Sometimes, games are enough to start a war with your friends. I feel like Grain Rot is one such title. It’s out now on Windows PC through Steam, and it’s from indie dev Beck & Branch Games and publisher Neem Interactive.
Built in Unreal, Grain Rot is a co-op extraction horror that supports 1–4 players online. You play as Living Spark, an artificial soul living inside a fragile wooden body called Vessel. It can get smashed to pieces, catch fire, or have the worst day imaginable.
But when it breaks, you don’t die. Your Spark pops out and can go looking for another vessel, so you can keep participating in the run. One way of looking at it is the rebirth theory from the real world. Your body dies, while your soul lives on.
Well, don’t worry, Grain Rot isn’t about going deep into philosophy. It’s about physics-driven chaos where you can dropkick enemies, mess with objects, and knock somebody’s Spark right out of their vessel with cursed emotes.
You can block a friend in a corridor full of monsters or accidentally send them flying into danger. And there are more ridiculous options. But know when to stop messing around, because if everyone’s vessel breaks, the loot is gone.
The main hub in Grain Rot is the Sanctuary Outpost. It’s a crumbling high-rise held together by two brothers, Biggie and Murch. The stuff you bring home (whatever junk you manage to haul back from the depths) actually rebuilds the Outpost.
Grain Rot is out now
The game is available on Steam and costs $9.99, but you get a 10% launch-week discount bringing it down to $8.99. Take a look at the game before deciding if you want it.
If you’re looking for a new slice-of-life adventure instead, read our scoop on Danchi Days, a Sakura Momoko’s Uki-Uki Carnival-Like.
