"Grain Rot" is a Scrappy Co-Op Experience with Potential!

One day while minding my business in a Discord call with some colleagues, one of them casually mentioned a multiplayer game that had a demo out for Steam Next Fest called "GRAIN ROT." At first, I thought they said "brain rot," so I noped out of the prospect of a game full of those creatures with absurdly unpronounceable names (seriously, what in the hell is a Brr Brr Patapim??). After being linked the Steam page for this seemingly random game, I was convinced to give it a try for a round. A couple hours later, I found myself surprisingly engaged in what I originally expected to just be another mediocre friendslop experience. Instead, I found myself delving further into the Rot, and I'm glad I did.

In GRAIN ROT, you take the role of a... well, I'm not sure what the player character is! They appear to be a wooden construct with a soul that can pop out of the body somehow. You find yourself in some sort of abandoned house that contains an elevator to the randomly generated ruins below. The full game will flesh out more of the story, ideally, but the point I took away was that the depths contain answers to how you ended up where you are.

At its core, GRAIN ROT is a survival extraction experience. You and up to 2 other players can descend into the depths and attempt to collect as much valuable stuff as possible. To turn your treasures into currency, you have to make use of a grinder found somewhere on the floor that crushes everything inside and spits out coins, with said currency able to go towards fixing your base and buying equipment for future expeditions. Be wary of when you do use the grinder, as some unexpected residents of the ruins will be alerted to the sound of the grinder working its magic, adding a survival element to the gameplay loop.

Once you're done with each floor, you're faced with a decision: Do you go back to your base with what you have in hand, or dare to pay some of your hard-earned currency to venture further and risk it all for greater rewards? It's a challenging but endearing gameplay loop, and I found myself excited to dive into the next run after each death—of which there were many.

When you're not fighting for your life for some precious currency, you can also upgrade your Outpost with furniture that can be made with scrap you collect on your misadventures. While furniture can be added to Outpost rooms to improve your stats, it can also be a tactical advantage in the underground ruins. Afraid an enemy will hunt you down? Block the way with a bench! Want to troll your friend during your expedition? Block them in a room full of enemies! GRAIN ROT absolutely opens the floor for players to either work together or against each other, and it's a chaotic good time.

GRAIN ROT is an entertaining co-op experience worth trying out leading up to the game's full launch in Q3 2026. In the meantime, the demo offers over 20 unlockable constructs, 3 underground biomes, upgradeable Outpost rooms, and hours worth of shenanigans with your friends!