Life Below Custom Mode Update Lets You Set the Rules of Your Reef

Your reef, your rules. Megapop Games has released The Custom Mode Update for Life Below, and it hands players control over the biomes, hazards, starting unlocks and wildlife limits that shape every run.

Life Below is the Oslo studio’s reef-building city builder, published by Kasedo Games. It launched on PC via Steam on May 26, 2026, and this update builds on the Peaceful Mode campaign that arrived in August.

Custom Mode Lets You Pick Biomes and Switch Off Hazards

Peaceful Mode was about slowing things down. Custom Mode goes further and lets you set the rules yourself. Here’s what you can now tweak before a run:

You can choose exactly which biome types can appear in your reef. You can adjust how often hazards show up and how severe they are, or turn off specific ones entirely, including oil spills and lionfish infestations. You can choose which structures and growths are already unlocked at the start. And you can disable overcrowding, giving you more freedom over how many creatures move into your zones.

That last one is going to be popular. Overcrowding is one of those systems that keeps the challenge honest, but it also stops you from building the packed, colourful reef you see in the trailers. Now that’s your call.

Patch 1.8.2 Adds Prioritisation and a Continue Button

The update takes Life Below from version 1.5.3 to 1.8.2 according to the Steam patch notes, and Custom Mode isn’t the only thing in it. A Continue button on the main menu now loads your last save. Crafting and growth can both be prioritised. You can move through the growth tree with WASD, and octopus inking has been added as a research option.

There are smaller touches too. A new notification flags sea urchins that are still hanging around a zone after an event ends. The migration panel now tells you when a wildlife ability requires growth you haven’t unlocked yet. And the accessibility settings get extra visual examples, so it’s easier to see what each option changes.

Steam Deck Readability Gets a Big Pass

If you play on Steam Deck, this patch is worth a look. Megapop has made the Guide Book, Top Bar, Collection Book, Main Menu and Save Menu more readable on the handheld. Gamepad players also get fixes for d-pad navigation in floating panels, better controller detection through Steam Input, and the mouse no longer highlights UI while you’re in gamepad mode.

The fix list is long. Coral husks and human remnants should no longer spawn in the same spot, display resolutions now sort properly, HUD shortcuts work while an info panel is open, and crabs now take longer to clean up trash. In challenge mode, hazards can no longer roll at the lowest severity, which keeps that mode properly tough.

Life Below Had a Busy Few Months Before the Update

Custom Mode caps a busy stretch for Megapop. Life Below was shown at both Gamescom and Tokyo Game Show 2026, and the studio was one of three finalists for the Changemaker Award at the Playing for the Planet Awards 2026 in London, alongside CD PROJEKT RED and Massive Entertainment.

My take? This is the update Life Below needed. City builders live or die on replay value, and letting players decide how hard the ocean hits back makes it far easier to recommend to both cozy builders and sweaty optimisers.

Life Below is out now on PC via Steam at $29.99, €28.99 or £24.99, and The Custom Mode Update is live for all players. Stay tuned to ShaneTheGamer for more city builder news.

Source: press release from Megapop Games. Images courtesy of Megapop Games.