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When I think about genres that need to slow down, the shooter genre comes to mind. It’s like opening your pantry on payday and noticing it’s packed with the same product. Well, most of the time. Occasionally, a few shooters launch that are just so unique that you can’t help but say, “Give me more.” And that’s what happened with Mycopunk. As someone who’s been looking for another engaging co-op game after spending hundreds of hours in Helldivers 2, Mycopunk might be the next big hit in the co-op shooter market.
The Suicide Robotic Squad
Mycopunk puts you in the mechanical shoes of mercenaries working for a company bent on eliminating fungal threats on a planet while making a bit of cash. Assuming they all make it out alive, though. In the build I played, I was able to try four highly unique characters—the Wrangler, our robotic cowboy capable of lassoing enemies; the Bruiser, the company’s tank; Scrapper, the cutest of the bunch; and Glider, our flying healer. You might think I’m just throwing descriptions for fun, but that’s not the case. That’s what they do in-game.
See, these characters in Mycopunk have their unique skills; a bit like a hero shooter, but where the skills work for traversal and provide a bit of support to other teammates. For instance, Glider can soar through the map by, you guessed it, gliding for a while. However, she can also launch rockets that damage enemies or heal allies. Scrappers can use a jetpack to reach high places and also assemble a pole everyone can use to grapple to.
In every mission, your team lands on a planet infested by fungal aliens and tentacle robots. I still need to figure out how to categorize them. Regardless, these are some of the most unique enemies I’ve seen in a co-op shooter. Even better than some liberty-impeding bugs. Some of these enemies will come at you with strange body parts. Some stab you, others shoot lasers, a few send out rocket barrages, and some can even shield other foes. The gimmick here is that whenever you beat an enemy, another one can grab the body parts they left behind and use them to attack you. So, you might see a small foe with a cannon 10 times their size, which is as hilarious as it is scary.
In terms of missions, there were only two during this build. One tasked me and my team with eliminating fungal growth around the planet and then beating a final boss. The other one had us clear gunk from towers, then call a railgun and explode a ship. These two quests were enough to lure me into this fungal-infested expedition. While the objectives are relatively simple, the moment-to-moment gameplay is chaotic. Enemies spawn from all sides, and you need to either face them all or run away to complete the quest. Either way, it’s pure, fast-paced chaos, and I loved it.
Also, teams have a set of respawns throughout the match. If you use them all, the mission’s over. However, you can help your teammates respawn in the most comical yet logical way. Once you or someone else in your crew dies, another person can find your body parts, mainly the torso and legs. Since all characters are robots, all you must do is piece them together to help your friend get back into the fight. It’s a small detail, but one that adds to the chaos and originality of this world.
A Shooter That Encourages Experimentation
With the lore and character details out of the way, let’s dive into the actual shooting part. Mycopunk is highly customizable in the way that all characters can use and upgrade the same weapons. The gunplay is fantastic and smooth, and features many original guns. One of my favorites was the Swarm Launcher. This gun tracks enemies and launches bullets that fall on enemies. However, Mycopunk solves one issue I have with many co-op shooters: weapon staleness.
In many co-op games, you get a gun, and everyone has the same thing. There might be a few attachments, but nothing really changes. Here, the upgrade system works a bit differently. You can unlock a few upgrades after surviving your missions and hopefully getting loot. These upgrades come in DNA chains, which you can add to your weapon’s or character’s screen. Some of these upgrades are specific to characters, and some to the weapon. For instance, I picked a shotgun that fired ricocheting bullets as my primary weapon. After a few rounds with it, I got an upgrade that let me ricochet bullets more times. Another lets my Swarm Launcher track more enemies at the cost of bullets moving slowly.
When it comes to fighting, Mycopunk encourages players to use every weapon at their disposal. While there are ammo drops and other things you can grab from enemies, you get more bullets by swapping weapons. I loved this as I wasn’t stuck with one gun throughout the mission. I blasted a few enemies with my shotgun and then swapped to swarm them with bullets. It’s an excellent way to encourage players to use the whole arsenal.
Yet, these upgrades aren’t easy to get, and you’ll be grinding a lot of missions to get them all. Still, the payoff is fantastic. I never expected a co-op shooter to have such excellent build options. Even if this was an early build, I was able to craft a few fun builds that rained down mayhem on the pure aliens inhabiting the planet.
Speaking of the planet, the art style of Mycopunk is one of the best and most unique. It has a cel-shading of sorts mixed with bright colors, which is refreshing as it moves away from the gloomy settings we’ve seen lately. Not that there’s something bad with that, but it’s always great to have variety. On top of that, you have a space station that serves as a hub full of fun side things to do and everyone’s favorite roach boss, Roachard. The hub is so well-designed that there’s a way for you to race your teammates on karts around the station.
Unique, Engaging, and Gorgeous
Lately, I’ve felt the game industry has made a lot of games that feel like a chore. Sometimes, you only log in to your favorite title to do dailies, seasonal quests, or something else. However, there are still developers like Pigeons at Play who know that games are meant to provide us with hours of uncompromised fun, which is what Mycopunk is.
Without noticing, I was firing up the game daily to do a few missions, grab new upgrades, and terrorize my teammates around the space station. I didn’t have to worry about FOMO, dailies, season passes, or anything else. It was all about fast-paced shooting with a side of fungal chaos that reminded me games are meant to be fun and not drain your mental bandwidth. In short, Mycopunk has become my most anticipated co-op shooter of the year.
