The developers who brought you Goat Simulator and Satisfactory just announced something completely different. Feeble Minds, a Swedish studio founded in 2022 by Coffee Stain and Paradox veterans, revealed Serpent’s Gaze on December 4, 2025. This punishing 1-4 player co-op action game combines soulslike tactical combat with roguelike power-creeping progression in an ancient desert where gods literally curse you to make every run harder. And yes, there’s a free demo available right now on Steam.
The concept is straightforward but compelling. You play as a scion, a being created by the dying tree god Magnolia and sent to overthrow rival gods ruling the desert realm. Fight through handcrafted levels, construct overpowered builds from over 200 upgrades, face brutal bosses as many times as you need, and watch the game stack curses on you that summon minibosses to hunt you down. It’s designed for four-player online co-op but fully playable solo, launching into Early Access in 2026 with full release following afterward.
- Coffee Stain Pedigree Meets Soulslike Design
- The Curse System Changes Everything
- Power Creeping Builds Are the Goal
- Handcrafted Levels Not Procedural Generation
- Designed for Co-op But Balanced for Solo
- The Demo Offers Substantial Content
- Narrative Through Environmental Storytelling
- Early Access in 2026
- Community Reception
- FAQs
- From Goats to Gods
Coffee Stain Pedigree Meets Soulslike Design
Feeble Minds emerged from the same Gothenburg scene that produced Coffee Stain Studios, developers of viral hits like Goat Simulator and the factory-building phenomenon Satisfactory. CEO Jannik Reuterberg assembled a team of ten mixing Coffee Stain and Paradox veterans with fresh talent, creating the studio specifically to build Serpent’s Gaze. That pedigree matters because Coffee Stain understands cooperative chaos better than most developers.
But instead of physics-based comedy or automation puzzles, Feeble Minds is tackling the notoriously difficult soulslike genre. These games demand precise timing, pattern recognition, and stamina management during tactical combat. Deaths are expected and frequent. Bosses punish mistakes ruthlessly. The genre attracts dedicated players who thrive on challenge but can alienate casual audiences. Adding roguelike build variety softens that hardcore edge while maintaining difficulty.
The Curse System Changes Everything
What separates Serpent’s Gaze from traditional soulslikes is the Curse system that introduces escalating difficulty modifiers each run. These aren’t minor tweaks but substantial challenges that fundamentally alter how you approach levels. Curses can summon invading enemy squads mid-run, send roaming minibosses to hunt you down across the map, or introduce environmental hazards that weren’t there before.
The Awareness system compounds this by making each successful run progressively harder. Beat the game once and the gods notice you’re a threat, adjusting their defenses accordingly. This creates a difficulty curve that continuously pushes skilled players without overwhelming beginners still learning basics. Combined with the roguelike progression where you’re constantly discovering new upgrade combinations, every run feels genuinely different despite traversing the same handcrafted levels.
Power Creeping Builds Are the Goal
The roguelike element focuses on constructing increasingly powerful builds through the over 200 upgrades available in the full game. The demo alone offers 47 upgrades and 11 relics from that total pool, giving players substantial experimentation opportunities. This power creeping is intentional design rather than accidental balance issues. The developers want you to feel godlike when you assemble the perfect synergy.
Three different classes and weapon types provide starting points for builds. From there, you discover upgrades that modify damage, add elemental effects, provide defensive bonuses, or enable entirely new combat mechanics. Relics function as powerful passive abilities that define playstyles. The best roguelikes make you feel like you’re breaking the game through clever combination discoveries. Serpent’s Gaze embraces that philosophy rather than fighting it.
Handcrafted Levels Not Procedural Generation
In a genre increasingly dominated by procedural generation, Serpent’s Gaze commits to handcrafted levels. All eight levels in the full game are deliberately designed environments with intentional enemy placements, environmental storytelling, and memorable setpieces. This approach sacrifices infinite variety for consistent quality and the ability to craft specific difficulty curves.
The demo includes the first level plus three post-boss challenge rooms, showcasing how Feeble Minds structures progression. You fight through standard enemies learning patterns and testing builds, face a climactic boss that demands mastery of mechanics, then tackle optional challenge rooms that push your abilities further. The handcrafted approach means speedrunners can optimize routes while casual players discover secrets at their own pace.
Designed for Co-op But Balanced for Solo
Serpent’s Gaze supports 1-4 players with full online co-op functionality. Playing with friends fundamentally changes tactics since you can coordinate attacks, revive downed teammates, and tackle enemies from multiple angles. The social element transforms brutal difficulty into shared triumph when you finally overcome a boss that’s been destroying your team for hours.
But recognizing not everyone has three friends available constantly, Feeble Minds balanced the game for solo play. Enemy health pools, attack patterns, and curse difficulty scale based on player count. Solo players face appropriately tuned challenges rather than enemies designed for four-person teams. This flexibility lets you experience the full game regardless of social circumstances or preferred playstyle.
The Demo Offers Substantial Content
The free demo available now provides a legitimate preview rather than a brief teaser. You get the complete first level, three classes and weapons, 47 upgrades, 11 relics, 10 enemy types, one miniboss, and one main boss. That’s enough content to understand core mechanics, experiment with different builds, and determine whether the soulslike-roguelike fusion resonates with you.
Crucially, the demo includes online co-op so you can play with friends before committing to purchase. Steam Deck compatibility means you can test it on portable hardware. The substantial demo reflects confidence in the game’s foundation and Feeble Minds’ desire for community feedback before Early Access launch. Player reactions to the demo will directly influence development priorities leading into 2026.
Narrative Through Environmental Storytelling
Like Dark Souls before it, Serpent’s Gaze tells its story subtly through environments, item descriptions, and optional lore discoveries rather than cutscenes and exposition dumps. You’re a scion created by dying tree god Magnolia to overthrow rival gods ruling the desert. Why these gods fight, what happened to Magnolia, and your true nature as a scion unfold gradually as you explore.
This approach respects player agency by making narrative optional. Those who want deep lore can seek it through careful observation and item examination. Players focused purely on combat can ignore story elements without missing mechanical information. The desert setting provides opportunities for environmental storytelling through ancient ruins, divine monuments, and the physical manifestations of godly power scattered across landscapes.
Early Access in 2026
Feeble Minds plans Early Access launch sometime in 2026, with additional platforms following the full 1.0 release. This staged approach allows community feedback to shape development while maintaining financial sustainability. Early Access has become the standard path for ambitious indie projects, providing funding and testing simultaneously.
The eight handcrafted levels promised for launch represent substantial content before considering the roguelike replayability through build variety and curse system variations. Post-launch support likely includes additional levels, classes, upgrades, and quality-of-life improvements based on player feedback. The studio’s Coffee Stain heritage suggests understanding that community engagement drives long-term success.
Community Reception
Early response to the announcement and demo has been positive from players seeking fresh takes on soulslike and roguelike formulas. The co-op focus particularly resonates with audiences tired of solo-only souls experiences or who enjoyed Remnant and similar cooperative soulslikes. The Coffee Stain pedigree generates trust that Feeble Minds understands player expectations and will deliver polished experiences.
Some skepticism exists about whether the game can balance soulslike difficulty with roguelike progression without undermining either. Soulslikes traditionally reward mastery through repeated attempts rather than permanent upgrades. Roguelikes provide power creep that eventually trivializes earlier challenges. Finding the sweet spot where both philosophies coexist without contradiction represents Serpent’s Gaze’s biggest design challenge.
FAQs
What is Serpent’s Gaze?
Serpent’s Gaze is a punishing 1-4 player co-op third-person action game that combines soulslike tactical combat with roguelike build-crafting. Developed by Feeble Minds, a Swedish studio founded by Coffee Stain and Paradox veterans, it launches into Early Access in 2026.
Is there a demo available?
Yes, a free demo is available now on Steam featuring the first level, three classes, 47 upgrades, 11 relics, full co-op support, and Steam Deck compatibility. The demo provides substantial content to evaluate whether the game’s difficulty and mechanics appeal to you.
Can you play Serpent’s Gaze solo?
Yes, the game is fully playable solo with difficulty scaling based on player count. While designed for 1-4 player online co-op, solo players face appropriately tuned challenges rather than enemies balanced for four-person teams.
Who is developing Serpent’s Gaze?
Feeble Minds, a Swedish studio founded in Gothenburg in 2022, is developing Serpent’s Gaze. The team of ten includes veterans from Coffee Stain Studios (Goat Simulator, Satisfactory) and Paradox Interactive combined with fresh talent.
What is the Curse system?
The Curse system applies stacking difficulty modifiers each run, summoning invading enemy squads, sending minibosses to hunt you, or introducing environmental hazards. Combined with the Awareness system that makes successful runs progressively harder, it ensures no two playthroughs feel identical.
How many levels will the full game have?
The full release will feature eight handcrafted levels plus post-boss challenge rooms. The demo includes the first level and three challenge rooms, showcasing the structure players can expect throughout the complete experience.
When does Serpent’s Gaze release?
The game launches into Early Access on Steam in 2026, with expansion to additional platforms following the full 1.0 release. No specific date has been announced, but the available demo suggests development is progressing steadily.
From Goats to Gods
Serpent’s Gaze represents an ambitious departure from Coffee Stain’s comedy-focused catalog. Feeble Minds is proving that developers known for one genre can successfully tackle completely different design philosophies when they understand what makes their target genre special. The soulslike-roguelike fusion isn’t new, but the co-op focus, curse system, and Coffee Stain pedigree create enough differentiation to justify attention. Download the demo and discover whether dying repeatedly to desert gods while your friends laugh at your failures is your idea of a good time. For soulslike fans seeking cooperative challenge with roguelike build variety, this ancient desert might be worth exploring.