Once Upon a Shell

Roguelike racing where a tortoise slides downhill to outrun hares

Razzledazzle Studio · Published by DADIU · Released Dec 26, 2025

Reviews: Mostly Positive; 79% of 104
Recent reviews: Not enough recent
Players: 0; daily peak, Oct 28, 2026
Steam Deck: Verified
Last update on Steam: 10 months ago; Dec 3, 2025
Minimum PC: Yes; 8 GB RAM · 0.5 GB disk; Full requirements

What is Once Upon a Shell?

This free-to-play, single-player racer uses a third-person view in a storybook world that continues The Tortoise and the Hare. You drift through grasslands and unlock movement upgrades between races that change how you gain speed. Winning the Hare Cup requires clearing all four divisions in one run.

For you if...

+you enjoy combining movement upgrades to build more speed
+you like retrying difficult races to improve your technique

Not for you if...

−you want to race against other players

What players say

79% of 104 reviews are positive

Players praise the watercolor art and the payoff from mastering shell movement. A recurring criticism is that the controls are hard to get used to.

Screenshots and trailer

Once Upon a Shell system requirements

Minimum: Yes, 8 GB RAM, 0.5 GB of disk space.

As published by the developer.

Can my PC run Once Upon a Shell?

The published requirements do not name a graphics card we can compare.

Set up my PC →

Minimum

OS: Any
Processor: Something from this century
Graphics: Yes
Memory: 8 GB RAM
Storage: 512 MB available space

Does Once Upon a Shell have co-op or multiplayer?

No: single-player only, no multiplayer modes declared.

Single-player

Does Once Upon a Shell run on Steam Deck?

Verified Yes, Verified by Valve: it works on Steam Deck out of the box.

All functionality is accessible with the default controller configuration
Shows Steam Deck controller icons
In-game text is legible on Steam Deck
Default graphics settings perform well on Steam Deck

PC version details

DRM: None declared on Steam
Controller: Full controller support
Platforms: Windows, macOS
Achievements: 10
Steam features: Cloud saves, Family Sharing
Languages: Text only: English.

Does Once Upon a Shell use AI-generated content?

No AI-generated content is disclosed on the game's Steam page.

Self-reported by the developer under Steam rules: it covers AI content that ships in the game, not tools used to make it. Steam page checked on Oct 27, 2026. How to filter AI games on Steam