New Steam Game is Like Spore Meets Dark Souls

Released just a few days ago on Steam, Strange Seed is an indie game that merges the combat of Dark Souls with the creature evolution mechanics of Spore. Strange Seed has just 46 Steam reviews at the time of writing, though they combine to give the game a 'Positive' rating.
One of the most influential action-RPGs of the last decade and a half, Dark Souls needs no introduction. The same can't be said for Spore. Developed by The Sims studio Maxis and released in 2008, Spore was an incredibly ambitious RTS life sim that put creature creation and evolution at the forefront of its gameplay loop. But despite earning favorable reviews and selling two million copies in its first three weeks, Spore reportedly failed to meet expectations, and it's been somewhat lost to time.
Announced in June 2023, Strange Seed is an indie game heavily inspired by the creature evolution mechanics found in E.V.O.: Search for Eden and Spore, so much so that they're both cited on the game's Steam page. When it comes to combat, Strange Seed's developers cite Dark Souls and Final Fantasy 14 as their biggest influences. Since June 2023, Strange Seed's developers have continued to keep fans regularly updated on the game's progress, and in September 2024, a demo was released. Soon after, Strange Seed partnered with publisher Slug Disco, and on November 5, 2025, the full game was released on Steam.
In Strange Seed, players begin as a small blob that's fallen from a strange tree. Players must seek out the creatures of this colorful world and defeat them in order to extract their DNA and use it to evolve their little blob. Strange Seed's Dark Souls influences can be found in its combat, with players needing to dash and dodge out of the way of sweeping attacks from both regular and boss enemies.
After extracting an enemy's DNA, players can use it to develop new body parts. These new body parts not only increase the player-character's stats, they also grant special abilities, some of which give Strange Seed's level design a Metroidvania-like feel. For instance, players can grow wings to reach floating platforms, or make themselves smaller to traverse a narrow path. There are a total of 40 unique creatures in Strange Seed, and a total of seven body part slots to customize, apparently resulting in over 10 million potential combinations.
Many of Strange Seed's 'Positive' user ratings praise the game's creature evolution mechanics and its low-intensity Soulslike combat, but they do mention that it feels a little rough around the edges. That said, Strange Seed's devs have already released three patches since its November 5 launch, which have reportedly helped to polish the game. Strange Seed currently has a 10% discount, making it $13.49 until November 19.
Source: Steam