A new SPORE-like game is here: The Eternal Cylinder (BETA) Overview
In The Eternal Cylinder (coming in 2021), you control a herd of creatures called Trebhums. You start off with a hatchling that can walk and absorb things with its trunk, and immediately find the danger of the Eternal Cylinder - which literally is an eternal cylinder - crushing the world. As your instinct tells you, you start running and exploring this fascinating world.
Just like the Trebhums, the player has no idea what is going on, and you start learning about the Trebhums and the world bit by bit, both with the help of the narrator and through exploration (you will come across elder Trebhums in shrines that share their wisdom). As an open-world, survivor game, you have to both navigate the world to avoid the dangers of other worldly creatures, find other Trebums to join (or hatch into) your herd, as well as discover foods that mutate your creature upon consumption. Such mutations are a necessity to navigate through certain areas (e.g. a filter trunk to breathe poisonous air), or simply to aid you in certain puzzles. The game rewards you for exploring and using a variety of mutations: consuming food only mutates one Trebhum, not the whole tribe. This allows you to have Trebhums of different mutations and abilities, so you can switch to the one that is most helpful to you in that situation.
The Beta gameplay only allows you to finish the first chapter, but this is long enough to captivate you, leaving you wanting more. It took me 3 hours just to finish the beta, and in hindsight, realised I have missed several possible mutations. The fun does not solely come from the beautiful world and creature design or story, but also from the constant thrill of being in danger - running away from menacing creatures, whom have killed some of my herd members without my noticing. The world is a very harsh place for creatures so tiny, but their size and mutation can also bring advantages!
Should you be interested in trying out the game, the beta is currently free. Simply sign-up from The Eternal Cylinder's site and you should receive a beta key within a day (at the current rate they release batches). I would also suggest you to look through my gameplay VOD to get a feeling of how utterly confusing and helpless I felt while playing (while still being entertained):