Compost Mortem Blog See it in action

Real-time side-view arena shooter

Compost Mortem

Dig. Swing. Outplay.

Tiny creatures. Big firepower.

Pick a critter from the compost heap, grab a gun and turn the dirt into a battlefield. Dig your own tunnels, swing on your rope and surprise rivals with your species’ ability — solo against bots or with friends nearby, no shared Wi-Fi needed.

See it in actionReal gameplay Join the beta listNot released yet
  • iPhone
  • iPad
  • Mac
  • No shared Wi-Fi needed
A teal dung beetle fires a shotgun with his compost ball beside him.
Dig in

Destructible terrain

Blast your own path.

The dirt isn’t scenery. Every rocket carves a crater, every grenade opens a shortcut — and that hill you were hiding behind? Gone. Tunnel under your rivals, blow up their cover and swing past on your rope.

  • Dig tunnels wherever you aim
  • Blow up cover, yours included
  • Hook the ceiling and swing over the gap

Go on — click the dirt.

Rendered by the game

Why you’ll dig it

Small critters. Serious shootout.

Destructible dirt

Shoot it, dig it, reshape it. The map changes with every blast, so fights rarely play out the same way twice.

Rope swinging

Hook the ceiling, swing across the chasm and drop in guns blazing. Or hook a rival and pull yourself straight to them.

Every species fights its way

Shell up, spin a web, call in the colony or launch a compost ball. Each creature has its own body and ability.

Solo or with your crew

Bots on five difficulties whenever you like, or up to eight in one arena with friends nearby — even with no Wi-Fi network around.

Straight from the game

This is what it looks like.

Everything in this section was produced by the game itself: recorded in the iOS Simulator or rendered by the game’s own engine. Nothing here is a mock-up.

iOS Simulator recording

The menu: your crew on a floating island

iOS Simulator recording

A match with touch controls and all
The creature picker: a card for every creature, each with its passive, its ability and its cooldown, the creature itself standing on the card with a weapon.

iOS Simulator screenshot

Pick your creature: every card is the creature itself, juggling its guns

Four looks for every map

Every match generates a fresh map of caves, rock and dirt. Pick the look you like: a meadow by day, the desert at dusk, ice at dawn or a volcano by night.

A cave in the meadow look, with grassy ledges and creatures mid-fight.
Meadow
The same cave in the desert look, sandy dirt under a dusky sky with cacti.
Desert
The cave in the ice look, pale blue snow and ice spires.
Ice
The cave in the volcano look, dark rock glowing with lava light.
Volcano

8 creatures

Meet the compost crew.

Every creature brings its own body, its own strengths and one ability that can turn a fight. Three of them come with the free game; the Full Game brings all eight.

Illustration: the dung beetle fires a shotgun while the wasp dives in with a pistol.
AI-generated illustration
  • The earthworm as the game draws it: a pink worm with an orange scarf shouldering a bazooka.

    Free

    Earthworm

    Shed the trouble

    The all-rounder with an extra-long rope. Shakes off poison and slowing, then patches itself up.

  • The snail as the game draws it: peeking out of its purple spiral shell, a yellow scarf on, with a flamethrower.

    Free

    Snail

    Pressure shell

    Its shell guards its back. Hunker down, soak up the hits, then blast them back as a counterwave.

  • The spider as the game draws it: a violet spider in a green cape behind a minigun.

    Full Game

    Spider

    Hunting web

    Swings on the longest rope in the heap and casts webs that snare and slow its prey.

  • The ant as the game draws it: a copper ant with an aqua scarf and a railgun.

    Free

    Ant

    For the colony!

    Quick on its feet and never alone: sends three helpers to hunt down enemies along your aim.

  • The dung beetle as the game draws it: a teal-green scarab with its dung ball and a shotgun.

    Full Game

    Dung Beetle

    Dirty business!

    A sturdy brawler whose cargo builds up into a shield as he walks — until he launches it as a heavy compost ball.

  • The wasp as the game draws it: striped yellow and black, a violet scarf on, with a pistol.

    Full Game

    Wasp

    Venom needle

    Takes to the air while you hold jump. Strikes with her sting and leaves strong venom behind.

  • The moth as the game draws it: pale and fluffy, a teal scarf on, with a slime gun.

    Full Game

    Moth

    Curtain call!

    Glides on dusty wings. Her dust cloud hides everyone — but she still sees their silhouettes.

  • The mantis as the game draws it: green and lanky, in a pink cape, with a rifle.

    Full Game

    Mantis

    Final cut

    A close-quarters master who can parry shots, then finishes the job with two wide slashes.

Supplies

One crate can change the fight.

You start with a pistol and a knife. Everything better drops into the arena in crates — weapons, tools, health and timed power-ups. Grab them before somebody else does.

weapons & tools
28
power-ups
11
slots in your pocket
5
Weapons
Rare finds
Tools
Health
Ultimate
  • Bazooka
  • Grenade
  • Machine gun
  • Shotgun
  • Cluster grenade
  • Bouncy bomb
  • Minigun
  • Rifle
  • Mortar
  • Flamethrower
  • Digger
  • Proximity mine
  • Sticky bomb
  • Homing missile
  • Mega bomb
  • Napalm
  • Drill rocket
  • Air cannon
  • Railgun
  • Hopper
  • Dirt cannon
  • Jetpack
  • Teleporter
  • Trap crate
  • Slime gun
  • Knife
  • Pistol
  • Nuke

Timed power-ups

  • ShieldSoaks up incoming damage
  • TurboRun, jump and dig faster
  • OverchargeReloads in a quarter of the time
  • CloakHard to spot until you fire
  • Berserk ×4Four times the damage
  • RicochetShots bounce off walls
  • Triple shotEvery shot fires three
  • Explosive roundsBullets explode
  • Rapid fireFires about three times as fast
  • FeatherAbout a third of the gravity
  • VampireHeal from damage you deal
Berserk ×4!4× damage
  1. AlexTriple kill!
  2. SamImpressive!
  3. Max has a nuke!
Illustrative mock-up of the match HUD. In the game, the announcer calls out multi-kills, two railgun hits in a row and every nuke in play.

Ways to play

However you like to fight.

Deathmatch or team deathmatch, against bots or friends, with your own time and kill limits.

No Wi-Fi network? No problem.

Nearby iPhones, iPads and Macs connect straight to each other over peer-to-peer Wi-Fi: on a train, at a campsite, anywhere without a router or the internet. Just keep Wi-Fi switched on. Sharing a network works just as well.

Level up mid-match

Hits, kills and XP orbs level you up during the match. Each new level offers three upgrades: faster reloads, a longer rope, quicker digging, more speed, better air control or more health. Every match starts fresh — skill, not grind.

  • Touch
  • Keyboard & mouse
  • Gamepad

Play Solo vs. bots

Take on 1–7 bots across five difficulties, from Beginner to Expert. No connection needed.

Host

Start a game for friends nearby and fill the empty seats with bots.

Join

Friends join from their own iPhone, iPad or Mac — even mid-match.

Tutorial

Eight interactive lessons, from your first jump to your creature’s ability.

No internet needed · 1–8 players

Free to start

Free to play. One purchase for everything.

Every mode is in the free game. The Full Game adds the rest of the creatures, weapons and power-ups with a single purchase — no ads, no subscriptions, no loot boxes. The price will be announced before release.

Free

Free to download

Modes
Solo, Tutorial, Host & Join
Creatures
Earthworm, Snail, Ant
Weapons
Pistol, Knife, Bazooka, Grenade, Machine gun, Shotgun
Power-ups
Shield, Turbo

Full Game

One-time purchase

Modes
The same modes — nothing is held back
Creatures
All 8, from Spider to Mantis
Weapons
All 28 weapons and tools, up to the Nuke
Power-ups
All 11

Questions

Before you dig in.

Do I need an internet connection?

No. Solo matches and multiplayer both work offline: everyone plays on their own device, and nearby devices talk to each other directly. Only getting the game (from the App Store or, for the beta, TestFlight) and buying the Full Game need a connection.

Do we have to be on the same Wi-Fi?

No. Nearby iPhones, iPads and Macs find each other and connect directly over peer-to-peer Wi-Fi, with no router and no internet, so you can play on a train or in a park. Keep Wi-Fi switched on; you do not have to join any network. If you are on the same Wi-Fi, that works too.

How many people can play together?

Up to eight in one arena, bots included. Every human player uses their own iPhone, iPad or Mac.

Can I play alone?

Yes — against 1–7 bots on five difficulty levels. There’s also an interactive tutorial that teaches you the ropes.

Is it free?

The game will be free to download and includes every mode. A single Full Game purchase adds the remaining creatures, weapons and power-ups. In a shared match everyone plays with the same content. The price will be announced before release.

Which devices does it run on?

iPhone, iPad and Mac, with iOS 26, iPadOS 26 or macOS 26 or later.

Can I play with a controller?

Yes. Play with touch controls, keyboard and mouse, or a supported gamepad. On a Mac you can remap the keys and tune mouse sensitivity.

When and where can I get it?

Compost Mortem hasn’t been released yet. It is coming to the App Store for iPhone, iPad and Mac, and there is no release date so far. See Get the game for the current status.

Can I try it before the release?

We want to run a public beta through TestFlight. It isn’t open yet; you can leave your e-mail address on the beta list in Get the game and invitations will be sent to the list. You need a device with iOS 26, iPadOS 26 or macOS 26 or later.

Get the game

Not released yet.

Compost Mortem hasn’t been released. We’re getting it ready for a public release on the App Store for iPhone, iPad and Mac, and there is no release date yet. Want to try it early? Join the beta list.

App Store

In preparation

Status
Not released yet, no release date so far
Devices
iPhone, iPad and Mac
Requires
iOS 26, iPadOS 26 or macOS 26 or later
Price
Free to download. The Full Game price will be announced before release

The release date and other news will appear on the blog.

Beta list

Public beta on TestFlight

The public beta isn’t open yet. Leave your e-mail address to join the beta list: the invitations to the TestFlight beta go out to the people on it. We don’t send a confirmation e-mail.

You need a device with iOS 26, iPadOS 26 or macOS 26 or later and the free TestFlight app from Apple.

Ready to get your hands dirty?

Pick your critter, grab a gun and dig in.

See it in actionReal gameplay Join the beta listNot released yet
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