Dungeon Crawler Carl Meets Dark Souls In Brutal Medieval Soulslike

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Dungeon Crawler Carl has become a global phenomenon in the modern fantasy and LitRPG space, with Matt Dinniman’s deadly adventure becoming one of the genre’s biggest success stories. Carl’s journey is built around brutal encounters, RPG-style systems and progression, tough bosses, and the lingering threat of one bad decision resulting in certain doom.

Similarly, FromSoftware’s landmark Dark Souls series approaches dungeon crawling from an equally brutal direction, albeit much darker in tone, dropping players into oppressive medieval environments with hidden corridors and labyrinthian designs filled with lethal enemies, monstrous bosses, and From’s signature combat style that rewards patience and repeated failure.

Both franchises ultimately make survival itself part of the appeal, forcing their protagonists through hostile worlds where every victory feels earned. Now, an upcoming game is combining those ideas and themes into a particularly brutal medieval dungeon-crawling experience that DCC and Dark Souls fans will not want to skip, and you can even try it out for free now via a limited-time playtest opportunity (via Steam).

Dungeon Crawler Carl And Dark Souls Collide In 2026 Steam Release

Decrepit is an upcoming soulslike action RPG from Jämmerdal Games that combines the intense and brutal soulslike combat found in Dark Souls with a unique dungeon-crawling-focused gameplay loop. Players are trapped inside a decaying medieval castle, with each failed escape attempt sending them back into its depths.

As the Steam description puts it, “Every death strips your gear and drags you back to the dungeons,” with players beginning their next run from a different prison cell. Progress therefore comes largely through learning the castle’s interconnected layout, opening persistent elevators and permanent pathway unlocks, discovering shortcuts, and understanding where each threat is likely to appear, with the game promising “variable enemy encounters in a persistent world.”

Combat is first-person and stamina-based, with a soulslike focus on learning enemy attack patterns and finding carefully timed openings for melee strikes and magic. Builds are determined through three a streamlined equipment slot setup—a weapon, staff, and armor—with Mage, Warrior, Rogue, and Shaman gear sets providing bonuses and special abilities. There are also no maps or quest markers, leaving players to master the castle through repeated exploration and experimentation.

The game also features unique and challenging bosses on each level that you’ll have to take down to progress, full controller and mouse/keyboard support, and more.

Decrepit is currently scheduled to launch on PC sometime in 2026, although Jämmerdal Games has yet to announce a more specific release date. In the meantime, prospective players can already register for the Decrepit Playtest directly through Steam. Selecting “Request Access” adds players to the pool of potential testers, with Steam notifying them when the developer is ready to admit additional participants.

The project has been gaining momentum ever since its world-premiere reveal during The Game Awards in 2025. The announcement trailer introduced the combination of first-person soulslike combat and old-school dungeon crawling, with inspirations including Hexen and Eye of the Beholder. The response was noteworthy, with Jämmerdal Games announcing just a week later that Decrepit had already surpassed 150,000 Steam wishlists, while confirming that its first batch of playtest invitations would begin going out on December 19.

Testing has continued into 2026, with a March developer update specifically referencing feedback gathered during the initial playtest rounds. Anyone intrigued by Decrepit‘s particularly unforgiving take on dungeon crawling can request access now, or wishlist the game ahead of its planned release later this year.