Co-op games are having a banner year so far in 2025. Games like PEAK and Split Fiction have been topping the charts on Steam all year, and don’t show any signs of slowing down. Mycopunk is another co-op focused game dropping in Early Access, and the current build shows a really fun experience for friends, and a promising start for solo players as well.
Mission Accomplished
The major place Mycopunk diverges is the structure of missions. In Risk of Rain 2, the mission is the same: get to the teleporter and defeat the boss.
Mycopunk, on the other hand, demands something a little different out of your squad every time. Sometimes you’re just defeating swarms, sure. Other times, you need to connect satellites to a power node, prepare a railgun to take out a rival spy, or clear an infection off a planet’s surface.
These missions help keep every adventure out into the wilderness feel different. If the missions don’t make things feel different enough, though, your own equipment you deploy with will.
Employee of the Month
These movement abilities are all really varied, and while some feel clunky, there are more good than bad. I felt like the Scrapper’s Jetpack and Wrangler’s Rocket Lasso just didn’t click for me, but the highlights were the Glider’s Wingsuit and Scrapper’s Grapple Pole, which felt excellent to use.
One of the lacking features in the movement was momentum. While I could really get going with the Grapple Pole and Wingsuit, it felt like the moment I hit the ground, I was back to square one.
I have much fewer complaints, however, about the gunplay. Every weapon I tried felt pretty satisfying to use and offered unique ways to play with each character.
In particular, I love how ammo works. You will likely run out of ammo at some point, and when you do, to get it back, you must use your secondary weapon. It’s a perfect way to make sure you aren’t using any weapon in particular as a crutch.
One of the hardest tests Mycopunk is facing, and will continue to face in Early Access, is the balance between solo and co-op. I played entirely solo during my time, and it felt like the game was a little more skewed towards a team.
Instead of a teammate to revive, solo players get a set of 5 automatic revives. This makes fighting feel fair, but the missions feel pretty skewed towards co-op players. In addition, even with revives, the enemies will far outnumber you, and it can be hard to know which enemies to focus on and when. As a solo player, you might feel overwhelmed and frustrated more than having fun.
Mycopunk | Final Thoughts
Despite that, if you’re looking for a new co-op shooter, you won’t be disappointed by Mycopunk. Tight gunplay, fun movement, and varied missions will keep you exploring the corporate wasteland for a long time. Just make sure to bring a coworker or two for the best results.
Mycopunk was previewed on PC using a copy provided by the publisher over the course of 2 hours of gameplay – all screenshots were taken during the process of preview.
