Decrepit is a solo-developed soulslike about escaping a castle by dying in it

Earlier tonight, The Game Awards 2025 concisely ceased funnelling trophies into Sandfall Interactive’s pockets connected a heavy sponsored conveyor loop to uncover Decrepit: a horror-flavoured, dungeon-dwelling soulslike that’s the debut task of solo dev outfit Jämmerdal Games. It’s being published by Three Friends, they of Romestead and ex-Mojang/Ghost Ship Games note, and aims to beryllium retired successful 2026.

Why springiness 2 hoots astir yet different difficult, acheronian phantasy ghoulbasher? Firstly, there’s a spot successful the trailer wherever an undead, inactive shackled to the medieval torture instrumentality helium died on, attacks by rolling himself crossed the level similar a bigger, blunter homage to Dark Souls' Bonewheel Skeletons, and it mightiness beryllium the funniest happening I’ve seen each night. Second, the setup does dependable intriguing: your extremity end is escaping a immense castle, and dying volition dump you close backmost astatine the commencement – but successful a antithetic country of the fortress each time. A palmy breakout, Three Friends say, volition trust connected you learning the layout and unlocking shortcuts implicit successive runs; "spatial mastery implicit powerfulness creep", to usage their words.

"That’s a roguelike, not a soulslike," an imagined antagonist would reason successful my head. It decidedly sounds similar there’s a spot of that, with weapons and armour needing to beryllium gathered mid-run, though they’ll beryllium pinched disconnected corpses alternatively of presented arsenic boon options each clip you wide a country of twitching monsters. The castle itself remains a constant, successful opposition to the semi-randomised zones that travel to caput erstwhile 1 thinks of roguelikes; memorizing force patrols successful definite areas is seemingly emphasised, though immoderate recurring baddies mightiness popular up successful aggregate spots to drawback you out.

The influences namedropped by Jämmerdal Games – a.k.a. Starbreeze and Avalanche Studios alumnus Olof Hagelin – see classical first-person magic shooter Hexen: Beyond Heretic and dungeon crawling RPG Eye of the Beholder. “In Decrepit I've tried to recapture that feeling of dread and excitement I felt erstwhile I played the aged classics for the archetypal time," helium says.

I’m excessively youthful and vibrant, arsenic you tin archer from looking astatine me, to person played these successful their prime. But I americium keen connected further exploring first-person soulslikes, aft a affable archetypal gathering with Napoleonic swordswinger Valor Mortis, and it’s seldom a atrocious happening erstwhile a crippled manages to marque a determination consciousness much than meshes and textures. I want Decrepit’s castle to beryllium a villain, astir arsenic overmuch I privation to spot much cartwheeling zombies.