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Watch trailer on Steam ↗Dopamine rogue
Ctrl+Art · Published by Ctrl+Art · Official site ↗
Content notice: The game contains: depictions of murder and drug abuse.
Last updated 28 Sept 2026
Manage your dopamine, earn money, build decks, and navigate life's challenges in this psychological life-simulation roguelike. Every choice shapes your story as you struggle to survive your own mind. A solo-developed project crafted over two years.
Indie · 2026 · More free games
In Dopamine rogue, manage your dopamine levels to survive psychological trials. Every decision you make impacts your narrative journey in this indie game from a two-year solo project.
About this game
Dopamine Rogue is a life-simulation roguelike with a strong psychological focus and RPG elements, about surviving your own mind — in the gentlest or the harshest way possible.
The goal seems simple: climb the social ladder and land your dream job.
But does the perfect job really mean the best ending?
🤝 Relationships, Choices, and Consequences
Build friendships, complete quests, and earn items and experience that grant real advantages.
Each relationship unlocks new stories and narrative paths.
Manage your time carefully: go to work, visit shops, and meet NPCs on specific days and times — they have their own routines and lives too.
🎭 Deep Narrative
Experience life stories that are beautiful or disturbing.
Discover 8 different endings, shaped by your choices.
⚡ Dopamine: Resource and Curse
Manage your dopamine wisely.
With it, you gain advantages. Without it, you’ll be forced to face your demons once again.
There are many ways to gain dopamine — through good or bad actions —
which may harm yourself… or others.
💼 Work, Money, and Survival
Earn money to cover basic needs or make life easier.
Work, study to build a solid career, or follow darker paths.
Choose your direction:
Bartender
Call center agent
Janitor
Or study to achieve the job of your dreams.
🃏 Progression and Endless Replayability
Level up and, at each milestone, choose one of three perk cards.
Find or buy items that make every run unique.
Collect Emotional Intelligence (EI) Coins and unlock permanent upgrades, returning stronger with each new attempt.
🏠 Comfort, Routine, and Small Victories
Perform simple, relaxing actions — washing dishes, organizing books — accompanied by comforting ambient sounds.
Take trips and small outings to recover dopamine, for both the character and the player.
Take care of your home, your comfort zone.
Buy furniture, improve your well-being, eat better… and maybe even adopt a cat.
🔁 Procedural World and Unique Stories
Every run is different.
Locations, events, and stories are procedurally generated.
Start with random strengths and weaknesses:
Neurodivergent (ADHD, Autism, Dyslexia)
Neurotypical (no bonuses or penalties)
Live through the character’s childhood and try not to develop trauma —
or learn to grow with a resilient mind.
🧠 Face Your Own Mind
Explore the labyrinth of a troubled mind.
Which door is the right one? Which key truly fits?
Confront your inner demons — trauma, syndromes, depression, anxiety, personality disorders, and the harsh reality of everyday life.
Each demon requires a different approach in every run. Make the wrong choice, and there’s no turning back.
You can seek help, visit a psychiatrist, and learn how to overcome them…
or try to ignore them — though that’s never recommended.
System Requirements
Will my PC run this? →Minimum
- Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system
- OS: Windows 10 (64-bit)
- Processor: Intel Core i3 (2nd generation) or equivalent AMD
- Memory: 4 GB RAM
- Graphics: Any GPU compatible with DirectX 11 (Intel HD Graphics 4000 or higher)
- DirectX: Version 11
- Storage: 500 MB available space
- Additional Notes: This is a 2D pixel art game developed in GameMaker Studio 2, optimized to run on modest machines.
Recommended
- Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system
Supported Languages
Latest news
Patch NotesOfficial
Demo Major Update
Demo Major UpdateMore mechanics More story More locationsMechanics: We’ve adjusted the mechanic for getting lost in your mind. You now lose maximum dopamine instead of losing dopamine immediately, and there are resources you can use to recover your maximum dopamine.We’ve also added a rush-hour minigame, where you’ll need to dodge pedestrians and cars.Story: There’s now more story available in the demo, giving you a better idea of what the game is really about. You’ll also see flashbacks from Emma’s childhood that reveal clues about her painful trauma.But why did she choose to come to this city in the first place?Locations: The full game is almost finished, so we added a few entrances to the demo to give you a glimpse of just how much content the game has to offer.You can now see houses that will be available to purchase in the full game, as well as areas behind buildings where an illegal seller offers some rather suspicious goods.I believe this will be the last major update for the demo. The full game is scheduled to launch next month, in September!Don’t forget to leave your feedback and follow us on social media.Thank you so much for your support!Read full article on Community Announcements (Artuurf)Patch NotesOfficial
Update June 10th 0.1.3
Minor adjustments: Added translation options: French, Spanish, Simplified Chinese, and Russian. Corrections where there were no translations. Cutcine advances automatically over time. Tutorial button: pressing I allows you to view again. Correction on ultrawide monitor, however, still 16:9 in the demo. Cards above the tutorial in the house. Reduce difficulty and prices.Read full article on Community Announcements (Artuurf)AnnouncementsOfficial
Demo is now available.
🚀 THE DOPAMINE ROGUE DEMO IS OUT NOW ON STEAM!Today is a huge day for me.After more than two years of hard work, sacrifices, late nights, and countless challenges, DOPAMINE ROGUE is finally in your hands.Like many indie developers, I've poured everything I had into this project. There were moments when I questioned whether all the time, effort, and sacrifices would be worth it.Now, the answer depends on you.🎮 Play the demo and tell me what you think. 💬 Join our Discord and share your feedback. 🐞 If you find any bugs, please report them. ⭐ Leave a review and let me know what worked—and what didn't.Every piece of feedback helps shape the future of the game.Whether it's criticism, praise, suggestions, or even just a quick message, I'll be genuinely grateful to hear from you. 📅 STEAM NEXT FEST — JUNE 12We're excited to announce that DOPAMINE ROGUE will be featured in Steam Next Fest!If you're a content creator, journalist, or member of the press, visit our website to access the press kit.❤️ Enjoyed the demo?Please add DOPAMINE ROGUE to your Wishlist. It helps the project tremendously and ensures you'll be notified when the full game launches.Thank you for being part of this journey.Read full article on Community Announcements (Artuurf)AnnouncementsOfficial
New Gameplay Trailer Released
Welcome to the first announcement for Dopamine Rogue!This project has been in development for over two years by a solo developer. My goal with the game is to explore a simple idea: life can be extraordinary, even when chaos is part of the journey.🎥 New Gameplay TrailerBased on community feedback, I created a new trailer focused on clarity.The previous trailer showed gameplay, but many players were unsure about the objective of the game.This new 50-second trailer shows the core mechanic of Dopamine Rogue: managing dopamine and how it affects the character’s life decisions.Is life only about dopamine?Is success just about studying and getting your dream job?Play the game and discover your own path.🧠 About the DevelopmentDopamine Rogue is being developed entirely by one person.Art, programming, music, and marketing have all been part of a two-year journey so far. Because of that, updates may take some time, but I’ll be sharing development news regularly.You can follow updates here:Website: ctrlart.com.brDiscord: https://discord.com/invite/pSrS5KCajQ🎮 Demo Coming SoonA playable demo is currently being prepared for Steam Next Fest in June.The demo will introduce the story prologue, the procedural systems, and some of the NPCs you’ll meet along the way — each with their own unique stories.⭐ Support the GameIf you like the project, please consider adding Dopamine Rogue to your wishlist.Wishlisting helps the game reach more players and makes a huge difference for solo developers.Thank you for your support!Read full article on Community Announcements (Artuurf)
