Screenshots
Watch trailer on Steam ↗Cradle of the Dark Brood
RyuseGames · Published by RyuseGames
Mostly Positive — 79% positive (39 reviews) · 28 achievements
Last updated 28 Sept 2026
A dark fantasy incremental breeding game where you cultivate a monstrous brood, inherit stronger traits, unlock mutations and automation, then send your evolving creatures into conquest across a hostile corpse-world.
£4.59
Lowest price we've ever recorded
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Price history
Adventure, Indie, RPG, Simulation · 2026 · More under £5 games
About this game
Cradle of the Dark Brood is a dark fantasy incremental breeding game about building power through inheritance, mutation, automation, and conquest.
You begin as something trapped outside the rules of the world, able to act only through the creatures you create. Breed new offspring, preserve stronger bloodlines, cull weaker results, and shape your brood into a force capable of surviving beyond the cradle.
Every generation can push your numbers higher. Improve core traits such as Lethality, Vitality, Durability, Motility, and Synapticity, then use those gains to unlock new systems, stronger roles, and more dangerous forms of progression.
Key Features
Breed and refine a growing brood through incremental stat progression.
Select kings, queens, soldiers, scavengers, and other specialized roles to support your expansion.
Discover mutations that alter your creatures and open new evolutionary paths.
Unlock automation for breeding, culling, promotion, conquest, and support systems as your brood matures.
Expand your abode with upgrades that improve incubation, capacity, inheritance, scavenging, and combat readiness.
Send soldiers into conquest across caves, wastelands, black shores, ruined kingdoms, dragon domains, void passages, and divine realms.
Defeat enemies, clear zones, gather resources, and recover new biological advantages from the world.
Develop research and support roles.
Pursue long-term prestige through Apotheosis, carrying power across runs and reshaping future growth.
Uncover dark lore as the brood spreads through a wounded world that refuses your existence.
Cradle of the Dark Brood is built for players who enjoy layered incremental progression, creature optimization, unfolding systems, and the slow satisfaction of turning a fragile beginning into an overwhelming biological empire.
System Requirements
Will my PC run this? →Minimum
- Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system
- OS *: Windows 7 (SP1+) or higher
- Processor: Intel Core i3 or better
- Memory: 4 GB RAM
- Graphics: N/A
- Storage: 300 MB available space
- Sound Card: N/A
Recommended
- Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system
Supported Languages
Latest news
Patch NotesOfficial
v1.1.3
This is a small stability and performance update for Apotheosis tab and high-scaling costs. Changes Improve Apotheosis skill panel performance when viewing and leveling divine skills. Reduce flicker in Apotheosis skill details. Bugfixes Fix very high Abode structure and expansion costs overflowing at large placement counts Hope ya'll enjoy!Read full article on Community Announcements (RyuseGames)Patch NotesOfficial
v1.1.2
This is a small tuning update for the Boundless Dream and Abode view. Changes Update Boundless Dream zone shrinking so deeper depths increase the shrink cost instead of growing the grid back out Add clearer messaging when an endless depth is too deep to shrink with your current shrink points Allow the Abode grid to zoom out fartherRead full article on Community Announcements (RyuseGames)Patch NotesOfficial
v1.1.1
This is a small performance and bugfix update for endless-zone play. Changes Improve Conquest map performance on large endless grids Optimize effect recalculation so unrelated effects are not refreshed as often Bugfixes Fix endless zones counting against all-zones-cleared and all-zones-perfected progress checksRead full article on Community Announcements (RyuseGames)Patch NotesOfficial
v1.1.0 - Endless Dream
This update adds the Boundless Dream, a new post-game endless Conquest zone where you can keep descending after the story ends. Changes Add the Boundless Dream endless zone. Each cleared depth unlocks the next, with enemies growing stronger the deeper you go. The rewards also increase the deeper you go.Read full article on Community Announcements (RyuseGames)Patch NotesOfficial
v1.0.19
This update focuses on clearer mutation browsing, better boss tracking, and automation controls. Changes Add multi-select filters for mutation stats and mutation states Improve the Mutations tab with stat icons, clearer filter buttons, and cleaner total stat display Add Boss Status details to the enemy Codex, showing where bosses appear and whether they are still available this run Add an Auto Battle only with Full Roster option Improve Dominion zone and route picker modals Bugfixes Fix Auto-Scout getting stuck with no routes after zone completion Disable manual Scavenger zone assignment while Auto-Zone is enabled Disable manual Scourer route planning while Auto-Scout is enabled Fix Cultivator messaging when no Cultivation Plots are built Fix some resource cost/order display issuesRead full article on Community Announcements (RyuseGames)
