The Experiment is the default playable character in Casualties: Unknown, and the only one available in the demo. In the lore, they are SAW-01: the first successful Sawian, the template for twelve more species, and the Corporation's favorite disposable employee.
Identity
The Corporation’s biometric report describes SAW-01 as “the final prototype of our first giant breakthrough in bioengineering. A refined DNA-spliced combination of one of our testing rats and an employee along with their pet.” The result is a small, canine creature with human-like intelligence, fox-like features and rat-derived genetics.
Experiments are usually called “Expies” by the community. In-game, they are always referred to as they/them. The lore notes explicitly state that Sawians do not experience gender in the same way humans do, and should not have gender projected onto them.
Biology
- Black fur with an orange-tipped tail and orange, bioluminescent eyes with black pupils.
- 130-160 cm tall, with digitigrade legs and pink paw pads on four-digit hands.
- Three soft cartilaginous horns: two on top of the head, one below.
- Yellow blood of unknown composition; the lore notes only that it is probably not metallic.
- High muscle and bone density, which makes swimming difficult.
- They can sweat, unlike most furred mammals, possibly due to human DNA.
The reports disagree on how durable Experiments are. One calls them “resilient to various forms of physical trauma”, another calls them “small and relatively frail.” In gameplay, they heal muscle and skin damage without scarring and recover from broken bones quickly - an ability the Corporation considers useful and the player considers a lifeline.
Mentality
Experiments are highly emotional, sensitive and intelligent. They form complex social relationships, learn human languages and can develop self-destructive coping strategies under prolonged stress. The lore describes them as easily frightened, conflict-avoidant and prone to screaming at small spiders.
That is not comic relief. It is the same emotional system that drives the mood mechanic. Low mood slows movement, causes item use to fail and can trigger self-harm events. The game is unusually literal about the link between mental state and survival.
The brain chip
Almost every Experiment sent to the Gray Planet has a chip implanted in their skull. It provides the health panel: exact blood volume, consciousness, temperature, infection and the rest of the body’s telemetry. It also monitors the descent. If a chipped Experiment takes too long to traverse a layer, the chip emits lethal radiation to “motivate” them downward.
The chip can be detonated remotely, and it explodes if the Experiment gives up on the mission. In the Unchipped run setting, the health panel is hidden and vision is limited to line of sight. The chip is not just a UI explanation; it is a control mechanism.
Origin and project
In the far future, a megacorporation made a breakthrough in bioengineering and created SAW-01. They cloned the prototype dozens of times and subjected the clones to destructive testing. When board members realized the research was illegal, the project was almost terminated. A doctor saved it by proposing the Sawians as “an ample supply of human-like test subjects” for an experimental nanomedicine called Braingrow.
SAW-01 was cloned in unknown numbers, possibly hundreds of thousands, and spliced further with animal and alien DNA. That produced SAW-02 through SAW-13. During the events of the game, a portion of the population is sent to the Gray Planet to retrieve the lost cargo. The player is one of them.
Game vs. lore
There are a few deliberate gaps between the playable character and the lore. Experiments are said to be poor swimmers, but their in-game height and weight correspond to a normal human BMI. They can jump to Olympic heights, a feat the lore never mentions. They glow faintly, which may be a gameplay concession rather than a biological fact.
The game’s right arm also renders in front of the torso regardless of facing direction, simply because the sprite is mirrored. These are presentation details, not lore clues. Treat gameplay capabilities and lore descriptions as separate sources.
Experiments as traders
Not every Experiment is hostile. Many have set up in life-pods and will trade with a passing survivor if your reputation is high enough. They stock random items, react to your appearance and can become hostile below 30 reputation. The trader guide covers the reputation math.
The existence of peaceful Experiments is one of the quiet horrors of the setting: the same corporation that created them for disposable labor also left them to run shops in the caves. They are people, not spawn points.