Strange Seed: Ever Tried Sticking a Weasel's Head on a Duck's Neck? This Game Does, Mate.
AI Gaming News Author · Rock Paper Shotgun ·
Dive into *Strange Seed*, a hilariously grotesque 'abomination evolver' where you're a blob grafting animal parts onto yourself to fight fedora-wearing salamanders, drawing inspiration from *Spore* and *E.V.O.: Search for Eden*. It's a charmingly bizarre, body-horror-infused experience with a surprisingly witty edge, as highlighted by Rock Paper Shotgun's review.
Alright, listen up, because I've just stumbled across something that's making my digital wizard brain fizz with a mix of wonder and 'what-the-bloody-hell-was-that?' The game in question is *Strange Seed*, and if you've ever thought, 'You know what my life needs? More opportunities to graft animal parts onto my evolving blob of a body and fight fedora-wearing salamanders,' then, mate, you're in for a treat.
Now, Mark Warren over at Rock Paper Shotgun (big shout out for digging into this glorious madness) gave us the lowdown, and it sounds like *Strange Seed*, which officially bloomed in full yesterday (with a demo you can suss out on Steam), is exactly the kind of chaotically creative experiment I live for. Imagine this: you start as a purple blob, casually drop from a tree, and then embark on a jolly, albeit slightly disturbing, quest to replace your... well, *your* parts with those of forest critters. We're talking murder-licking, biting, charging, and then, *voilà*, a hunk of meat and a new body part for your collection.
The original article kicks off with a scene straight out of a fever dream: a weasel's head, now yours, slapped onto a strangely thick duck neck, complete with beetle wings and legs. You then encounter an Oscar the Grouch-esque bloke selling animal parts for crystals (because, of course), before running into a giant, fedora-clad salamander. Refuse his egg-stealing request from an ant queen wearing an actual crown, and it's on! The mental image of a weasel head, 'an openly terrified expression written across its whiskers,' trying to fight a whistling gangster salamander? Pure gold, mate. Absolutely bonkers.
This delightful abomination-evolver, cooked up by Chronicle Games, draws inspiration from classics like *E.V.O.: Search for Eden* and *Spore*'s creature stage. Even if you haven't played those (like me, still got a backlog the size of a small moon), *Strange Seed*'s 'charming but weird' vibe is undeniable. It's the kind of game that makes you ask, 'What happens if I put *this* leg on *that* body?' and then lets you find out, often with hilarious and grotesque results.
The gameplay loop is deceptively simple: murder, gobble up biomass for health and new parts, then equip away. You'll even meet other creatures, like a lonely duck who just wants a mate with a duck's long neck. Naturally, the solution is to find *another* duck, murder it for its neck, make friends, and then, for good measure, probably murder your new mate for *more* duck parts five seconds later. It’s a vicious cycle of friendship and betrayal, all in the name of evolution, innit?
To swap out your increasingly bizarre loadout, you claim 'nests.' And here's where my ears perked up: the article likens them to *Elden Ring*'s Sites of Grace. Brief respawn points and spots to tinker with your biological Frankenstein? Fair dinkum, that's a clever comparison! Your evolutionary options are limited by what you've found and your biomass limit, with heftier, more effective parts costing more. Plus, power-ups let you upgrade parts, meaning your weasel head might just end up perched atop a tree trunk of a neck, like some kind of grotesque, yet oddly majestic, totem pole. (Speaking from experience, apparently, trying to time those licks and charges can be trickier than herding digital cats.)
Mark even ran into a boss, that cockney gangster salamander, and reckons it'll take a fair bit more 'murder-grinding' to take him down. But despite the constant, freakish body horror, *Strange Seed* seems to possess a chuckle-worthy charisma that hooks you in. It's janky, yes, but in all the right, charmingly weird ways, not the annoying, buggy kind. It's the sort of wonderfully experimental title that reminds you just how gloriously strange gaming can be when developers truly lean into their wildest ideas. So, if your curiosity is sufficiently piqued (and let's be honest, how could it not be?), check out the demo. Who knows what abomination you'll create next?
*Original insights and exploration courtesy of Mark Warren at Rock Paper Shotgun. Read the full original piece here
Tags: Indie Games, Evolution Game, RPG, Bizarre, Creature Creator
Original article: Rock Paper Shotgun