Die, and you lose everything. You wake up in a cell, and it’s never the same cell twice, somewhere inside a crumbling medieval castle that has no plans to let you go.
That’s the idea behind Decrepit, a soulslike action RPG in development at Jämmerdal Games. Anyone who has read Dungeon Crawler Carl or played FromSoftware’s Dark Souls will see the appeal straight away. You also don’t need to wait for release to try it: a limited-time playtest is open on Steam right now.
One castle, two brands of suffering
Matt Dinniman’s Dungeon Crawler Carl has become a worldwide hit in modern fantasy and LitRPG, and it’s one of the genre’s biggest successes. Carl’s journey runs on vicious fights, RPG-style systems and progression, punishing bosses and the ever-present risk that one wrong move ends in certain doom.
Dark Souls reaches dungeon crawling from the same punishing angle, only much darker. FromSoftware sends players through oppressive medieval spaces packed with hidden corridors, labyrinthine layouts, deadly enemies and monstrous bosses. Its combat rewards patience and repeated failure.
In both series, simply staying alive is the entertainment, and every victory in those hostile worlds feels deserved. Decrepit takes that common thread and makes it the foundation of an entire game.
Memory is the only map you get
The core loop goes like this. You’re locked inside a decaying castle, and every failed escape drops you back into its depths. The Steam description puts it bluntly: “Every death strips your gear and drags you back to the dungeons.” Each new attempt begins in a different prison cell.
That means your real progress is what you remember. You work out how the castle’s interconnected layout fits together, activate persistent elevators and permanent pathway unlocks, uncover shortcuts, and learn where each danger usually appears. The game promises “variable enemy encounters in a persistent world.”
You get no maps and no quest markers. You learn the castle by exploring it over and over and experimenting until something works. Souls veterans will feel right at home.
Four gear sets, three slots, no hand-holding
Combat is first-person and built around stamina. It has the familiar soulslike rhythm: read enemy attack patterns, wait for a well-timed opening, then commit to a melee blow or a spell.
Character builds use a pared-back system of three equipment slots: a weapon, a staff and armor. Gear sets for the Mage, Warrior, Rogue and Shaman grant bonuses and special abilities, so the loot you find decides how you fight.
Every level also has its own unique, challenging boss guarding the way to the next floor. Decrepit supports both controller and mouse and keyboard.
The audience is already lining up
Decrepit had its world premiere at The Game Awards in 2025. Its announcement trailer showed off the blend of first-person soulslike combat and old-school dungeon crawling, and named Hexen and Eye of the Beholder among its influences.
Players responded quickly. Only a week later, Jämmerdal Games said the game had passed 150,000 Steam wishlists. The studio also confirmed that the first batch of playtest invitations would begin going out on December 19.
Testing continued into 2026. A developer update in March pointed specifically to feedback gathered during those early playtest rounds.
How to join
Decrepit is due on PC at some point in 2026, but Jämmerdal Games hasn’t announced a more precise release date yet. In the meantime, you can sign up for the Decrepit Playtest directly on Steam.
Click “Request Access” to join the pool of potential testers. Steam will let you know when the developer is ready to open the doors to more players. You can also wishlist the game ahead of its planned release later this year.
Whichever you choose, the castle is ready for you, with a new cell and none of the gear you were holding when you died.