Sipho is an action survival game with an intricate building system. Grow your own creature and take over the local ecosystem. Fight, grow, survive, dominate. Play in adventure or sandbox mode.
Players can customize and evolve their creature by combining various body parts or "zooids", each with a specific function like movement, attack, or structural support. As they progress, players unlock new zooid types to create increasingly complex and powerful creatures. This deep customization system allows for experimentation with unique designs and playstyles. Furthermore, players can carry over permanent stat upgrades and "mutations" between runs, encouraging replayability as they strive to create more formidable creatures.
The game features six unique species, each with their own zooid sets and playstyles. Players can unlock and experiment with agile, long-range snipers; massive, melee-focused tanks; and various hybrid designs that blend zooids from different species.
As players explore the procedurally generated environments, they face a variety of hostile creatures and powerful boss enemies. Defeating these bosses grants access to new zooid types, further expanding the potential of the player's creation. The boss battles present unique challenges that force players to adapt their creature's capabilities. Mastering these encounters and unlocking new zooids is a key part of the game's progression and replayability.
The combination of customizable zooids and the game's physics-based systems creates opportunities for emergent gameplay. Players can discover unexpected synergies, such as parasitic creatures that latch onto and siphon resources from larger foes, or flexible, multi-limbed creatures capable of intricate movements and grappling attacks. This depth of interaction between the game's systems allows for a high degree of player expression and creativity as they craft the ultimate creature to conquer the game's challenges.