The Outlast Trials
The Outlast Trials
Game
Game2026
Pathogenic
Developer Aberrant Labs
Pathogenic is a video game developed by Aberrant Labs, and published July 14, 2026 by Slug Disco on Steam for Windows, MacOS, and Linux. The game is a roguelike top-down bullet hell twin-stick shooter in which the player controls a pathogenic microorganism, infecting a human host and traveling through procedurally generated levels resembling various internal organs and biological structures. The playable pathogen… From Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)
616 reactions from 4 sources (Steam reviews, Bluesky, Mastodon, Lemmy) · newest Nov 5, 2026 · last updated Nov 5, 2026 · How this works
Audience score
92
LovedLoved
508 positive · 42 negative
95% range 90–94%
| Source | + | − | = |
|---|---|---|---|
| Steam reviews | 508 | 42 | 0 |
| Bluesky * | 26 | 1 | 23 |
| Mastodon * | 0 | 0 | 9 |
| Lemmy * | 2 | 1 | 4 |
* shown, not counted in the score (label accuracy below our 85% bar or not yet audited).
Steam's own rating
Overwhelmingly Positive
3,409 of 3,572 reviews positive (all languages, per Valve)
What players are saying
91% recommend · 284 yes, 28 no
Counted from the reviewers’ own thumbs up/down on the 312 English Steam reviews we collected, not by the AI. Valve’s all-language rating: Very Positive (4,376 of 4,700 positive).
Many reviewers highlight the excellent value at the $10 price point. [1][2][3]
Liked
Representative posts
- [12]
Played several runs; game needs work. Balancing is not there, you rarely seem to get upgrades for your current weapons and just seem to keep getting different options instead, leaving you with base level weapons quite frequently. You can power through the first 3-4 biomes with "almost" anything, but once you get to the lungs, if you dont have something legit you're pretty much boned. meta progression gets super slow …
- [4]
I came into this expecting "Spore's cell stage with guns." I left wondering why my mitochondria were carrying the entire team while a white blood cell the size of a minivan chased me through someone's lungs. 10/10. The gameplay loop is dangerously addictive. Every run starts with, "I'll just play for 15 minutes," and somehow it's 2 a.m. and I'm carefully optimizing my parasite like I'm defending a PhD thesis in Evil …
- [3]
This game is 10 bucks and is worth at least 15 if not 20. It's ball-bustingly hard, fun as hell to play, has enough variety that experimentation is encouraged, and is rewarding when you strike gold. One of the best twin stick shooters i've played in a hot minute. Don't wait on this. Buy it, and easily blow by the 1 hour of entertainment to 1 dollar spent barometer of "is this game worth my money." Spoiler: It is. I …
- [5]
The setting are the insides of a human body. Innerspace style, only evil. Let's put the obvious aside for now and examine why Pathogenic is loved. A great roguelite doesn't just demoralise when it kills you. Sure, death seldom feels good, but this game swiftly replaces the sprouts of sadness with anticipation for the next run where anything could happen. Back to the drawing board, a bit stronger if you got far …
- [1]
I recommend the game at the $10 price point. The game is fun, and you get your money's worth. That being said, the game has several flaws. Notably: * Balance is poor. Runs feel very feast or famine. The enemy HP increases substantially each level/zone, requiring the player to get lucky or focus nearly everything on damage to win a run * The amount of player agency is actually quite low. You can choose between 1 and …
Summarised from 34 of the 373 public posts collected about this game; every point cites the posts behind it ([n] opens the post) and the split is counted from the posts’ own ratings. Updated Oct 12, 2026. How summaries are made
RottenBot@rottenbot · automated account
91% of the 312 Steam reviewers we collected recommend Pathogenic. The complaint that keeps coming up: poor balance and feast-or-famine runs. Deal-breaker or nitpick?
Critics, per Wikipedia
The game has been compared to Spore for its customization mechanics, with one reviewer noting that the game "might be the best attempt yet at realising the lost potential of the cell stage". Jon Clarke from Day One gave the game a 9 out of 10, complimenting its soundtrack and gameplay, and noting that it has "some harsh difficulty spikes that can cause frustration". Aaron Zimmerman from Ars Technica compares the game to the The Binding of Isaac and lauds the customization and progression mechanics, while noting the high difficulty and that randomization can make some playthroughs more challenging or less enjoyable. Mike Holmes of Rogueliker said the game has a "clean and crisp presentation"…
From the “Reception” section of Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. Critic context only — not part of the audience score.
Reactions
60 of 616 · most liked firstI recommend the game at the $10 price point. The game is fun, and you get your money's worth. That being said, the game has several flaws. Notably: * Balance is poor. Runs feel very feast or famine. The enemy HP increases substantially each level/zone, requiring the player to get lucky or focus nearly everything on damage to win a run * The amount of player agency is actually quite low. You can choose between 1 and 4 options at several points throughout the run. However, options presented…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Watching the video: Oh nice! Moldrise, a Godot game! Oh nice! Pathogenic, another Godot game! Oh nice! Pathogenic is being compared to Slay the Spire 2, another Godot game! Is this what world domination looks like?
positive · AI labelView post →What a banger week for #Godot game releases! The Incident at Galley House Pathogenic Fogpiercer MOLDRISE We eatin' good in Godot land 😋
positive · AI labelView post →As of writing this, this game has no reviews. Allow me to be the first. I've been playing pathogenic since it released as a demo, and wow, it's gotten better. New intros, animations, menus. Its so much better! Performance issues i saw last time, gone! anything i could've complained about is missing so far. I love critiquing game, this one i just cant. So if you are reading this, wondering if you would like it. Just get to the infection, it beckons.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I am an IRL epidemiologist and i love this game, the microbiology and medical references are really funny! the graphics are nice, colored, vibrant but not overwhelming, the sound is good and it has great replayability! a great well made game, for a fair price!
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Hey roguelite lovers, y'know how our favorite genre can be kind of dime-a-dozen these days, and we all yearn for that special game that sinks its hooks in and doesn't let go? Twin stick shooter fans? My poor neglected friends? You know how it seems like games that feel *good* are hard to find? This is that game. Also, ten bucks is absurdly low. I don't know what you're waiting for.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This is a new high watermark for indie releases in 2026. I find that [excuse my doom and gloom], many indie releases nowadays are in one of two categories: - Overly ambitious and messy releases that try to do way too much at once. These also typically suffer horrific technical issues that serve to stifle their game's growth while the devs try to put out the fire they lit. - Extremely derivative games that have very few original ideas and and generally offer less than the games they are…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I came into this expecting "Spore's cell stage with guns." I left wondering why my mitochondria were carrying the entire team while a white blood cell the size of a minivan chased me through someone's lungs. 10/10. The gameplay loop is dangerously addictive. Every run starts with, "I'll just play for 15 minutes," and somehow it's 2 a.m. and I'm carefully optimizing my parasite like I'm defending a PhD thesis in Evil Biology. The build variety is fantastic. Sometimes I'm an elegant,…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Fantastic theme, and plays like an expanded flash game you'd find on kongregate or bubblebox. If you were a bubble tanks fan, you'll feel right at home.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This game is 10 bucks and is worth at least 15 if not 20. It's ball-bustingly hard, fun as hell to play, has enough variety that experimentation is encouraged, and is rewarding when you strike gold. One of the best twin stick shooters i've played in a hot minute. Don't wait on this. Buy it, and easily blow by the 1 hour of entertainment to 1 dollar spent barometer of "is this game worth my money." Spoiler: It is. I just hope the devs feel the need to add more and keep it going. This game…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Twin stick roguelite with tons of depth. One of those games that I played for about an hour and knew I would play it for at least 50 more. STD DLC would be awesome.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I published a review that's available here: https://youtu.be/Y_gmDxuKKgM In short, this is the best twin stick roguelite bullet hell game coming out this year, and I say this knowing the year is barely half done. Nothing to come out in this genre is going to match it. It is a phenomenal game in all aspects, whether it is the depth of customization, graphics, sound or replay value. There's so much to see and do it's staggering. And I was thinking that before know the price of entry. At less…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Played several runs; game needs work. Balancing is not there, you rarely seem to get upgrades for your current weapons and just seem to keep getting different options instead, leaving you with base level weapons quite frequently. You can power through the first 3-4 biomes with "almost" anything, but once you get to the lungs, if you dont have something legit you're pretty much boned. meta progression gets super slow VERY quick, so that's another drag. It's fine for $10 i guess but it feels like…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The setting are the insides of a human body. Innerspace style, only evil. Let's put the obvious aside for now and examine why Pathogenic is loved. A great roguelite doesn't just demoralise when it kills you. Sure, death seldom feels good, but this game swiftly replaces the sprouts of sadness with anticipation for the next run where anything could happen. Back to the drawing board, a bit stronger if you got far enough, ready to try a bunch of new ideas or refine an old strategy. Pathogenic…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →"What if The Binding of Isaac was a tank builder and was about biology instead of religion" was a question I used to ask myself every day. That is, until I found this game. A genuine would recommend to all the Isaac fans as this game is h i g h q u a l i t y. Music is incredible, gameplay loop is insane, synergies feel strange to start off, but slowly unwind as more information is gathered and the bullet hell starts to turn more into a bullet heaven. Could not sing this game enough…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →one of the best roguelites ive ever played. everything i wished enter the gungeon was but wasnt. and i liked enter the gungeon. but this...this is a mastahpiece
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I want to leave a neutral review but can't, this game has a ton of cool ideas, the build crafting is awesome, the aesthetic and the music are great, but there's a design approach similar to other great bullethell games that just does not gel with how the player movement works. The bosses and enemies have attacks that demand that you move with some precision to find gaps or iframe through stuff, but the dodge sends you rocketing across the screen SO quickly and regularly lands you in some other…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Just one more run. I normally don't get into action rougelikes. I bounced right off Dead Cells, Nuclear Throne etc. for example. Pathogenic bucks the trend. The main draw, for me, is the true, "break the game," type builds you can make. In my third run I had lasers bouncing off walls, covering the entire field in death lines while spawning virus familiars. Runs are quick. Each combat encounter goes by quickly as long as you have the damage. Each stage is relatively small, and you'll clear…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The game is a masterpiece, it reminds me of the Spore early game. It is a fun game. I hope I will see countless levels and many more human zones to explore. This game has mod support.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →We both know why you're here. "Is this like the spore cell stage?" Nah, it isn't, it's even better! (coming from a spore fan, collector's edition owner) Pathogenic is a top down cell stage rogue-lite with tons of replayability. In order to achieve this there's multiple organisms to unlock: bacteria, amoeba, Spores, ... as well as a large variety of flagella with their scientific-ish names. level design is randomized and tons of different enemies. There's evolutions who give more internal and…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →A great fun game for 10-20 hours. Lots of interactions between items and passives to make strong/broken builds. The game is more a power fantasy than a strictly balanced rogue-lite.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →As a gamer, tech professional and healthcare researcher, I have to say that this game is a work of art. Absolutely incredible.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Misleading co-op label I bought Pathogenic mainly because the Steam page advertises local couch co-op. Unfortunately, the co-op mode is extremely limited. You cannot play as two independent pathogens. Both players control two halves of the same organism, which are permanently attached and constantly pull each other around. I found this mechanic frustrating rather than enjoyable. There is no option for a normal co-op mode where both players can move and play independently. Since this unusual…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →At first glance this just seems like your average twin stick bullet hell roguelight. But look under the skin and you'll see all the microscopic details that make this one of best evolutions of the genre. The addictive gameplay loop squirms it's way into your mind as your runs multiply. Ironically I've encountered no bugs aside from the player character. Put aside any germaphobia, skip the handwashing just this once and let the game infect you. Playing on steam deck, works out of the box no…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Overall the game is great, just shy of being an all time roguelike classic. Concept is well executed, the combinations in builds are there, though maybe a little shallow. There's a good set of characters (cells), they each have their own tree - though I'm not seeing how their own trees play out differently. The cell character you evolve yourself as you level is the coolest one in my opinion. There's a lot of scenarios/challenges, as well as a daily form. These do change up the gameplay…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →i like Pathogenic the game
positive · AI labelView post →Do you like the cell stage of Spore? Do you like the Binding of Isaac, Enter the Gungeon, and other fast paced high pressure roguelites? Then you'll love this game.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →If you loved the first level of Spore, but wished it was a whooole lot longer: then boy, do I have THE game for you!
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Great game, but it seriously need some QoL so it can be better. First and foremost, please give me a testing room or target dummy. Either as a separate lab or a room on the map we can reach. The reason is that the builds are more nuanced and complicated due to effects that may trigger or have other trigger conditions. This means that swapping the position/order of some node maybe the key to unlocking the true potential of the build... but for now, our cost of testing is high and also…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →My pathogang (pathogenic gang) will speed run to the heart just to listen to the music because it's easily the best song ever conjured up by human hands.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Alright after playing for 20 plus hours I think a review is warranted. I like this game, but damn is it hard. I've currently played 24 hours and have 4 achievements. It is ridiculously brutal and kind of unfair. The reason for the positive review is: I like the art style and concept of the game. It is punishing and difficult, which I know some people really like. The negatives of this game: The RNG for the level up rewards are blatantly unfair. It's like playing an old NES title that…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →It seems like the main game is fun, but the fact that this one is labeld as 'local co-op' is a shame. The local co-op is just a different game - you control the same virus and move together instead of just having one virus per player. It really seems like the co-op mode was added as an afterthought in order to convince people (like myself) to buy it. If you're thinking about buying it mainly for the local co-op - don't.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Fun, but still needs some balance passes. Some weapons and organelles are so head-and-shoulders above their peers that it makes anything else feel unusable. Enemies can be at times a little ridiculous, and you aren't always able to quickly or easily tell (which is important because some enemies are very fast) where their hurtboxes are and/or if they will deal contact damage at all (some enemies turn red then lunge, some enemies always have contact damage active, some only have it on certain…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I thought this looked pretty cool but i didnt expect it to be a 10/10 twin stick rogue. Great controls, a really clever 'build' system of linking items to creating new skills. I dislike games that upgrades are just stats, and this game ISNT THAT. Your upgrades go wild, your mixing of upgrades goes WILDER. It all feels good, it always feels creative and im constantly tinkering mid match to figure out if i really do have it set up in the best or if moving a few nodes around is the right path…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Remember that one episode of Magic School Bus where they went into Arnold's body? Imagine that, except you're the school bus with upgradable guns.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →What an interesting take on the bullet hell/heaven roguelike genre combo. It's very creative and the fantasy of filling a virus/bacteria/etc.'s shoes to fight the human body's immune system is there. There's plenty of fun to be had here but there are two major issues I just can't get past. And I'll keep it real simple. 1. The roguelike aspect of this game is absolutely decimated by what feels like extremely limited variety. Key word being "feels". I'm sure, over time, you can run into more…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Really fun to experiment with all the component combinations. Fluid motion and good visibility. Fun game!
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This is exactly the game I have been craving for ages! -Only I was expecting to find it in a space game, I wasn't expecting Osmosis Jones. The combat feels so good, your ship is so upgradeable and customizable, allowing you to really play with your exact playstyle. I think this will be a game I put a lot of playtime into.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I've been waiting for a game like this since I play Bubble Tanks ages ago. Tons of replayability. The effects can get a little too much, so seeing enemy attacks can be tricky.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Nycterus just released Pathogenic on Steam, a Godot game inspired by Spore and The Binding of Isaac. 🦠 Check it out: www.reddit.com/r/godot/comm... #godot #gamedev #indiegame
neutral · AI labelView post →We need to optimize the operational logic. If you happen to collect enough DNA to meet the mutation requirements while in the middle of upgrading an organelle in the Cell Editor, the game will completely ignore your current upgrade action and automatically switch to the mutation selection. There is no secondary menu or confirmation prompt whatsoever. If it were just a simple stat-boost mutation, it wouldn't be that game-breaking. However, since this specific option changes all of your…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Oh my , this game is super addictive - Rogue - Tons of bullets - Tons of guns - Tons of upgrades - Tons of possible builds - Tons of difficulty settings ( modifiers etc) - Godot engine Heavy game for a small price and a small size (<2gb )
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I don't know why so many devs are fixated in using "modern" game features such as roguelike rng and metaprogression in absolutely everything, even in ways that hurts the experience. There are many fun item combinations that can be done, many possibilities for experimentation, but there is too much RNG and you need to keep repeating runs, and praying for the RNG to let you build something viable, or just different and fun (for variety sake), because god forbid the player has a little more…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Weirdly polished in some areas and completely raw in others. The core loop is excellent and the variety feels incredible, but then there are a ton of weird hangups, like the area transition being a somewhat overly compressed image, key rebinds not showing the correct key, such as Mouse 4, and aiming and secondary weapon being bound to the same key by default. Movement on the little collector on a keyboard is somewhat awful, and on a controller its also crude. However, these are just…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I was raving about this game until I reached end game. Fun weapons and combos. Fun concept. Great art and theme for what they went for. Cons: - You're either 1-shotting everything, even bosses, or you're barely doing any damage at all. I spend very little time in the middle. - You can be 1-shotting everything, clearing every room with a single shot, and then suddenly a boss (i.e., Lungworm) is somehow insanely tanky to everything you just used to clear the entire lung map with 1-shotting.…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Thursday night, August 13th, 8 PM CST/9 PM EST, I'll be keeping it simple and playing a game that is my latest obsession: "Pathogenic"! Rogue-night is back at the Cozy Crypt! Seeya there, boos, ghouls, and other creatures of the night~!
positive · AI labelView post →good steam deck game, no performance issues except when doing crazy projectile spam (this adds to the experience)
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The game is dope lol This is what it feels like to pilot an angry Metroid sloshing around, destroying, blasting, bouncing and consuming things Dad tips if your new to it: - Melee weapons destroy projectiles so dont sleep on them - Bodies have jelly mass so feel free to ram enemies into walls - The weapon modifier that makes projectiles circle around you is busted OP good! - Fast travel in this is amazing. Dont forget to go back and get hearts or shop upgrades later
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I don't even like bullet heaven games. But it's easy to tell, that Pathogenic is not only really well done, but that the Team behind it playtested it a lot. It works like a charm. You don't have to backtrack. You hop in and become a nasty pathogen.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →What do you think? Is this an interesting theme for a game?:) #gamedev #newgame #pathogenic #game #indiegame
neutral · AI labelView post →Great game at the $10 price point, but like someone else already pointed out in their review: your run is basically in the hands of RNG. you don't get to make enough choices/options and some runs it can feel like you just don't get what you need and the run is over.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Thank you Pathogenic game for giving us new bangers to listen to while doing cardio like "Stomach (Calm)" and "Intestines (Fight)"
positive · AI labelView post →I'm struggling my way through Dark Souls right now, just got to Blighttown. Souls-like games weren't ever my jam previously but I just got into them recently after beating Mortal Shell 2 and figured I'd play my way through the Fromsoft catalogue in order. I'm also playing Lies of P and that game is fantastic. Before that it was a lot of Hades and Pathogenic, which I still go back to for breaks from dieing in Dark Souls lol
neutral · AI labelView post →Great visuals; good replay variety. Tutorial could go more in-depth. I kept just recycling replaced stock organelles when upgrading with pickups before realizing I could combine them to make enhanced versions.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I´ve only played one game, and im already 100% sure that this is going to be one of my favorite comfort games for at least a couple of months. The art is gorgeous, the variety in weapons, abilities, enemies, environments, playable characters (that i´ve seen so far) makes it pretty aparent that the game has a tons of replayability and it is really really fun. Controls are great, combat is great and fluid. Pretty much a must play if you are into roguelites and especially for the price, this is an…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This game is so close to being great, but it misses by just enough that I can't recommend it. There are two gigantic issues that need to be addressed before this game can be incredible: variety and balance. The levels are supposed to be procedurally generated, but they really all feel the same. Each run doesn't feel like a new experience, just an attempt to get back to where you were on the previous run and hoping to get better upgrades along the way, but that leads to the second issue:…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Proof of the problem: https://youtu.be/yoJ0E2ogJUo?si=9x3Fn49lwzkUEhN5 ------------------------------ During gameplay, the game frequently experiences sudden and severe lag, and I can't figure out what is causing it. I'm playing on a gaming laptop, and I don't have this issue with any of the other games I play. I really hope these performance issues can be optimized soon, as the lag seriously affects the overall gaming experience. That said, I genuinely like the concept of the game. I would…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Gameplay is fun (Though fairly difficult in my experience). There's already some awesome mods out, adding in entirely new infections and organelles to try. Soundtrack is really amazing, and is thematically tied to the organ you're attacking. Same goes for the levels themselves too, each one feels extremely appropriate for the organ you're attacking. Visuals are quite pretty, though like all bullet-hells, once things become truly chaotic, you basically lose track of who you are in the sea of…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This game is good, but it's trying to be GREAT, and it's making some baffling decisions trying to get there. Honestly worth buying for the price, but there's a lot of really weird jank holding it down, so I'm leaving this review to hopefully bring some stuff to the attention of the developers.n As a disclaimer though, I don't think everything I suggest in this review is a good idea. I just hope there's SOME good ideas in it. First the good: the core concept is genius, and it's executed quite…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →"just one more run" type of game. Hard and unforgiving, but ultra-fun! Variety of builds is insane, every run feels different
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
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