DuneCrawl has a release date. Alientrap’s co-op action-adventure game about piloting giant cannon-bearing crustaceans through desert wastelands launches January 5, 2026 on Steam. The release date trailer dropped on November 24, showcasing the game’s vibrant hand-drawn art style, cooperative gameplay mechanics, and what might be the most unusual vehicle in gaming: a massive walking crab festooned with treasure maps and enough firepower to level a small town.
DuneCrawl supports one to four players in online and local co-op. Your crew plays as desert-faring privateers exploring dust seas aboard your Dune Crawler, fighting rival pirates, defending towns from bandits, discovering hidden plunder, and unraveling the mystery of these giant crustacean war machines. It’s part pirate adventure, part monster hunter, and entirely built around the absurd joy of steering a heavily-armed crab through a fantasy desert.
What Makes DuneCrawl Different
The Dune Crawler itself is the star. This isn’t a vehicle you simply ride. It’s your mobile base, weapons platform, and means of traversal all in one. The crawler has multiple stations players can man simultaneously. One person pilots while others operate cannons, manage repairs, or scout ahead. Coordination matters because enemy pirates have their own crawlers loaded with artillery.
Combat plays out like naval battles transplanted to sand. You’re maneuvering a slow-moving fortress against other mobile fortresses while smaller enemies swarm around trying to board or flank. Players can dismount to explore on foot, riding armored scarabs for faster ground movement or climbing structures to reach higher vantage points. But you’re vulnerable off the crawler, and getting separated from your crew in hostile territory is dangerous.
The game uses an isometric perspective with hand-drawn 2D sprites rendered in a 3D space, creating a pop-up book aesthetic. Environments are sprawling and lush despite the desert setting, with vibrant colors that stand out from the typical brown-and-gray wasteland palette. Early gameplay footage shows dense vegetation, colorful architecture, and creatures that look pulled from a Studio Ghibli film rather than Mad Max.
Exploration and Story Elements
DuneCrawl isn’t purely about combat. Quest-giving NPCs populate the world, offering missions that expand the lore surrounding the mysterious Dune Crawlers. The game promises environmental storytelling through its hand-drawn locations, with each region telling part of a larger narrative about how these giant crustaceans came to exist and why they’re central to survival in this harsh world.
Towns need defending from bandit attacks, creating tower defense-style scenarios where positioning your crawler strategically makes the difference between victory and getting overwhelmed. Hidden plunder rewards exploration, encouraging crews to venture off established routes into dangerous territory. The demo showed players using cannons to launch themselves to distant islands, opening shortcuts and revealing secrets that careful ground exploration would miss.
The treasure map mechanic ties into progression, though Alientrap hasn’t detailed exactly how customization works. Players can mount armor pieces on crawler legs to reduce damage, suggesting some level of crawler customization. Different weapons found throughout the world can be equipped and swapped between party members, allowing for varied playstyles within the same crew.
Who Is Alientrap
If DuneCrawl’s art style and cooperative focus feel familiar, that’s because Alientrap has been making distinctive indie games since 2009. The Saskatchewan-based studio was founded by Lee Vermeulen and Jesse McGibney, starting with the 2D platformer Capsized. They’ve since released Apotheon, a side-scrolling action game rendered in ancient Greek pottery art style, and Cryptark, a roguelike space shooter about infiltrating derelict alien ships.
Their most recent release before DuneCrawl was Wytchwood, a crafting adventure game about playing as a witch in a storybook world. The game launched in December 2021 on PC, PlayStation, Xbox, and Switch, receiving praise for its fairy tale aesthetic and satisfying crafting loops. Wytchwood took four years to develop, with Alientrap learning hard lessons about scope management and finding a game’s identity during production.
Alientrap’s games share common DNA: strong visual identity, cooperative or multiplayer focus, and willingness to take creative risks. They’re not chasing trends or making safe sequels. DuneCrawl continues that tradition with a concept that sounds ridiculous on paper but clearly works in execution based on demo impressions.
The Demo Reception
A DuneCrawl demo has been available on Steam since early 2025, letting players sample the opening hours with up to four friends. Early impressions from streamers and YouTubers have been overwhelmingly positive. Players praise the smooth controls, especially when riding the sand hermits that serve as ground mounts. The AI enemies reportedly dodge shots and use cover intelligently rather than charging mindlessly.
The combat feels satisfying according to demo players, with a good balance between crawler-based artillery battles and on-foot skirmishes. The game supports full controller integration, making couch co-op viable alongside online play. Local multiplayer works through split-screen, though managing four viewports on one screen can get chaotic during intense battles.
What We Still Don’t Know
Alientrap hasn’t revealed how long DuneCrawl takes to complete or whether it follows a structured campaign or more open-ended exploration. The mystery of the Dune Crawlers forms the narrative backbone, but we don’t know if that’s a few hours of story or a 20-hour epic. Pricing hasn’t been announced either, though Alientrap’s previous games typically launch between $14.99 and $24.99.
Replayability depends heavily on how much content exists beyond the main story. Will there be endgame challenges, randomized elements, or new game plus modes that encourage multiple playthroughs? The treasure hunt and customization systems could provide long-term goals, but details remain scarce.
Platform plans beyond Steam PC haven’t been confirmed. Wytchwood launched simultaneously on PC and consoles, so there’s precedent for multiplatform releases at Alientrap. However, DuneCrawl’s January 2026 launch is currently Steam-exclusive, with console ports potentially coming later if the PC release performs well.
Why Giant Crabs Work
DuneCrawl’s core concept sounds absurd, and that’s precisely why it works. Gaming is oversaturated with realistic military shooters, fantasy RPGs with the same elves and dragons, and sci-fi games featuring identical space marines. A game about piloting cannon-bearing crustaceans through desert seas stands out purely by being weird.
But the concept isn’t just novelty. There’s mechanical depth here. The crawler provides a natural framework for cooperative gameplay where different roles matter. The desert setting justifies exploration and environmental hazards. The privateer theme gives context for combat encounters and treasure hunting. Alientrap didn’t just slap a crab into a generic game. They built the entire experience around what makes piloting a giant crustacean interesting.
FAQs
When does DuneCrawl release?
DuneCrawl launches January 5, 2026 on Steam for PC. Console versions have not been announced, though developer Alientrap has released previous games on PlayStation, Xbox, and Nintendo Switch.
How many players does DuneCrawl support?
DuneCrawl supports one to four players in both online co-op and local split-screen co-op. You can play solo, though the game is designed around cooperative teamwork with multiple crew members manning different crawler stations.
What is a Dune Crawler?
A Dune Crawler is a giant walking crustacean that serves as your mobile base and primary vehicle. The crawler is equipped with cannons, treasure maps, and multiple stations where players can pilot, shoot, repair, and scout simultaneously.
Who developed DuneCrawl?
DuneCrawl is developed by Alientrap, an independent studio based in Saskatchewan, Canada. Alientrap previously created Apotheon, Cryptark, Wytchwood, and Capsized. The studio was founded in 2009 by Lee Vermeulen and Jesse McGibney.
Is there a DuneCrawl demo available?
Yes, a free demo is available on Steam right now. The demo lets you play with up to four friends in co-op to sample the opening hours and core mechanics before the January 5 launch.
Does DuneCrawl have split-screen co-op?
Yes, DuneCrawl supports local split-screen co-op alongside online multiplayer. The game offers full controller support, making couch co-op viable for players who prefer playing together in person.
What kind of game is DuneCrawl?
DuneCrawl is an isometric co-op action-adventure game with exploration, combat, and light RPG elements. You pilot giant crustacean vehicles through desert environments, fight enemy pirates, complete quests for NPCs, and discover hidden treasure.
How much will DuneCrawl cost?
Alientrap has not announced DuneCrawl’s price yet. Based on their previous releases, expect pricing between $14.99 and $24.99 USD. The Steam page should update with pricing details closer to the January 5 launch date.
Conclusion
DuneCrawl represents exactly what indie games should be: creative, distinctive, and willing to embrace absurdity when it serves the gameplay. Alientrap could have made another fantasy RPG or sci-fi shooter, safe genres with proven audiences. Instead, they built a co-op adventure about piloting heavily-armed crabs through vibrant deserts because that’s more interesting. The January 5, 2026 release date gives the studio time to polish based on demo feedback while landing in the post-holiday gaming lull when major AAA releases slow down. If you’re tired of serious military sims and gritty apocalypse games, DuneCrawl offers something genuinely different. Download the demo, grab three friends, and see if steering a giant crab festooned with cannons is as fun as it sounds. Based on early impressions, it absolutely is.