There are plenty of games about saving the world, but far fewer that ask you to do it as a disposable robot with questionable employment prospects, a suspiciously powerful arsenal and a corporation that may have made a mess of your tax records. Mycopunk, developed by Pigeons at Play and published by Devolver Digital, takes the familiar foundations of a cooperative looter shooter and smothers them in fungal horror, ridiculous weaponry and a gloriously irreverent sense of humour. You play as part of the New Atlas Hazard Crew, a ragtag collection of robot rejects recruited by SAXON to tackle a planet-wide fungal catastrophe. The job sounds straightforward enough: drop onto an infested world, exterminate anything that moves, collect whatever useful equipment you can find and try not to end up on the scrap heap. Naturally, things are rather more complicated than that.
What makes Mycopunk immediately appealing is its willingness to embrace the ridiculous. This is a game where advanced science-fiction weaponry shares the spotlight with power tools, where your carefully constructed combat machine can become either a masterpiece of engineering or a mechanical disaster, and where an insectoid veteran named Roachard Cox provides company back aboard your orbital dropship. Beneath all that silliness, however, sits a substantial gameplay proposition built around four-player co-op, mission-based combat and an upgrade system that encourages experimentation. Mycopunk understands that a good looter shooter needs more than a mountain of enemies and a constant stream of equipment. It needs to make players excited about what they might build next, and there is considerable promise in the way this particular game approaches that challenge.
A Fungal Apocalypse with Personality
The setting gives Mycopunk a suitably unpleasant playground. A planet-wide fungal infestation has corrupted the environment, producing hostile creatures and turning the planet’s technology against the very people sent to investigate it. This is not the sort of alien world where you can stroll through the scenery admiring the view without keeping one eye on the horizon. The fungal menace provides a constant excuse for chaotic encounters, while the idea that enemies can weaponise corrupted technology adds an extra layer of danger to the extermination work.
Visually, the combination of colourful science-fiction machinery and organic fungal corruption gives the game a distinctive identity. There is an appealing contrast between the industrial nature of the robot crew and the strange biological threat they are fighting. The robots themselves are not presented as noble heroes destined to save civilisation, but as expendable workers trying to turn a terrible assignment into something resembling profitable glory. That scrappy attitude gives the setting a welcome sense of character, making the whole operation feel like a particularly disastrous corporate outsourcing decision.
SAXON is especially useful to the premise because it gives the story room to poke fun at corporate indifference. The crew is expected to deal with a potentially catastrophic infestation while worrying about their own survival and whether their employer has been entirely honest with them. The suggestion that a tax misfiling might be their own fault is exactly the sort of daft humour that helps establish the game’s personality. Rather than taking itself too seriously, Mycopunk seems happy to let its universe be as ridiculous as its weaponry.
The danger with a comedy-driven setting is that the jokes can become tiresome if there is nothing substantial underneath them. Fortunately, the central gameplay concept provides a solid foundation, with dangerous missions, increasingly elaborate equipment, and an infestation that offers plenty of excuses for spectacular combat. The humour works best when it complements the action rather than interrupting it. Based on the game’s premise and design, Mycopunk has the potential to strike that balance by making the world entertaining without forgetting that players have come here to blow enormous holes in unpleasant things.
Four Robots Are Better Than One
At the centre of Mycopunk is four-player cooperative PvE combat. Players head into hostile areas, face waves of fungal enemies, collect equipment and work towards completing their missions before returning to the relative safety of the orbital dropship. It is a familiar structure for anyone who has spent time with cooperative shooters, but familiarity is not necessarily a bad thing. A well-executed mission loop can be tremendously satisfying, especially when each successful expedition offers something new to experiment with.
Cooperation is important because the battlefield is not simply a collection of stationary targets waiting to be removed. Enemies can mutate, and the fungal infestation can turn technology against the crew, creating situations that demand more than standing in one place and holding down the trigger. Players need to keep an eye on the immediate threat while considering how their equipment and upgrades might help them deal with whatever comes next. When four people are working together, those encounters can become lively affairs in which positioning, firepower and the ability to react quickly all matter.
The range of possible equipment builds also gives players an opportunity to approach combat differently. One player might focus on dealing enormous damage, while another could invest in healing support or defensive capabilities. That sort of flexibility is valuable in a cooperative game because it allows friends to develop complementary approaches instead of everyone chasing exactly the same equipment. It also gives players a reason to talk about their builds, share discoveries and adjust their strategies when a particular combination proves less effective than expected.
Of course, chaotic cooperative combat can become messy when too much is happening at once. A screen filled with enemies, projectiles, effects and explosions can be exciting, but it can also make it difficult to understand exactly what is happening. The challenge for Mycopunk is to ensure that its spectacular encounters remain readable enough for players to make meaningful decisions. If the action becomes overwhelming without offering sufficient opportunities to respond, even the most inventive weapon builds may struggle to keep the experience enjoyable over longer sessions.
The Joy of Building Something Ridiculous
The upgrade system is arguably Mycopunk’s biggest selling point. Instead of simply collecting a slightly more powerful gun every few missions, players can use a grid-based system to slot modifications into their equipment and develop increasingly elaborate combinations. Hundreds of handcrafted upgrades provide ample room for experimentation, encouraging players to consider how individual components might work together. It is the sort of system that can transform a routine reward into an invitation to try something completely different.
The grid itself is an important part of the appeal because customisation becomes a matter of fitting pieces together rather than merely selecting the item with the highest damage number. Players must consider what they can fit into their available space, which modifications to prioritise, and whether a particular combination offers enough benefits to justify its cost in capacity. This adds an extra layer of decision-making that can make equipment feel personal. A weapon is no longer just a weapon; it becomes the product of a series of choices, compromises and experiments.
The possibilities sound wonderfully daft. A chainsaw fitted with a deflector shield is the sort of idea that should appeal to anyone who has ever looked at a conventional weapon and wondered how it might become even more absurd. Elsewhere, players can explore specialised builds, including healing support, elemental effects and combinations designed to turn their own character into an explosive threat. These options give the upgrade system a playful spirit without removing its practical purpose. The goal is not simply to collect everything, but to discover which combinations make you more effective and which ones are entertaining disasters.
That freedom can be one of the most rewarding aspects of a looter shooter. Finding a modification is satisfying, but discovering that it works brilliantly alongside something already in your loadout can be even better. Suddenly, a weapon that seemed ordinary becomes the centrepiece of a new build, and a previously awkward encounter becomes much easier to handle. The process encourages experimentation because the next useful combination might be only a few missions away.
There is, however, a potential downside to such an extensive system. Hundreds of modifications can create a steep learning curve, particularly for newcomers unfamiliar with build crafting or the importance of combining complementary effects. Too many options can become overwhelming if the game does not explain their benefits clearly or make it easy to compare equipment. There is also the possibility that certain combinations will prove substantially more effective than others, narrowing the practical choices despite the apparent freedom. Mycopunk’s long-term success will depend on keeping experimentation rewarding without making players feel that they need to study a spreadsheet before heading back into battle.
Loot, Shoot and Try Again
The mission structure gives the customisation system a reason to exist. Every expedition offers the chance to collect new modifications and components, gradually transforming the crew’s equipment into something more specialised and powerful. This creates a satisfying rhythm of action and preparation, with combat providing the rewards that fuel future experiments. Even when a mission becomes difficult, the prospect of returning with something useful can give players a reason to press on.
The most effective looter shooters understand that progression should feel meaningful rather than merely numerical. An increase in damage is useful, but a new modification that changes how a weapon behaves can be far more exciting. Mycopunk’s emphasis on combining upgrades should help create those moments, allowing players to reshape their approach as their collection grows. It is the difference between being handed a better gun and being given the pieces needed to invent one.
Enemy behaviour adds another interesting consideration. The suggestion that fungal creatures can grab and weaponise corrupted technology means the battlefield is not necessarily a static environment. Players must contend with the threat in front of them while remaining alert to the possibility that the infestation can turn useful machinery into another problem. This reinforces the idea that the planet is actively hostile, rather than simply providing a backdrop for waves of enemies.
Repetition remains the obvious risk. Mission-based shooters rely on players wanting to repeat their core activities long after the novelty has worn off, and no amount of equipment can entirely compensate for encounters that feel too similar. The strongest long-term experience will come from a combination of varied objectives, interesting enemy behaviour and meaningful rewards. Mycopunk has promising ingredients, particularly through its customisation and cooperative systems, but their effectiveness depends on how well the missions continue to challenge players as their arsenal becomes more powerful.
Roachard Cox and Life Between Missions
The orbital dropship offers a welcome change of pace between expeditions. Rather than treating the time between missions as a series of menus, Mycopunk provides a hub where players can prepare their loadouts, spend time with friends, explore more of the game’s universe and enjoy the company of the crew. It is a small but important part of the experience, because constant combat can become exhausting when there is no opportunity to pause and appreciate the world around them.
Roachard Cox sounds like a particularly memorable addition. An insectoid SAXON veteran is an appropriately bizarre character for a game already populated by fungal horrors and disposable robots, and his presence gives the dropship a little life. The opportunity to interact with characters between missions can also make the wider setting feel more substantial. Even a game built primarily around shooting benefits from having somewhere that feels like home, especially when that home is a spacecraft filled with questionable colleagues and questionable career prospects.
The social side of the hub is equally important in a four-player game. Friends need somewhere to regroup, compare their latest discoveries and prepare for the next deployment without being immediately thrown back into danger. Those quieter moments can become part of the appeal, giving the group time to laugh about a disastrous mission or debate whether a newly acquired modification is worth rebuilding an entire weapon around. They help create a sense of continuity between expeditions, making the experience feel like a shared campaign rather than a disconnected collection of firefights.
Final Verdict
Mycopunk has a lot going for it. Its blend of chaotic four-player combat, a colourful fungal apocalypse and an extensive grid-based upgrade system gives it a strong identity within the crowded looter-shooter genre. The ability to transform ordinary equipment into ridiculous custom weapons is particularly appealing, offering players a reason to keep experimenting long after they have become comfortable with the basic combat. Add in the irreverent corporate humour, the promise of varied builds and a dropship hub that encourages players to spend time together, and there is a compelling foundation for a cooperative shooter with real personality.
The main question is whether the mission design and enemy encounters can sustain that enthusiasm over time. A brilliant customisation system is only as good as the situations in which players get to use it, and hundreds of modifications will mean little if missions become repetitive or the most effective builds crowd out experimentation. The volume of options could also prove daunting for players who prefer a more straightforward shooter. These are genuine considerations, but they are not reasons to dismiss what Mycopunk is attempting.
What makes the game appealing is that it seems to understand the simple joy of making something absurdly powerful and then taking it into a situation that absolutely does not require such an extravagant solution. There is a special kind of satisfaction in turning a collection of components into a weapon that feels uniquely yours, especially when friends are alongside you to witness the results. Mycopunk’s humour gives that process an extra spark, ensuring that the experience is not just about optimising damage figures but about enjoying the ridiculous journey along the way.
For players who love cooperative shooters, enjoy tinkering with equipment and appreciate a game that does not take itself too seriously, Mycopunk looks like a very appealing proposition. It has the potential to deliver the familiar satisfaction of chasing better loot while adding enough creative freedom to make each player’s arsenal feel distinctive. It may need strong mission variety and careful balancing to keep its systems fresh, but its combination of personality, weapon crafting and cooperative chaos makes it an easy game to get excited about.
