Gene Crawl: Dungeon Descent

Gene Crawl is an idle incremental RPG where every death makes you stronger. Your hero fights on their own while you decide what to level, what to forge and how deep to push. When they fall, the run is lost but their DNA carries over, so every new generation starts stronger than the last.

"You fight because I designed you to fight. You progress because the alternative is oblivion."

The Architect

DNA AND RUN: TWO BARS FOR EVERY SKILL

Every skill has two bars. The Run bar grows during a run and resets when you die. The DNA bar grows with every generation and is never lost. The two multiply together, so even a short, failed run leaves your bloodline permanently stronger.

But the energy from those Run bars doesn't just disappear... it goes somewhere.

25 DUNGEONS

Descend from the Mushroom Grotto to the Celestial Spire through 25 dungeons, each with its own enemies, boss and music. Raise the difficulty to face bigger swarms once you outgrow a dungeon. The mushrooms glow as if they were guiding your path, the crystals vibrate like antennae, and the Celestial Spire is not a tower, it is a lens.

SIX SKILLS, YOUR BUILD

Level six skills: Damage, Attack Speed, Critical Hit, Life Steal, Stamina and Agility. You start with Damage and Stamina and unlock the rest as you go deeper. Build a glass cannon, a lifesteal vampire or a wall that refuses to fall.

Your hands move with a certainty that surprises you. This efficiency was not learned, it was inherited.

CRAFT, BREW, COLLECT

Forge 35 pieces of gear across five sets, from Copper to Mythril, using loot from enemies and bosses. Brew 15 potions from five kinds of essence. After each boss, choose one of three relics to shape your run, knowing that every one of them vanishes when you die.

"Provide the illusion of protection. The subject must believe they can survive."

Lab Notes

Every death makes you stronger.

But who benefits?