Players descend through randomly generated underwater biomes, encountering hostile creatures at every depth. Before each battle, you spend caviar (the in-game currency) to develop skills for your researcher. Skills reset at the start of each run — but genes don't.

After defeating a creature, you choose your reward:

• Collect caviar — spend it on skills during the current run
• Recruit a mermaid companion — breed them for gene generation on the way down
• Visit mermaids to take a gene sample — carry it over to your next researcher for permanent upgrades
• Recover world memories — water holds them; some surface after battles

The deeper you go, the harder the creatures — and the more valuable the genes they carry.

▶ Watch gameplay trailer

Gene System

Genes collected during a run can be integrated into a new researcher at the start of the next expedition. To unlock advanced upgrades, you need to encounter specific creature types — for example, meeting octopus-like creatures unlocks mimicry gene upgrades. Biomes, creatures, and gene mechanics were designed with reference to real deep-sea research documents.

Controls

• Close any screen — tap anywhere outside it
• Explore — hold touch/click at the bottom of the screen to descend toward the next enemy
• Prepare skills — tap the brain at the top and select a skill to learn it for this run. Drag learned skills onto the grid to arrange them before battle
• Start battle — once your skill grid is ready, tap the enemy to run auto-combat, or tap your own character to attempt an escape
• After battle — choose between caviar or a mermaid companion. If you have mermaid companions, tap the tail in the bottom right to visit them. Swipe a mermaid down to spend time with her — she will generate genes after the next battle. Swipe up to release her. Tap after a battle to collect gene rewards and then spend time with her again
• Between runs — integrate collected genes into your new researcher at expedition start. Tap the embryo in the top right, then tap one of the white spirals to browse available genes. Select what to upgrade and watch the syringe fill. When ready, tap the syringe to inject your new genes before the next dive.

• Developed by: Octanta Studio (Ukraine)
• Engine: Unity
• Development time: ~6 months
• Released: 2022
• Development and art by Dariia. Music and sound design by Shvetsb

This is our first game, released as-is. Originally built for mobile, it has since been adapted for PC as well. We're not planning to rework it, so we appreciate your patience with any rough edges in the controls.

* Some cutscenes were removed due to platform limitations — you can watch them separately, including the opening scene that sets up the player's goal: to explore a mysterious source at the very bottom of the trench.