Co-op PvE games have blown up Steam recently, thanks in part to games like Helldivers 2which offers frenetic third-person shooters for up to four players. Recently, Father Father West took the PC gaming world by storm with a similar game loop, showing that there's still an appetite for fun and interesting co-op PvE experiences on Steam. For gamers who can't get enough of this genre, Canyons should be on their radar, as it appears to be mixing Helldivers 2s game with Fall-outs world, wrapped in a crusader theme.
Canyons comes from developer RedRuins Softworks and publisher HypeTrain Digital. RedRuin's only other game release is the single-player sci-fi survival game Breathedgethus Canyons will be a leap into unknown territory for the developer. The game doesn't have a release date yet, but the gameplay shown Canyons so far is encouraging for players looking for the next game that Helldivers 2.
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Canyon features at a glance
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CO-OP PvE adventure set in a procedurally generated world
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CRAWLERS — Control a huge machine across the barren canyon wastelands.
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EXPEDITIONS — Gather loyal friends, load your rusty Crawler with ammo, and embark on expeditions to conquer, save, build, or destroy these cursed canyons.
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HAVEN — Set up your settlement in the canyon caves, equip it with everything survivors need, and they'll be happy to settle there.
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CAPTAIN — In addition to improving basic stats, you can master dozens of professions, each of which strengthens your character in some aspect of the game.
Canyons is a third-person action shooter set in a procedurally generated world. Fight the mysterious Awakened alone or in co-op for up to 4 players, command giant Crawlers, build your sanctuary and survive a brutal lifeworld.
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Canyons pits crusaders against heretics in a post-apocalyptic world
Canyons seems to mix the fanatical elements off Helldivers 2s lore along with its gameplay and places it in a Fall-out or Mad Max-style post-apocalyptic world. A procedurally generated level design means that expeditions into Canyons will play differently each time players board. Between killing hordes of enemies and then returning to Haven to build his settlement and improve his character's abilities, Canyon offers players a significant gameplay loop that reflects it Helldivers 2.
The world of canyons
In a world without abundant water, survival is only possible in the canyons, and players must defend their settlements from the zombie-like Awakened. The dominant force in the world of Canyons is the Order of the Double Cross, a zealous organization where its crusaders form pacts with the Awakened to gain their powers, almost like a wizard bending demonic forces to their will. Players will embark on expeditions through the canyons as the captain of a Crawler that hosts Crusaders bent on beating back the invading Awakened and looting treasure along the way.
The Haven of the Covenant serves as the player's home base and they can upgrade it with features such as workshops, living quarters, defenses and even a shipyard to upgrade their Crawler. To live in the world of Canyons can be dangerous, and having the right defenses can be the difference between surviving and losing Haven to enemies. With experience developing survival games in the past, RedRuins seems well suited to make base building mechanics for Canyons a robust part of the game.
The Gameplay of Canyons
As Helldivers 2, Canyons is a third-person shooter where groups of up to four players can brave the canyons of the wasteland. Unlike weapons of Helldivers 2, Canyons using old fashioned weapons like cannons strapped to Crawlers and rusty bits of machine guns bolted together. All kinds of weapons will be necessary to tackle the overwhelming hordes of enemies that Canyons throws at players.
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There is a lot of depth to the combat Canyonswith a gameplay trailer showing the player using a cannon mounted on their Crawler to destroy part of the environment and cut down a horde of enemies in a tunnel. Players will also be able to customize their character with different types of personal skills and master different professions to give them a better chance of survival when out on an expedition. Blood Pacts made with Awakened can also affect a character's build, rewarding Canyons a nice breadth of RPG-like mechanics for players to dig into.
How Canyons compares to games like Helldivers 2 and Fallout
While Canyons stands on its own as a unique entry in the third-person shooter co-op PvE genre, it's clear to see where the game takes its inspiration from. Helldivers 2 is an obvious choice, given that it is arguably the most popular entry in the genre in recent years. But aside from the split game loop, Canyons' fire-soul-like crusaders and their devotion to life itself resembles the fanaticism with which the Helldivers defend Super-Earth and spread managed democracy throughout the galaxy.
A post-apocalyptic game that Canyons will of course also make comparisons with Fall-out series as well. While the game might be more suited to Helldivers 2there is a shared aesthetic between Fall-out and Canyons. The types of crude, homemade weapons assembled from scraps of old-fashioned technology feel a lot like Fallout's weapons, and the roaming hordes of zombie-like enemies mirror the threat of ghouls in Fall-out universe. Even if Canyons lacks the same mid-century, atomic-age design that Fall-out leans towards, the two games' wastelands are clear bedfellows, making it a game that should appeal to both Fall-out and Helldivers 2 fans alike.
