Mutating dungeon crawler Freaky Awesome squirms out this month

Mandragora was the developer behind Skyhill, a 2015 turn-based survival game in which Chris enjoyed dying repeatedly. Now the studio has announced a release date for their second title, a top-down action 'rogue-lite' in the vein of The Binding of Isaac called Freaky Awesome. It's out on October 18.

The most interesting thing about it is its ability system: you battle through rooms filled with enemies that leave behind a pool of gunge when they die. That gunge will heal you but also eventually cause your DNA to mutate. 

That, in turn, gives you new powers that you'll have to adapt to on the fly. You know, things like the ability to rip off your own head and throw it an an enemy, or to lay eggs and hatch tiny versions of yourself to do your bidding. If those over-the-top powers are as good as they sound, Mandragora could be onto a winner. 

It's got all the stuff you'd expect in a 'rogue-lite': permadeath (but you keep unlocked items and mutations), a procedurally-generated factory full of traps and hidden rooms, boss battles and items. You can go it alone or team up with up to three others in online co-op, which is a nice touch. 

If you want an early peek, you can sign up for the public alpha here. Here's the Steam page.