South Korean developer Shiftrick released Re:Ozma onto Steam for $14.99 as an Early Access title. The game is a side-scrolling, survival action game. It’s very similar to other emergent survival titles like Edge of Space or Starbound. However, it features a unique gimmick where you can collect the DNA of alien creatures and become one of those aliens.

The sandbox survival title centers around exploring various unique locations, battling enemies, and then transforming your character after collecting the body parts of dead aliens and then either becoming them or staying as the flaming protagonist that you start as.

In the sandbox mode it’s not unlike Terraria where you can build out your abode, all while the sandbox around begins to procedurally generate.

You’ll blast through the environment, collect resources, and attempt to level up along the way. There are 22 different skills to acquire, five different bosses to battle, and more than 200 different objects to collect and create.

From a conceptual point of view the idea of killing enemies, collecting their DNA and evolving your character sounds pretty cool. From an execution standpoint, the game is quite lacking.

The animations are fairly bare bones, containing jumping, running, and basic attacks, but they still leave something to be desired.

Also the environments and art-style seem eerily similar to Starbound.

Of course, if you were looking for something a little more streamlined than the aforementioned 2D sandbox survival titles, where it’s less about just fiddling around and waiting for something to happen, then Re:Ozma might be a better alternative.

The game also supports co-op play for up to four players, and there’s also plans for a dedicated server that would effectively work as an MMO.

You can learn more about Re: Ozma, which is currently in Early Access, by visiting the Steam store page.