Mycopunk<\/em> stars four eccentric robots who\u2019ve been hired by an intergalactic megacorporation to exterminate an invasive, violent fungus that\u2019s taken root on a valuable planet. Each robot has a specific class and moveset, but players can use any weapon or loadout with any character \u2014 and that\u2019s a huge benefit, because there are a ton of wacky guns, upgrades and ammo options in this game. For example, there are bouncing shotgun pellets, bullets that hover in place and then dive down when you press the trigger again, and a rocket launcher move that also makes you fly. Customization is a big part of the Mycopunk<\/em> experience, and there are about 40 upgrades for every weapon, plus unique skill enhancements for each robot. A spatial upgrade system lets you activate abilities by placing their molecular strands on a honeycomb grid, combining effects in powerful and silly ways.<\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n The main loop in Mycopunk<\/em> involves gathering your team, setting mission modifiers, and then dropping onto a planet to kill hordes of massive, tentacled fungus monsters. With each run, you have to accomplish your corporate-directed goal, collect resources for future upgrades and generally survive the onslaught. Missions are fast-paced and the action shifts throughout, dropping new enemies, minibosses and environmental dangers until your final escape.<\/p>\n The hub world, where you hang out between missions, is surprisingly vast and packed with surreal touches, like a giant TV screen that only shows a sitcom about roaches. All abilities are unlocked in the hub so you can freely test out your character, plus there are vehicles to drive around, a sparring area, a recreation sphere, snack machines, and secret passageways to explore. It also has Roachard, your mission control contact who happens to be a big roach.<\/p>\n Visually, Pigeons at Play took inspiration from your coolest friend\u2019s favorite comic book artist, Moebius<\/a>, which lends the game a gritty, hand-drawn vibe. Mycopunk<\/em> looks like a living graphic novel, blending retrofuturism with slick mechanics to create a rich, tactile experience. It specifically reminds me of Rollerdrome<\/em>, a gorgeous game<\/a> that I will never stop talking about<\/a>.<\/p>\n Mycopunk<\/em> started out as a senior thesis project for the Pigeons at Play crew, but it\u2019s transformed into something much larger (kind of like a well-fed fungus). Mycopunk<\/em> is charming and surprisingly deep, with dozens of cute touches that come straight from the developers\u2019 history of playing co-op shooters together. For instance, to revive a teammate you have to literally find and reconnect two halves of their broken robot body, instead of just pressing X over their corpse in the middle of a hectic battlefield. Each character also has their own dance moves, and one of the available upgrades lets you move a swarm of bullets through the air like a murderous orchestra conductor.<\/p>\n A demo for Mycopunk<\/em> went live on Steam today<\/a> and the game is set to enter early access later in 2025.<\/p>\n