RedRuins Softworks, the studio behind the quirky space survival game Breathedge, just dropped a gameplay teaser for their next project and it looks absolutely wild. Canyons is a four-player co-op third-person shooter set in a post-apocalyptic world where you captain giant land ships called Crawlers through dangerous canyon territories. The brief teaser promises a 15-minute full gameplay reveal on IGN’s YouTube channel on December 17, giving players their first real look at what this ambitious survival shooter offers.
What Is Canyons
Canyons drops players into a harsh world where oceans disappeared hundreds of years ago, leaving behind deadly canyons as the only survivable regions. You play as a captain commanding a Crawler, massive machines from the past that serve as mobile bases for traversing these treacherous landscapes. The game supports solo play or co-op teams up to four players, combining third-person shooter combat with base building, faction politics, and survival mechanics.
The world is populated by mysterious enemies called the Awakened, described as a fusion of flesh and lifeless matter built upon the ruins of the old world. According to the game’s lore, a new power called the Order of the Divided Cross has risen to combat these creatures, though nobody knows where the Awakened came from or why their power continues growing. Only the warriors of the Order and their faith stand between civilization and total annihilation.
Crawlers Are Your Home and Weapon
The most distinctive feature in Canyons is the Crawler system. These colossal land ships serve as your primary means of transportation, mobile base, and weapon platform. You can modify, upgrade, and develop your Crawler throughout the game, customizing it to match your playstyle. The developers even joke that unless you find a better friend, sentimentality has no place here, suggesting you might encounter or build multiple Crawlers during your journey.
Crawlers represent the spirit of pioneer ancestors whose inventions remain timeless despite the world’s collapse. Managing your Crawler will be central to survival, from loading ammunition and supplies to upgrading defensive capabilities and traversal systems. Different factions offer unique Crawler modules, like the Diesel Cult providing access to the finest transport upgrades.
Build Your Haven Between Expeditions
When you’re not exploring the canyons, you’ll return to your haven established in canyon caves. This is where base building comes into play. You can construct shipyards for Crawler manufacturing, garages for repairs and tuning, armories for weapon crafting, or even a fancy cafeteria serving zombie burgers. The infrastructure you build attracts settlers including traders, medics, and workers who provide essential services.
Protection matters too. Your haven will attract unwanted attention from rival groups who covet what you’ve built. Defending your settlement becomes increasingly important as you accumulate valuable resources and technology. The game promises that no matter how brave you are, eventually you’ll need to return home, making your haven a crucial strategic asset rather than just a cosmetic feature.
Procedural Generation With Purpose
Canyons uses procedural generation combined with hand-crafted details to create a living world that feels different each expedition. The system generates unique events, enemy placements, and environmental hazards while maintaining carefully designed set pieces. This approach aims to avoid the repetitive feeling that plagues many procedurally generated games while still offering the replayability that randomization provides.
The world throws endless storms, scorching sun, fearsome creatures, and cruel humans at players. Every expedition involves decisions about risk versus reward. Do you push deeper into dangerous territory for legendary loot, or do you wisely return home when supplies run low? The developers emphasize there are no right decisions or proven paths, only complex systems that respond to your choices.
Character Progression and Morality
Your captain develops through improving basic stats and mastering dozens of professions that enhance different gameplay aspects. But character progression isn’t just about shooting better. Morality plays a significant role in how the world responds to you. When you encounter a survivor dying of thirst, do you give them precious water, take them to your harbor, rob them, leave them to monsters, or eat them yourself?
These choices have consequences that affect how factions treat you. The canyons are populated by various groups including Lawmen, Marauders, the Diesel Cult, and Sun Fanatics who each react uniquely based on your actions and morality score. Lawmen provide the best equipment if you maintain good standing. The Diesel Cult grants access to superior Crawler modules. Meanwhile, Sun Fanatics will simply blow your head off since they’re hated by everyone and the feeling is mutual.
More Than Just Human Threats
Beyond the human factions, the canyons are home to twisted creatures that mothers use to scare misbehaving children. Players will encounter Shrivelled, Creepers, Savages, and many other monsters. The Awakened enemies represent the primary threat, these flesh-and-matter hybrids whose origins remain mysterious but whose danger is undeniable.
Combat appears to blend third-person shooting with tactical positioning, especially important in co-op where coordinating with teammates against overwhelming enemy numbers becomes crucial. The brief gameplay teaser shows intense firefights against both humanoid and monstrous threats, suggesting varied enemy types that require different strategies.
From Breathedge to Canyons
RedRuins Softworks earned recognition for Breathedge, a comedic space survival game that mixed dark humor with crafting and exploration. Canyons represents a significant departure in tone, trading comedy for a grittier post-apocalyptic atmosphere. However, the core DNA of creative survival mechanics and unique setting design clearly carries over.
Publisher HypeTrain Digital has been building a catalog of interesting indie survival and strategy games. Their partnership with RedRuins suggests confidence in the studio’s ability to deliver a polished experience despite the ambitious scope combining shooter combat, base building, procedural generation, and co-op gameplay.
FAQs
When does Canyons release?
No release date has been announced yet. The game is coming to PC via Steam and PlayStation 5. A 15-minute gameplay video will be revealed on IGN’s YouTube channel on December 17, 2025.
Can you play Canyons solo?
Yes, Canyons supports both solo play and co-op for up to four players. The game is designed to be enjoyed alone or with friends.
What are Crawlers in Canyons?
Crawlers are massive land ships that serve as your mobile base, transportation, and weapon platform. You can modify, upgrade, and customize your Crawler throughout the game.
Who is developing Canyons?
Canyons is being developed by RedRuins Softworks, the studio behind the space survival game Breathedge, and published by HypeTrain Digital.
Is Canyons PvP or PvE?
Canyons is a cooperative PvE (player versus environment) game. You and up to three friends fight against AI enemies including the mysterious Awakened creatures and hostile human factions, not against other players.
What platforms will Canyons be on?
Canyons is confirmed for PC via Steam and PlayStation 5. No other platforms have been announced yet.
Does Canyons have base building?
Yes, you can establish havens in canyon caves where you build facilities like shipyards, garages, armories, and infrastructure to attract settlers. You also need to defend your haven from attacks.
Is the world in Canyons randomly generated?
Yes, Canyons uses procedural generation combined with hand-crafted details and unique events. The system creates varied expeditions while maintaining quality design rather than feeling completely random.
Conclusion
Canyons looks like one of the most ambitious co-op shooters coming to PC and PlayStation 5. The combination of massive Crawler land ships, base building in canyon havens, morality-driven faction politics, and procedurally generated expeditions creates something that feels genuinely fresh in the survival shooter space. RedRuins Softworks proved with Breathedge that they can craft interesting survival systems with personality, and Canyons seems to be applying those lessons to a darker, more combat-focused experience. The 15-minute gameplay reveal dropping on December 17 should answer the biggest remaining questions about how all these systems actually work together. For now, the brief teaser has done its job perfectly by showing just enough of giant land ships, mysterious Awakened enemies, and harsh canyon landscapes to make players desperately want more. If you’re looking for a co-op shooter that offers more than just pointing and shooting, Canyons might be worth keeping on your radar.