Protocell

From the Devs

Deep in the Mariana Trench, a laboratory pulled a living cell up out of the abyss.

It learned. It adapted.

Then it escaped.

That cell is you.

In PROTOCELL, you will find no weapon lying on the ground and no ready-made equipment. Everything you need has to grow directly out of your own organism.

Mutate. Adapt. Survive.

But every mutation has a price.

SURVIVE THE SWARM

The principle is simple: you move, your cell attacks automatically.

Your job is to keep moving, to avoid the creatures gradually flooding the screen, and to build your organism as the game goes on.

Levels come one after another quickly, and every step up in power asks you to choose a new mutation capable of transforming the way you play.

If you enjoy the escalating power and the frenzy of Vampire Survivors or Brotato, you will find your bearings quickly. But in PROTOCELL, every upgrade genuinely transforms your organism — and the more powerful you become, the closer you get to breaking point.

EVERY MUTATION IS A RISK

Projectiles, orbiting drones, auras, shields, regeneration and many more possibilities: 52 mutations let you build your cell exactly as you see fit.

Push some mutations to their limit and they can fuse to give birth to one of the 18 evolutions, each with its own mechanic.

But your organism was not designed to withstand infinite power.

Every mutation raises your INSTABILITY.

Cross the critical threshold and you will trigger a MELTDOWN: you will then have only twenty seconds before your cell explodes.

It is up to you to decide how far you are willing to push your organism.

Play it safe…

or attempt one mutation too many.

YOUR CELL IS UNIQUE

Every protocell has its own 64-bit genetic code.

Silhouette, membrane, nucleus, appendages, colours and animation details are all determined directly by that genome.

The result: billions of possible combinations, and creatures generated and animated in real time.

And yet that genome fits into just 16 characters.

Particularly fond of one of your cells? Copy its code from your collection and share it.

Another player can enter the exact same genome in their own laboratory and recreate the same creature, with the same appearance and the same name.

Someone shares a code online? A few seconds later, that cell can grow in your own laboratory.

So your creations are not only unique.

They can travel.

EXPLORE THE DEPTHS

Your descent will take you through 8 worlds, each with its own creatures, hazards, environmental mechanics and boss.

Corrosion, freeze, burning zones, creatures able to come back to life…

Every environment imposes its own rules and forces you to adapt your organism.

And when you think you have reached the bottom, the Primordial Abyss will still be waiting.

A separate expedition of 100 floors split across 10 layers, each sealed by an exclusive boss you will meet nowhere else.

Your progress and the DNA you harvest are kept between attempts, letting you gradually prepare your next descent.

GROW YOUR LABORATORY

Between two expeditions, back to the laboratory.

Use the DNA you recovered to create new protocells, cross-breed them across 5 ranks, develop each one through a 41-node DNA tree and prepare genome recipes that can be triggered in the middle of a game.

Also take on the ancestral Hosts to recover their organelles and gear up your colony.

And if you make it all the way to the final world, The Host, the adventure does not simply stop on a victory screen.

PROTOCELL has a real conclusion, with a playable multi-act epilogue, credits and a final scene.

A COMPLETE GAME THAT WILL KEEP EVOLVING

PROTOCELL is a complete game, built to be played from the beginning through to its true ending.

I do not want to build a game around the promise of what it might become one day: the main content is already here.

But that does not mean I intend to stop.

I develop PROTOCELL alone, and I want to keep making it grow after release: new mutations, new creatures, new challenges and new depths to explore.

The game is complete today.

And I hope it will be even richer tomorrow.

DEVELOPED SOLO, WITH YOU

PROTOCELL is my game, but I also want it to evolve with the people who play it.

There are no layers between your feedback and the person developing the game: that person is me.

If you find a boss frustrating, a mutation uninteresting, an interface that could be clearer, or if you simply have an idea you would like to see in the game, tell me.

I read the feedback, I talk with players and, when an idea genuinely improves the game, I can work on it directly.

So PROTOCELL will keep evolving with its community.

ALSO

• Fully playable with a controller or a keyboard

• Xbox and PlayStation controller icons and prompts

• Built-in Codex: game guide, mutation atlas and bestiary

• Procedural creatures generated and animated in real time

• Dozens of missions

• 41 achievements, including a Platinum

• Available in English, French, German, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese (Brazil) and Russian