Top-down arcade action.

Developer Red Phantom Games and publisher Numskull Games announced Gearshifters today. The game, described as an “arcade action shoot ’em up roguelite” (try saying that three times fast) coming to PS4, Xbox One, Switch and PC via Steam. Gearshifters is set to launch sometime this year.

Here’s a description, straight from the game’s Steam page:

About

Arcade shoot ’em up roguelite. Steer, blast. and battle through enemy vehicles, and annihilate bosses. Adapt your loadout of mods, defenses, and weapons for each hazardous mission.

• Drive and Destroy – Employ precision control and expert driving skills to race rings around foes, dodge incoming projectiles, and unleash intense attacks. High-octane action at every turn, slide and spin.
• Mega-Vehicle Boss Battles – Defeat the lawless factions that dominate dystopian future Europe, and take down their insane, heavily-armed boss machines.
• Get Paid and Upgrade – Tackle dangerous delivery missions to ensure the safe arrival of precious cargo. Get paid, and modify your car with offensive, defensive, cosmetic and performance-based customizations.
• Explosive Delivery – Expand your territory across the post-apocalyptic continent. Only the most skilled Gearshifter can take on the most perilous routes and reach the mysterious Citadel.

Key Features

• High-intensity physics-based top-down vehicle combat.
• Procedurally-generated roadways and enemy waves.
• Fight across 27 stages through nine environmental zones, each with its own faction and complement of opponents.
• Customise your combat vehicle with over 100 randomly-unlocked upgrades.
• Story arc across five acts.
• Standard, Casual and Deadly (perma-death) game modes.
• Vibrant top-down 3D world.
• Original soundtrack.
• A range of accessibility options. (TBA before release.)

While we don’t have much gameplay to go on yet, Gearshifters reminds me of the top-down shoot ’em ups of old. It looks fast, features big bosses, lots of enemies, and a good amount of bullets. The roguelite nature of the game is interesting. Since upgrades appear to be randomly generated, as do levels, Gearshifters might offer something like Faster Than Light or Hades, where you end up with a substantially different build and path each time. Combining that with the top-down action of a shoot ’em up sounds like a winner, but we’ll have to see when the game launches later this year.

You can watch the announcement trailer below, courtesy of Numskull Games.