouse increases inventory slots. Placing furniture involves a dedicated minigame; the better the player's decorating skills, the faster a room progresses.