Space Punks is a co-op loot-shooter that looks a lot like an isometric Borderlands

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Polish studio Flying Wild Hog is best known for making first-person shooters like Hard Reset and Shadow Warrior, but it's trying something a little different for its next project, a top-down sci-fi looter shooter called Space Punks.

There's not a lot of detail at this point, but Space Punks will follow the adventures of four oddball heroes who pursue glory and wealth "by taking on lucrative contracts on far-flung planets against impossible odds." It will also apparently be a live game, as Flying Wild Hog described it as being set in "a living, breathing, and ever-changing gameworld—a true living game."

My first impression of the reveal trailer is that it looks a lot like an isometric take on Borderlands, with co-op battles against hordes of enemies for up to four players in a cel-shaded, slightly goofy sci-fi setting. The first character revealed in the trailer is even described as "the handsome one," and maybe it's a coincidence but to my eye he bears more than a passing resemblance to Handsome Jack, one of Borderlands' best-known bad guys.

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That's not necessarily a knock against it, but at this point it doesn't look like Space Punks is going to score many points for originality.

Space Punks is being published by Jagex and will go into Early Access on July 14, ahead of a planned open beta this winter. To sign up, head over to playspacepunks.com.

Andy has been gaming on PCs from the very beginning, starting as a youngster with text adventures and primitive action games on a cassette-based TRS80. From there he graduated to the glory days of Sierra Online adventures and Microprose sims, ran a local BBS, learned how to build PCs, and developed a longstanding love of RPGs, immersive sims, and shooters. He began writing videogame news in 2007 for The Escapist and somehow managed to avoid getting fired until 2014, when he joined the storied ranks of PC Gamer. He covers all aspects of the industry, from new game announcements and patch notes to legal disputes, Twitch beefs, esports, and Henry Cavill. Lots of Henry Cavill.