Ad Iterum – Grimdark Body Horror Roguelike With Alpha Playtest Now

Solo developer Krapao (also known as iamgabrielma on Reddit) announced Ad Iterum on December 7, 2025, launching the Steam page for their turn-based top-down 2D roguelike. Set in a deteriorating and ever-shifting world, the game embraces body horror themes where flesh is fragile but hackable. Players can enhance their bodies through grotesque modifications, embrace mutations that warp their form, or forge ancient blood bonds with unknowable entities. The premise is simple: descend into the depths, scavenge the remnants of humanity, and return to the surface if you can survive. A small alpha playtest is currently accepting participants through Steam forums or Reddit DMs.

The Flesh Is Fragile But Hackable

Ad Iterum’s central hook revolves around body modification as a core gameplay system. In most roguelikes, you find weapons, armor, and power-ups that remain external to your character. Ad Iterum makes your body itself the equipment slot. You’re not just finding a better sword – you’re surgically attaching bladed appendages to your arms. You’re not equipping armor – you’re grafting reinforced flesh plates directly onto your torso.

This body horror approach to character progression creates visceral stakes for every modification choice. Embracing mutations might grant powerful abilities but warp your humanity. Forging blood bonds with ancient entities could provide supernatural strength at the cost of your autonomy or sanity. The roguelike loop of death and rebirth takes on new meaning when each run involves literally rebuilding yourself from flesh and scavenged humanity remnants.

The Darkest Dungeon Lineage

Ad Iterum’s grimdark aesthetic and turn-based dungeon crawling clearly draw inspiration from Darkest Dungeon, Red Hook Studios’ gothic roguelike that emphasized psychological stress alongside physical combat. That game made sanity management as important as health, with characters developing afflictions, phobias, and mental breakdowns from the horrors they witnessed. The 2D side-view perspective and emphasis on atmosphere over graphics created memorably oppressive dungeons.

Ad Iterum appears to follow similar design philosophy with its decaying world and emphasis on body horror over traditional fantasy monsters. The top-down perspective differs from Darkest Dungeon’s side view, but the commitment to grimdark themes, turn-based tactical combat, and roguelike structure suggests Krapao studied what made that game work. The body modification system adds a unique twist – instead of managing party members’ sanity, you’re managing your own corporeal integrity.

Body Horror as Game Mechanic

Body horror in games typically serves atmospheric purposes – Scorn’s grotesque biomechanical environments, Dead Space’s necromorphs, or Resident Evil’s mutations exist to disturb and unsettle. Few games make body horror the core progression system where you actively choose to mutate and modify yourself. Cruelty Squad let players upgrade using intestines as grappling hooks or covering themselves in protective shells, but that game leaned into absurdist comedy rather than serious horror.

Ad Iterum’s approach appears more earnest in its body horror. The game’s description emphasizes that flesh is fragile, suggesting vulnerability is constant. Modifications aren’t cosmetic or purely beneficial – they’re desperate measures to survive in a hostile world. This creates interesting risk-reward decisions where powerful upgrades might come at costs that aren’t immediately obvious. Do you accept the mutation that triples your damage output but slowly consumes your humanity? Do you forge the blood bond that grants regeneration but binds you to an unknowable entity’s will?

The Traditional Roguelike Core

Beneath the body horror aesthetic, Ad Iterum follows traditional roguelike structure. Turn-based combat means every action is deliberate and tactical rather than reflex-based. The top-down 2D perspective suggests grid-based movement and positioning strategy similar to classic roguelikes like NetHack, Cogmind, or Tales of Maj’Eyal. Procedural generation ensures each descent into the depths presents new layouts, encounters, and challenges.

The loop of descending, scavenging, and attempting to return creates natural dramatic tension. Unlike games where you’re constantly moving forward toward a goal, Ad Iterum requires successfully extracting after pushing your luck in the depths. Push too far and you might find incredible modifications but lack the resources to escape. Play too conservatively and you’ll return to the surface unchanged, unprepared for deeper expeditions. This risk-reward dynamic has driven roguelikes since Rogue itself in 1980.

The Alpha Playtest Strategy

Krapao is conducting a small alpha playtest, accepting participants through Steam forums or Reddit DMs. This early community involvement approach helps solo developers gather crucial feedback before wider release. Alpha testers can identify broken mechanics, confusing systems, or balance issues that might not be obvious during solo development. The “small” specification suggests Krapao wants manageable feedback volume rather than thousands of bug reports.

The decision to announce publicly on Indie Sunday while keeping the playtest semi-private is smart community building. It generates awareness and wishlists from the broader gaming community while maintaining a focused testing group. Krapao’s commitment to weekly updates featuring artwork and progress on Steam demonstrates transparency that builds goodwill with early supporters who become advocates during eventual launch.

FAQs

How do I join the alpha playtest?

Contact Krapao through the Steam forums on the Ad Iterum page or send a direct message to Reddit user iamgabrielma. The playtest is described as “small,” so acceptance isn’t guaranteed, but expressing interest is the first step.

When does Ad Iterum release?

No release date or window has been announced. The game just launched its Steam page in December 2025 and is currently in alpha testing, suggesting it’s relatively early in development. Expect at least several months to a year before Early Access or full release.

Is it like Darkest Dungeon?

Thematically yes, mechanically not exactly. Both are grimdark turn-based roguelikes emphasizing atmosphere and stress, but Ad Iterum uses top-down perspective rather than side-view, focuses on solo character body modification rather than party management, and centers on descent-and-extraction loops rather than linear dungeon progression.

What does the body modification actually look like?

Specific details haven’t been shared yet beyond the Steam page description. The alpha playtest will presumably reveal how modifications, mutations, and blood bonds actually function mechanically. Check the weekly Steam updates for artwork showcasing the body horror visuals.

Is it single-player only?

Nothing suggests multiplayer features. Turn-based roguelike dungeon crawlers typically focus on solo experiences where you’re making constant modification and tactical decisions. The descent-and-extraction structure doesn’t obviously support co-op or competitive play.

What platforms will it be on?

Currently only PC via Steam has been announced. As a solo developer project with turn-based gameplay and 2D graphics, console ports are theoretically possible but likely won’t happen until after PC release achieves success.

Will there be permadeath?

Almost certainly yes, since it’s described as a roguelike. The “descend, scavenge, return if you survive” loop implies death is expected and frequent. Whether there’s meta-progression that persists between runs (roguelite elements) or pure permadeath (traditional roguelike) hasn’t been specified.

Who is Krapao?

A solo developer with no publicly visible track record of previous releases. Ad Iterum appears to be their debut commercial project. The commitment to weekly updates and alpha testing suggests serious development rather than a hobby project.

Why Body Horror Works for Roguelikes

Roguelikes thrive on transformation and adaptation. Every run forces you to work with whatever random equipment drops, creating emergent builds from limited resources. Body horror as a modification system takes this concept literally – you’re not just equipping items, you’re fundamentally changing your physical form. Each run becomes a unique flesh sculpture built from desperate survival choices.

The grimdark setting justifies harsh difficulty and frequent death narratively rather than just mechanically. You’re not dying because the game needs artificial challenge – you’re dying because you’re a fragile flesh creature in a hostile dying world making desperate modifications to survive. This thematic coherence between mechanics and narrative distinguishes thoughtful game design from arbitrary difficulty. If Krapao delivers on the body horror roguelike premise with compelling modification systems and atmospheric world-building, Ad Iterum could carve out a niche in the crowded roguelike market. For now, anyone intrigued should wishlist on Steam and follow the weekly updates to watch this grimdark descent take shape.