Tragedy befell the Earth’s surface, forcing civilization to withdraw deep underground near the planet’s core. Scavenge the world below, mine for natural resources, take down monsters, and learn to survive as the last remnants of humanity. Discover a powerful ancient technology and harness its energy to restore mankind and return to the surface.

Return From Core is a sandbox survival RPG with elements of farming, crafting, and automation, inspired by titles like Core Keeper. Following an unknown cataclysm, humanity was forced to abandon the planet’s surface and retreat deep underground. Players take on the role of a lone explorer determined to uncover ancient secrets and reach the surface once again.

Along the journey, they will encounter mysterious and endearing monster girl companions, whose stories offer insight into the forgotten history of the world.

2P Games and Tanxun Studio released a new trailer for Return From Core, revealing new animations and what is about to come on the final Core Level of the mysterious underground world.

The V1.0 update implements the new and mysterious Core level 8, where players will find fallen megacities, derelicts from the Great Disaster that doomed mankind to the core of the planet. The Companion System is also receiving an upgrade, introducing mood-based interactions and new expressive animations for the monster girls. Additionally, a long list of quality-of-life improvements, informed by community feedback during Early Access—such as a new batch crafting system—will be implemented.

Full Steam Workshop support will be available, allowing players to download and install mods that alter gameplay and character appearances. Additionally, players will discover redesigned Pickaxe Base upgrades, offering powerful new effects that significantly enhance the combat experience.

Key Features:

• Dig deeper through the inner core with a trusty pickaxe in one hand and a lantern in the other. Detonate explosives to carve a new path or to defend against tunneling terrors, including slithering sandworms, white wolf spiders, and robotic rodents.
• Make yourself at home as you explore the underground world. A perfect camp can protect you from lurking creatures and provide a safe place to spend the night. Try spicing up your camp by crafting all kinds of furniture. An adventure should not be dull.
• Food is essential, even in this underground world. You can grow various kinds of vegetables, hunt different underground creatures, and experiment with different recipes to create a variety of foods. Tap into your creativity and culinary skills to come up with perfect combinations that will keep you well-fed.
• Embark on your mining journey armed with just a single pickaxe in your hand. Traverse the depths of the earth and gather resources while exploring. However, why stop there? Utilize the lost technologies you discover to construct your own automated mining and production system. Sit back, relax, and let the machines do the heavy lifting for you.
• Cultivate friendships with adorable monster girl companions, humanoid hybrids with powerful abilities and supernatural traits. Gain their favor by learning their distinct personalities and make use of their skills on the quest to the surface. Lilith acts as guide providing useful hints and tips, Cartier is an enigmatic wolf girl with a temper, and Mona is wary of humans with the innate ability of self-healing. Activate their gifts in the form of buffs to help in combat and other endeavors.

Currently available through Steam Early Access, Return From Core is coming to PC (Steam) on July 18, 2025 at $16.99/£14.29/€16.49, with a launch discount of 30%..