Moadra

What Is Moadra?

Moadra is a sci-fi metroidvania from Gloomsoft, releasing October 22, 2026 on Steam. You play Lieutenant Moadra Meras, a soldier exploring Protea VI, a sand-swept planet where your ancestors went extinct 20,000 years ago. The mission: traverse a massive interconnected world, endure its desolate surface, climb its freezing summits, scout a research facility infested with malicious alien species, and uncover your lost Neera heritage along the way.

The comparison everyone reaches for comes from Rock Paper Shotgun, who covered the demo with the line "Moadra is Metroid but you're the Predator." The loop is classic search-action: roll, dodge, leap, wall jump, and sprint at high speed past deadly organisms, fight everything from small threats to gargantuan boss monsters, and slowly unlock the abilities that open the planet's shortcuts. What gives it a twist is the biology economy — enemies explode into Protoplasm, lumps of energy-packed biomass you absorb, and organic chambers let you spend it on metamorphosis, evolving your abilities and weapons to new levels.

The second twist is the scanner bot. Activate it and you get X-ray vision that examines creatures and surroundings, reveals hidden paths invisible to the naked eye, and maps where you have been. Between the scanner's tactical read and the metamorphosis upgrade tree, Moadra builds its identity around looking closer and evolving harder.

Moadra Details

How to Play Moadra

The demo has been playable since February 2025 and went through two balance patches, so the core mechanics below come from shipped code and the developers' own patch notes, not marketing copy.

Move like the planet is trying to kill you, because it is. Moadra's kit is built on agility: roll, dodge, leap, wall jump, and sprint "at never-before-seen speeds." The demo tuned movement so you accelerate to top speed faster and jump arcs decay quicker after release, which makes momentum feel snappy and deliberate. Hazards and hostile organisms reward constant motion; standing still is how damage happens.

Aim freely or lock on. Patch 1.1.0 added gamepad free aiming on the left trigger with a dedicated crosshair, plus target lock that only attaches to enemies and moving targets. Lock picks the target closest to your crosshair. On mouse, aiming is native; the lock system still helps in chaotic fights with many moving organisms.

Scan before you spend resources. The scanner bot's X-ray vision examines creatures and terrain, reveals hidden paths and secret areas, and maps explored zones. Scanning is faster since 1.1.0 and highlights objects in clearer colors so you can tell what has been scanned already. A scanned creature is a known threat profile; an unscanned one is a gamble.

Harvest Protoplasm from kills. Blowing up unfriendly creatures bursts them into Protoplasm, energy-packed biomass. This is the game's upgrade currency, so every fight you avoid is evolution you delay — and every fight you barely survive still pays.

Metamorphose in organic chambers. Consuming Protoplasm inside organic chambers applies metamorphosis, evolving your abilities and weapons to new levels. Chambers are the metroidvania save-and-upgrade heartbeat: when you find one, you are usually near a boss or a new biome.

Use special abilities to break fights open. The arsenal includes weapons plus special abilities such as Purify Lifeblood and Protopulse (both named in patch notes). Both had their Bioplasm cost reduced in 1.1.0, which tells you the design intent: these are meant to be used regularly, not hoarded.

Controls

From the demo's shipped controls and the 1.1.0 patch notes:

Accessibility matters here: the game ships with Playable without Timed Input, adjustable text size, camera comfort options, subtitle options, and custom volume controls — rare for a small-studio action game and worth knowing if quick-time inputs are a barrier.

Getting Started: What to Know Before Release

Play the demo first. The demo has been live since February 13, 2025 and stays available beyond its original Next Fest window. It covers the opening of Lieutenant Moadra Meras's first mission, and it has been patched twice with balance and quality-of-life changes. If you are unsure about the game, the demo answers most questions.

Release is October 22, 2026. Gloomsoft announced the date in September 2026 with a release date trailer. That is weeks from this guide's publication, which makes now the window for wishlist-and-prepare.

The demo patches tell you how the full game will feel. 1.0.1 tuned the Blight Beast boss, reduced Stinger Flie and Blightwing attack speeds, improved target lock, extended post-damage immunity, and cut the Bioplasm cost of Purify Lifeblood and Protopulse. 1.1.0 added free aim, faster scanning, and snappier movement. The trend is clear: Gloomsoft tunes toward fairness and readability.

RPS coverage means the cat is out of the bag. Rock Paper Shotgun's "Moadra is Metroid but you're the Predator" piece put the demo in front of a mainstream audience. Expect the launch-day conversation to center on the Predator-style scanner fantasy and the metamorphosis system.

Modest specs, wide compatibility. Minimum: any quad-core CPU, 4 GB RAM, a GTX 900-series card, DirectX 12, 9 GB storage, on Windows 10 or 11 64-bit. Recommended: Core i3-8100, 8 GB RAM, GTX 970 4GB. This runs on most gaming PCs, including older ones.

Named enemies you will meet early. Patch notes name the Blight Beast (a demo boss), Stinger Flie, and Blightwing as early threats. Knowing their attack speeds were deliberately tuned down should shape your expectations: these fights are meant to be readable, not twitch-reflex gates.

Tips and Tricks

Lock on to moving targets, aim freely for everything else. The target lock system was tuned in 1.1.0 to only grab enemies and moving targets, choosing the one nearest your crosshair. Use it to track airborne nuisances like Blightwings, and release it when you need precise shots on stationary growths or weak points.

Scan every new creature before engaging. X-ray vision examines creatures and reveals their nature. The information costs seconds; the fights it prevents cost health and Protoplasm you would rather spend on metamorphosis. The scanner also highlights what has already been scanned, so the habit compounds.

Treat wall jumps as routes, not tricks. The movement kit — roll, dodge, leap, wall jump, sprint — exists because Protea VI is a metroidvania map. Vertical shafts and cliff faces are corridors. Practicing chained wall jumps in the demo's opening biome pays off the moment the full game hands you a 40-meter frozen cliff.

Sprint through the safe parts. Movement was tuned to reach top speed faster. The desolate surface between biomes is exactly where sprinting saves real time; the interiors of the research facility are exactly where it gets you ambushed.

Spend Protoplasm early and often. Both named abilities had their costs reduced in patching, signaling that hoarding is the wrong instinct. Organic chambers are save points in all but name; pushing past one with a full Protoplasm meter wastes both resources.

Fight bosses for the unlock, not the pride. The Blight Beast tuning pass shows Gloomsoft wants boss fights to be gateways. If a boss walls you, farm the surrounding organisms for Protoplasm, metamorphose, and come back with an evolved kit rather than grinding attempts on even footing.

Learn the immunity window. 1.0.1 increased post-damage immunity time. That window is your get-out-of-jail card in swarm fights: after taking a hit, you have a fixed span to reposition through enemies without further damage. Use hits as movement tools, not just setbacks.

Advanced Tips

• Free aim while standing still. The left-trigger free aim exists so you can hold position and place shots without moving the stick that walks. Anchor yourself behind cover or on safe ledges and pick targets; lock-on plus free aim covers the two combat modes most encounters need.
• Route around scanned-safe zones. The scanner maps what you explore. On repeat visits, use the map's scan history to route through cleared zones when low on health, and through unscanned zones when hunting Protoplasm.
• The Predator loop: scan, isolate, execute. RPS's framing is mechanically real. Scan to identify, use terrain to isolate one organism from a group, then burst it for Protoplasm and reposition before the group collapses on you.
• Budget Bioplasm like ammo. Abilities draw on Bioplasm; the patches reduced their costs but the resource is still finite mid-fight. Protopulse as an opener and Purify Lifeblood as recovery is the pattern the cost tuning suggests.
• Wall-jump chains beat ladders for ambush safety. Enemies path differently around vertical routes. A wall-jump ascent lets you pause at heights where ground organisms cannot follow, and the scanner reveals what waits at the top before you commit.
• Save-state discipline around metamorphosis. Because organic chambers both save and upgrade, dying after a chamber costs less than dying before one. Push exploration outward from chambers, not from arbitrary points.
• Demo save files may show map glitches. The developers noted continuing a 1.0.0 save in 1.1.0 can display incorrect map icons in modified levels. If the full game carries over demo saves, expect similar warnings; fresh saves avoid the issue.

Final Tips

Moadra is a metroidvania that front-loads its identity into two verbs: scan and evolve. The scanner turns a hostile planet into a readable map, and metamorphosis turns every kill into permanent progress. Play the demo before launch day, learn the target-lock and free-aim pairing, and walk into the full release on October 22 with the scanner habit already installed.

The price is unannounced, the specs are friendly, and the demo is live now. For metroidvania players who want a fresh planet instead of another castle, Protea VI is the October 2026 destination.

FAQ

When does Moadra release? Thursday, October 22, 2026, announced by Gloomsoft with a release date trailer on Steam.

What is Moadra about? Lieutenant Moadra Meras explores Protea VI, a sand-swept alien planet where her ancestors, the Neera, went extinct 20,000 years ago. She traverses desolate surfaces, frozen summits, and an infested research facility, uncovering her lost heritage while fighting hostile organisms.

What kind of game is it? A sci-fi metroidvania: interconnected world exploration, ability-gated progression, challenging combat with boss fights, and hidden paths revealed by a scanner bot with X-ray vision.

Is there a demo? Yes. The demo launched February 13, 2025 for Steam Next Fest and remains available, now at version 1.1.0 with free aiming, faster scanning, and tuned boss balance.

Who is Gloomsoft? The independent studio developing and publishing Moadra. They communicate with players through Steam community announcements and address them as "Lieutenants."

How do upgrades work? Killing creatures releases Protoplasm, energy-packed biomass. Consuming Protoplasm inside organic chambers triggers metamorphosis, evolving abilities and weapons. Abilities such as Purify Lifeblood and Protopulse draw on Bioplasm.

What does the scanner bot do? It provides X-ray vision to examine creatures and surroundings, reveals hidden paths and secret areas invisible to the naked eye, and maps explored locations.

How much will it cost? The price is to be announced. The store page does not indicate free-to-play.

What are the PC system requirements? Minimum: Windows 10/11 64-bit, quad-core CPU, 4 GB RAM, NVIDIA GTX 900-series or similar, DirectX 12, 9 GB storage. Recommended: Intel Core i3-8100, 8 GB RAM, GTX 970 4GB or similar.

Does it have controller support? Full controller support with DualShock and DualSense, plus accessibility features: adjustable text size, camera comfort, custom volume controls, subtitle options, and Playable without Timed Input.

Is there multiplayer? No. Moadra is single-player, with Steam Achievements and Steam Cloud saves.

Where can I follow updates? The Moadra Steam page (app 1713730) carries all announcements, demo patches, and the release trailer. Wishlisting enables notifications.

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Last reviewed by Game How To Editorial. We play each game, verify controls against official sources, and update guides when game mechanics change.