Protocell

Protocell is a survival game in which you play as a living cell that escaped from a laboratory in the Mariana Trench. You move to avoid creatures while your cell attacks automatically, then choose mutations as you progress through rapidly arriving levels. There are no weapons or ready-made equipment: everything you use grows from your organism, and every mutation increases its instability.

Mutations and instability

You can build your cell with 52 mutations, including projectiles, orbiting drones, auras, shields and regeneration. Pushing some mutations to their limits can fuse them into one of 18 evolutions, each with its own mechanic. Mutations also raise your instability; crossing the critical threshold triggers a meltdown, giving you only 20 seconds before your cell explodes.

Genetic code

Each protocell has a 64-bit genetic code, represented by 16 characters. Its genome determines its silhouette, membrane, nucleus, appendages, colours and animation details, producing billions of possible combinations that are generated and animated in real time. You can copy a cell’s code from your collection and share it so another player can recreate the same creature, with the same appearance and name.

Worlds and expeditions

Your descent takes you through eight worlds, each with its own creatures, hazards, environmental mechanics and boss. Corrosion, freezing, burning zones and creatures that return to life are among the challenges that make you adapt your organism to each environment. Beyond these worlds lies the Primordial Abyss, a separate expedition of 100 floors across 10 layers, each sealed by an exclusive boss found nowhere else. Your progress and harvested DNA carry over between attempts, helping you prepare for the next descent.

Develop your colony

Between expeditions, you return to the laboratory and use recovered DNA to create protocells. You can cross-breed them across five ranks, develop each through a 41-node DNA tree and prepare genome recipes to trigger during a run. You can also challenge the ancestral Hosts to recover their organelles and gear up your colony.

Reaching the final world, The Host, leads to a playable, multi-act epilogue with credits and a final scene, rather than ending at a victory screen. The game has a conclusion, and also includes dozens of missions, 41 achievements including a Platinum, and a built-in Codex with a game guide, mutation atlas and bestiary.