About the Game
CELLULAR COMBAT EVOLVED
In Pathogenic, you are the disease. Experience a visceral 2D roguelike twin-stick shooter where you play as a lone parasite fighting a desperate war against the immune system. Your goal is simple: infect and conquer your human host.
To survive, you must adapt. Hunt down enemy cells, rip out their organelles, and graft them onto your own body. Evolve from a simple cell into a complex engine of destruction. Create powerful, game-breaking builds and become the ultimate pathogen.
CREATE YOUR OWN PATHOGEN
Loot, graft, and assemble your parasite from dozens of unique organelles. Combine flagella for movement, mitochondria for power, secretors for ranged attacks, and spikes for melee combat. Chain organelle effects and discover powerful synergies to build an unstoppable disease vector.
FIGHT THE IMMUNE SYSTEM
Battle a diverse roster of enemies, from basic immune cells like macrophages and T cells to rival parasites such as tapeworms or protozoa. Formidable bosses are lurking deep within the host's organs.
METAPROGRESSION
Collect plasmid fragments to permanently upgrade your parasite's plasmid tree between runs. Each parasite will have it's own upgrade tree allowing for a range of builds to suit your preferred playstyle.
EXPLORE A MICROSCOPIC WORLD
Navigate the procedurally generated organic landscape of the human body. Travel through distinct biomes like the branching pathways of the lungs, the pulsating chambers of the heart, and the complex neural network of the brain.
FEEL THE ORGANIC ACTION
Our detailed, colorful world is powered by a soft-body physics simulation, giving every cell, enemy, and projectile a uniquely satisfying organic feel. The combination of hand-crafted design and procedural generation ensures endless variety - each run offers a fresh and challenging gameplay experience.
JOIN OUR COMMUNITY ON DISCORD
Screenshots
14 images
Version Information
Steam Patch Notes
Official update history
More small fixes and balancing!
Fixed an issue where mouse pointer lost focus and didn't grab it back
First floor now spawns 2 item rooms instead of 1
Item rooms now have always at least 2 items to choose from
Slightly higher HP drop rate
The storm now damages you after 15 seconds, up from 5 seconds
Reduced knockback of Helical Proboscis a bit
Fixed a bug where Tetraploa removed one organelle on evolution
Thanks for everyone trying out the demo! A quick patch to fix some issues:
Add German localization
Enemies no longer get invisible on later floors on Low graphics settings
Fix an issue where a controller would switch back to mouse mode after a while of not inputting anything
Nerf Cluster Ejector a bit, buff Caustic Secretor a bit
Helical Proboscis no longer destroys enemy bullets
Slightly lower drop rate of mitochondria
Add more varied props to the first floor
Big content patch this time!
Main changes:
New weapons: Pulsar Gland, Spike Protein, Blastocyst Mortar, Lateral Vent
New internal organelles: Ossificator, Pyrosome, Cryosome, Extensor, Sequence Scrambler, Echosome, Bifurcator, Chronosome
New lashes: Cryoflagellum, Toxin Flagellum
New mutation: Ossification
I'll let you figure out what all of these do :) They definitely need testing!
Reworked Chitin Infuser to give infinite piercing and a damage bonus after each hit. It also works with melee now.
Reinforced Membrane now gives only +1 max HP.
Other small rebalancing of mutations, organelles and plasmids.
Organelle rewards have a resistance force and a buffer time to help against accidental pickups.
Worm handling improved.
Plasmid upgrades are now shared across parasites.
Visual improvements, post-processing glow improved, better particle effects, special room hallway props.
All text extracted for translation, first supported languages are being worked on: Simplified Chinese, Czech, Brazilian Portuguese. More are coming, let us know if there is a language you'd really like to see supported or want to help with translating!
Current Release
Build 24520460
Uploaded Aug 05, 2026
System Requirements
How to Install
pathogenic.exe to play
Troubleshooting tips
• Run Redist/_CommonRedist installers if game won't start
• Add folder to Windows Defender exclusions
• Run as administrator
Download
Direct link available
Needed when extracting (WinRAR / 7-Zip) — not a site login.
You May Also Like
View All
Download Pathogenic for PC with a direct link or via torrent. Get the full version of Pathogenic for free. Pathogenic is a Action released by Aberrant Labs.