Author: seo

Every now and then you run into a game that feels like it’s absolutely brimming with energy. Such is the case with Zoomer by Root Pilot, which looks like if you smashed together a game like The Pathless with Spider-Man action. Its development is off to a roaring start, and thousands of people on Twitter have taken note.

We have cool runners and more in Cool WIP, Polygon’s weekly roundup of eye-catching clips and screenshots of works in progress. Each week, the Polygon staff scours the internet for the most interesting games still under construction to give you a sampler of the coolest up-and-coming projects.

This week we have a game that adds a gun to Spider-Man-like web slinging; a procedural skiing game with a turtle; a manga panel created in Unity; and a game with Miyazaki-esque animations.

Spider-Man finally gets a gun

Root Pilot made it to a previous Cool WIP column, but this new clip of their game Zoomer is a feast for the eyes, for any action lover. In a tweet, they posted a clip that showed off a mechanic the developer originally designed for Portal-style puzzles. However, in the video we see the main character shoot a bullet that creates a pathway the character can ride up, which combines with web slinging for incredibly smooth platforming. The game is bursting with energy, and you can check out regular updates on Root Pilot’s Twitter.

A manga created in Unity

Developer Fabio Consorti rendered a scene in Unity to make it look like a manga panel. It’s just a city street lined with business signs and lanterns, but it’s beautifully created. A clip showed the shifting shadows in reaction to a moving light source. Consorti is also working on a neon action-racing game, so if you’d like to check out more of the developer’s work, you can on Consorti’s Twitter account.

A stunningly animated scene

Drop everything and check out Bioid from developer Pagurus. This black-and-white puzzle game pairs captivating Miyazaki-esque animations with a world filled with intriguing creatures and curiosities. A clip from the developer shows the transformation for “King of Thorns,” in which a plant-like creature morphs into a monster that resembles No Face from Spirited Away. The world of Bioid looks like an absolute delight, and you can check out more information about the game on its Steam page.

Elden Ring fan art

Generally speaking, I think about drawings of my favorite characters when I use the term “fan art.” However, developer Asher Zhu brings a whole new level of dedication to the idea by creating an entire 3D animation as an ode to FromSoftware’s Elden Ring. In a clip on Zhu’s Twitter account, you can see an animation of a character using a giant flame blade, inspired by the Frenzied Flame Seal in Elden Ring. Zhu posts regularly about game development and is also making a slime game, and you can check out more of his work on Twitter.

Yeet this downhill skiing turtle into the sky

I first saw downhill skiing game Bunny Hill on TikTok. Don’t let its name deceive you — this low-poly downhill skiing game looks like pure chaos. According to developer Dogma Quest, it’s a procedurally generated downhill skiing game and allows you to play as high-flying animals. The game is out now and available on Steam.

The new, rebooted Saints Row is cranking character creation to 11. Developer Volition revealed a new look at customization of players’ Boss characters and the cars (and street-legal pirate ships) they’ll control in the upcoming game on Wednesday, and it’s… a lot. Volition takes customization to new heights with its wild and bizarre skin textures and unique cosmetics.

Whether you want to make a galactic-skinned cowboy, a vampire-toothed candy-corn-toothed, or dad-bod, the Saints Row character creator tools seem up to it. Volition showcases a variety of hair styles and colors, body shapes, age settings, and genitalia-masking emoji in the above trailer, which is absolutely stuffed with options for Griffin and Justin to futz with in Monster Factory.

That same level of deep customization also extends to vehicles and weapons, so if you want your Boss to have foam finger guns or an El Mariachi-style guitar-case rocket launcher, go for it. Cars, helicopters, jets, golf carts, and everything else you can drive will get the same customizable flair at the body shop known as Jim Rob’s. Your Saints HQ is also upgradeable and customizable.

Check out the breadth and depth of character customization in Volition’s Saints Row trailer above, lest you suffer choice paralysis when the game hits PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, and Windows PC via the Epic Games Store on Aug. 23.

Meta announced Wednesday a Ghostbusters cooperative game that was published by Sony Pictures Virtual Reality. It is being developed by nDreams. The game was announced alongside a brief trailer that shows an original cast of characters exploring an abandoned factory with their ghost-hunting gear. Predictably, there’s a ghoulie about, and they need to stop it from wreaking havoc with their gadgets and proton packs. The trailer allows for some banter, as is fitting for the source material.

This is the second Ghostbusters co-op title to be announced recently; in March, we learned about Ghostbusters: Spirits Unleashed, a more traditional co-op game for PCs and consoles. There’s a lot of promise in a VR version of Ghostbusters, and similar games like indie horror title Phasmophobia have been very successful.

While players can play the game solo if they wish, it is possible to also play the game with three or more friends. It seems that the game was designed to be played in a group and to learn some strategies. Ghostbusters VR does not yet have a release window.

There’s a moment in any good action-RPG where things start to click. It’s when numbers, percentages and colored loot all come together to form a strategy. It is clear what you are expected to do and how you can fulfill those expectations. In Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands, I arrived at that moment when I realized I could role-play as John Wick.

Gearbox Software has just released their newest game. It combines Borderlands’ “guns meet Diablo” strategy with the flexibility and storytelling of a tabletop role playing game. It is an explosion of narrative right turns and explosions. There are also plenty of systemic nods to classic TTRPGs, two of which — dual classing and melee weapons — upended my longstanding Borderlands habits.

As is the case with most action-RPGs, you begin Wonderlands by selecting a character class. The Spellshot is a spellcaster who focuses on magic curses and guns, and can end a firefight within seconds. The Graveborn, along with their demi-lich friend, sacrifice their health in order to use powerful dark magic attacks. Then there’s the Spore Warden, a long-range hunter class who can summon icy tornadoes while their bipedal mushroom friend poisons foes up close.

Grid View

Although I never planned it this way, I’ve built almost identical characters in every previous Borderlands game. I preferred long-range summoners who could keep their distance while calling friends in to help. These abilities were in perfect sync with my ability to maneuver firefights: I was able to summon a rocket-firing Turret to cover one side and hop between the points of cover on each other.

I assumed Wonderlands‘ firefights would unfold just like those in its numbered predecessors, so I chose the Spore Warden for my first foray. I could keep my distance as usual, with a host of elemental attacks to tie up my enemies while I picked them off with sniper rifles, assault rifles, and rocket launchers.

The thing is that Wonderlands doesn’t feel like any Borderlands game. Its early chapters are awash in melee-minded opponents, whose ranged companions hop between cover too frequently to be effectively flanked. My underpowered mushroom ally was unable to help me as I was constantly surrounded and overwhelmed by squads. What’s more, by Level 12, I hadn’t spent any of my skill points on melee upgrades. I went into Borderlands’ signature “Fight For Your Life” mode in almost every encounter.

Clearly, my old habits weren’t working!

Image: Gearbox Software/2K Games via Polygon

I restarted and respec’d. This time, I ran counter to my old preferences: I chose the Stabbomancer, a rogue whose focus on melee attacks and critical-hit chance reminded me of Brick, Krieg, and Zer0 — characters whose close-quarters play styles had pushed me away in the past games. Regardless, playing the Stabbomancer would be my attempt to meet Wonderlands halfway.

It was a total blast. I still am. The Stabbomancer’s ability to vanish into thin air before shooting enemies up-close does wonders for my survivability, and their bevy of critical-hit upgrades can make them into a one-shot machine. They’re also a perfect conduit for Wonderlands‘ renewed emphasis on melee combat. Wonderlands adds a melee weapon slot to replace the generic pistol-whip animations used in Borderlands. It means that I have the ability to equip myself with 4 guns and a mace or longsword or a khopesh. It’s the same excitement I get when I discover a Legendary shotgun, as it is whenever I am able to summon a poison-spewing Hydra and restore my health with every hit.

By the time I got to choose my secondary class, I knew exactly what I wanted: The Clawbringer. They added magic to my close-quarters weapons; they gave me lightning with every swing of the sword. Their wyvern companion was able to harass my enemies while I went in for the kill.

By Level 20, I was sprinting around firefights with the agility of a 49-year-old Keanu Reeves, shooting and punching and maiming whatever happened to be in front of me. I still use sniper rifles, grenade launchers, or whatever weapon the occasion calls for — John Wick used a book, after all — but I largely stick to pistols and submachine guns. Their mobility and handling make it easy to aim down sights at a moment’s notice, or fire off a few hip shots when an enemy surprises me from behind. The video above is me embracing my role as a fantastical John Wick in a mid-game shootout with a squad of skeletons.

I’m always impressed when a developer can shake up a series in its supposed twilight years. Hitman 3 is my favorite in IO’s stealth/comedy trilogy because of how often it throws level-design curveballs. Metroid Dread is remarkable in how it brings back the tension and fear of one our most beloved franchises. And I consider Halo: Reach, Bungie’s farewell to the iconic series, to also be the series’ magnum opus.

Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands may not completely reinvent the Borderlands wheel. It does, however, reinvigorate some aspects of the combat. It alters the foundational rhythm of the action-RPG franchise so well that I questioned — and ultimately eschewed — my 13-year-old habits. Now, I think I am the Baba Yag.

Overwatch 2 is making some big changes to the team shooter, including reducing team sizes from six to five. With this new composition, tanks are more important than ever; each team will have two support heroes and two damage heroes, and tanks are tasked with protecting them all.

There are two major hero reworks coming to bolster the tank class, Blizzard says: One is the centaur omnic Orisa, who has an almost entirely new kit, and the other is damage-dealer Doomfist, who has been shifted into the tank class. These changes were detailed by Blizzard on Wednesday.

Doomfist is an infamously irritating damage-dealer, and he’ll keep a couple of tools from his old Overwatch kit. He will now have more health (increased from 250 to 450), and while he’s lost his Uppercut, he’s gained an ability called Power Block to protect himself from frontal attacks. Seismic Slam and Rocket Punch do more damage but still give Doomfist to the center of his enemy team.

Image: Blizzard Entertainment

Doomfist’s ability to lock down opponents makes him difficult to balance as a damage class, Blizzard explained.

” We were at a fork. Geoff Goodman (Overwatch’s lead hero designer) said that he needed a slight rework, possibly even a major rework, as a DPS in order to function properly without giving you crowd control and killing you. “He’s very threatening and he causes you to be in positions you don’t want to be in, especially on maps where there’s a heavily fortified defensive position like a ledge. He’s really good about breaking up those fortifications.”

Orisa, on the other hand, is losing almost all of her old kit. She no longer has Halt!, Supercharger, or Protective Barrier. Instead, she has Energy Javelin, which forces her enemies back — and they take extra damage if they hit a wall. New ability Javelin Spin propels Orisa forward, destroying projectiles in front of her, and knocking back enemies in her path. Terra Surge is her new ultimate. Orisa can channel it to drive enemies toward her. Terra Surge lasts for three days and Orisa becomes immune to crowd control.

“Overwatch could have this tendency to get really bogged down with these defensive abilities,” says Goodman. “Playing against a double-barrier combo of Orisa and [Reinhardt] and you’re like, ‘I never even get to shoot at players anymore. I’m just shooting all these barriers.'”

Image: Blizzard Entertainment

Orisa’s centaur form and her defensive kit also led to a mishmash; her new form is an “engaging, brawly tank,” according to senior hero designer Brandon Brennan.

“The kit she had before could have worked in 5v5,” Brennan said in the same interview, citing Sigma as an example. “But the way she looks and the way she played, they didn’t really match. We wanted to try to resolve that, so that if you saw Orisa and what she was doing, things just made more sense. The brawly engagement style works well for someone who is, as her community refers to it, “the centaur horse lady “.

The Overwatch 2 team tried many takes on a new Orisa, developers said, including a new model in a bipedal form, but ultimately they chose to stay true to her horsey roots. She’s now an aggressive tank who will dig into the backlines to eliminate the enemies squishies, making her one of the best passive tanks in the game.

Overwatch 2‘s beta is set to go live on April 26, and it will include these two new reworks. The beta also includes new hero Sojourn and a host of other balance changes and quality-of-life additions.