The Carcass

- Developer
- PiqFocus Interactive
- Released
- Aug 11, 2026
- Steam reviews
- 24% of players recommend it, from 78 reviews — Steam calls that “Mostly Negative”
- Tags
- AdventureIndieRPG
On Linux, Steam Deck and Steam Machine
Valve rates it Playable on Steam Deck. Valve rates it Playable on Steam Machine. Valve marks it SteamOS Compatible.
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About this game
The developer's description, from the game's Steam store page.
You wake inside a dead god. The corpse is your world: a continent of rotting organs, bone corridors, and forgotten chambers, rendered in retro terminal ASCII with authentic CRT glow. For fans of Caves of Qud, Dwarf Fortress, Cultist Simulator, and Sunless Sea.

Harvest biomass, calcium, bile, and neurons from the rotting flesh around you. Every organ is a resource. Every bone is a wall. The deeper you carve, the more the carcass yields and the more it remembers.

Build chambers, forges, and altars across living anatomy. Every citizen has traits, skills, and scars that outlive them. Leaders rise. Factions form and clash. Hold morale together or decide who eats and who is eaten.

Research splits into combat, production, diplomacy, and forbidden arts. Unlock occult mutations: bone armor, mind-link, parasite resistance, the ability to digest gods. The deeper you dig, the more the carcass understands you.

Send your warriors into the marrow. Battle parasites that learned what fear is. Defend chambers against creatures that wake when you sleep. Permadeath is real, but the carcass remembers every warrior you ever sent in.

Story-rich Lovecraftian events drawn from deep cosmic horror lore. A stranger comes asking for shelter. An organ pulses with stolen memory. The voice in the wall offers a deal. Every choice echoes through factions, futures, and endings.

Every keystroke shapes your fate. Every choice carries forward. New Game Plus carries your victories. The carcass remembers everything you ever did inside it.

Dominion. Symbiosis. Awakening. Escape. Transcendence. Five main endings, and four more hidden behind cryptic choices. Each demands a different strategy. Each rewrites how the god remembers you.

Five difficulty levels from Merciful to Extinction. Permadeath Ironman mode. Localization, accessibility, and a customizable terminal. Pure keyboard input. Authentic CRT effects. No mouse needed.

System requirements
As Steam lists them.
Windows
Minimum
- OS
- Windows 10
- Processor
- Intel Core i3 or AMD equivalent
- Memory
- 4 GB RAM
- Graphics
- Integrated graphics
- DirectX
- Version 11
- Storage
- 1 GB available space
- Sound Card
- DirectX Compatible
- Additional Notes
- Runs at 60 FPS on most hardware. Text-based game with minimal GPU requirements.
Recommended
- OS
- Windows 10/11 (64-bit)
- Processor
- Intel Core i5-4670 / AMD Ryzen 5 1600
- Memory
- 8 GB RAM
- Graphics
- NVIDIA GTX 660 / AMD Radeon HD 7850
- DirectX
- Version 11
- Storage
- 2 GB available space
- Sound Card
- DirectX Compatible
- VR Support
- DirectX Compatible
- Additional Notes
- For smooth performance with large colonies (500+ population) and complex simulations.
Downloadable content
Steam lists 1 item of downloadable content for this game.
News
What The Carcass's studio and the outlets Valve syndicates on Steam have said recently.
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