Mycopunk is a new co-op shooter that invites you to break it wide open

Mycopunk, a former student project that’s since gained the backing of Devolver, is something completely fresh. While wearing its inspirations on its sleeve, this bombastic co-op shooter merges systems in unique ways and pushes the envelope further than you’d expect. It’s already got me intrigued, and it could very well be your friend group’s next addiction.

Beginning its journey as a senior capstone project at the NYU Game Center, Mycopunk has since evolved into a seemingly unstoppable, ever-evolving monster. Seven budding game designers have banded together on an ambitious project that’s already showing promise.

I’ve played a few hours of Mycopunk. It’s the real deal. Sharp FPS mechanics lend to chaotic multiplayer encounters with unique enemy features, all complemented by richly detailed customization that lets you play how you desire. It’s a bold undertaking, but one that’s quickly coming together.

Is it perfect? Of course not. Is any game? I certainly have my pain points early on. But that said, from its delightful presentation to the often laugh-out-loud funny character work, Mycopunk has embedded its hooks from the outset, and I have a suspicion that thousands of fellow FPS fans are going to feel the same.

What is Mycopunk? Devolver’s new co-op FPS explained

So, what actually is Mycopunk, you ask? Let me explain. At its core, the game is a mission-based co-op FPS. You drop into sprawling environments and complete a series of objectives while fending off all sorts of wild and wacky enemy types.

Four players can rally together on a shared spaceship, choosing from a range of distinct character types, picking the best equipment for the next job, and fine-tuning every little function to their liking.

While it all may sound fairly straightforward, trust me, it’s anything but. Let’s start with the characters. Our preview build had four unique ‘heroes’ to pick from. All load in with their own gadgets, powers, movement quirks, and progression trees. One of them, my personal favorite, can straight up fly for a limited time, propelling themselves in whichever direction they’re facing.

Of course, their looks can all be tweaked along the way, but where things really ratchet up is in customizing their loadouts. Two weapons can be taken with you onto the battlefield, and while they start off rather ordinary, they can soon take on entirely different feature sets.

The stock standard assault rifle, for instance, is certainly powerful in its own right. But what if it had unlimited ammo? Well, that can be yours for the right price, but it comes with a tradeoff; hold the trigger down for too long and you’ll soon deal damage to your own character.

What about a shotgun that deals fire damage if you first aim at the ground or a wall and ricochet the rounds into your target? That’s there too, and that’s a starting weapon.

How the weapons, equipment, abilities, and more all intertwine is what makes Mycopunk shine. It’s an ingenious sandbox and one that knows the extraordinary height of its ceiling. Rather than shying away from insane combinations or forcing players down certain paths, the game all but asks you to do your worst and concoct the most devastating builds possible.

A hint of Destiny, a dash of Helldivers 2, and a whole lot of originality

At a glance, Mycopunk is unlike anything you’ve seen before in the FPS space, striking a gritty yet vibrant sci-fi visual style wholly its own. Yet under the surface, it certainly borrows winning formulas from successful franchises.

Destiny was marked as a key inspiration for the gunplay, and it absolutely shows. Not just in terms of the weapon rarity system, with certain weapon upgrades effectively treated as ‘Exotics’ from Bungie’s looter shooter, capable of drastically overhauling the gun’s effect. It’s evident more so in the feel of the FPS mechanics.

There’s a certain level of polish, a degree of precision, a weight to every round fired, and an inventiveness other games in the genre simply can’t match.

One particular discovery is something I’d now like to see in every FPS game moving forward, please. Think Halo’s iconic Needler, but imagine the needles were glued to your reticle, following where you track. It’s an incredibly satisfying gun and just a sliver of the ingenuity Mycopunk has on offer.

So the baseline has been established, but this former student project takes things a step further. That weapon upgrade system we referenced earlier, it’s no ordinary pick-em-style mechanic.

Each weapon has its own grid. Upgrades come in different shapes and sizes that need to be placed on said grid. The more significant the upgrade, the bigger and typically more complex the shape. The upgrade system in and of itself becomes a mini-game as you have to carefully position each power-up or weapon-changing feature. Topping it off, some advanced benefits can even be rotated to really spice things up.

It’s another brilliant innovation that shows the developers have deeply considered every layer of the experience.

This is all well and good, but it’d be meaningless if what you were actually doing was exceedingly dull. Thankfully, that’s not the case here.

Riffing off the level design of Helldivers 2, Mycopunk drops you and your squad, quite literally, into vast open areas with all sorts of objectives to complete and resources to gather. Even some resources have a unique level of interactivity too, with one first needing to be grabbed, slapped onto an enemy, then destroyed.

The way objectives are presented, and how they all play out, is quite reminiscent of Arrowhead’s hit shooter as well. Key components can be delivered by drop pods from your ship while you’re blasting foes away on a nearby planet.

When it all coalesces, such expansive areas and chaotic sequences lend to high levels of skill expression as you manipulate advanced movement techniques, maximize damage with absurd weapon combos, and trigger abilities in sync with your teammates in a state of utter carnage. It can be a real blast.

Given how chaotic it all is though, that can have its downsides too. Occasionally, especially on my lower-end rig, it became difficult to see through the clutter. I often couldn’t tell dead enemies from alive ones, and even spotting the objective was a struggle at times. But since it’s all still early in development, these are easy to forgive for now.

Plenty of fun to keep your eye on

Currently, there’s no indication as to when Mycopunk may be available. But even in its early form, it’s clearly turning heads, and the right ones too. Devolver Digital, acclaimed publisher with titles like Hotline Miami, Inscryption, and Cult of the Lamb under its umbrella, has committed to pushing this debut project out the door.

Clearly, they see the potential. With just enough polish and just the right approach to marketing at launch, there’s no reason Mycopunk couldn’t rocket up the Steam charts as one of the next big things.

There’s a ton of depth and higher difficulty tiers to keep players engaged for dozens of hours, not to mention a seamless co-op lobby system that ensures nothing gets between you and the action. Once you’re in a group with your buddies, that’s it. No matter if you’re on the spaceship social hub or down on the ground fighting, you won’t see a loading screen again, and that in itself is a massive accomplishment.

The sum of its parts is an immensely addictive FPS loop with tons of potential just waiting to captivate an audience. For my money, it’s on track to be another huge indie hit with the backing of Devolver.