DuneCrawl

 
DuneCrawl is a co-op adventure that feels like Sea of Thieves if it were set in a Mad Max fantasy world. Released on January 5, 2026, by Alientrap (the studio behind Apotheon), it ditches the sailing ships for massive, mechanical crab-walkers. You and up to three friends pilot these rusty behemoths across a boundless “dust sea,” manning cannons, repairing hull breaches, and fighting off bandits in a world that blends steampunk with high fantasy.
Piloting, Plundering, and Crab-Walking: Core Gameplay

Crew Coordination: Like other ship-management games, you cannot do everything alone. One player drives the massive crawler, while others man the side cannons, repair damaged legs, or repel boarders. The vehicle feels heavy and industrial; you can practically feel the gears grinding as you navigate through sandstorms.
On-Foot Exploration: You aren’t glued to your seat. At any time, you can stop the crawler and hop out to explore procedural dungeons, ancient ruins, or bandit camps. The combat shifts to a top-down twin-stick shooter style, where you loot resources needed to upgrade your crawler’s armor and weaponry.
Customization: Your crawler is your home. You can festoon it with new turrets, faster legs, and decorative trophies. The progression loop is satisfying: kill a boss, get its loot, weld a bigger gun to your roof, kill a bigger boss.
The Dust Sea: The world is vast and dangerous. You will encounter roaming bandit convoys, giant sand worms, and environmental hazards like lightning storms that can short-circuit your mech. The seamless transition from vehicle combat to on-foot dungeon crawling keeps the pacing snappy.

How It Stacks Up
DuneCrawl offers a distinct flavor in the vehicle-adventure genre.



Game
Key Difference




Sea of Thieves
Sea of Thieves is a slow-paced PvP sandbox focused on social interaction and sailing physics. DuneCrawl is a faster-paced PvE action-RPG with more structured progression (leveling up, stats, loot) and twin-stick combat.


Lovers in a Dangerous Spacetime
Both games require frantically running around a ship to man different stations. DuneCrawl adds an entire layer of on-foot exploration and loot management that Lovers lacks, making it feel deeper and less like a pure party game.


Mad Max
Mad Max is a solitary experience about car combat. DuneCrawl captures that same “diesel and dust” aesthetic but builds it entirely around cooperation. Your vehicle is a mobile fortress, not just a car.



Key Details

Developer: Alientrap.
Publisher: Alientrap.
Platforms: PC (Steam).
Release Date: January 5, 2026.
Genre: Co-op Action Adventure / RPG.
Vibe: Mortal Engines meets Castle Crashers.

Who It’s For

Must-play for co-op groups. If you have a dedicated Discord crew that is tired of competitive shooters and wants a “us against the world” adventure, this is perfect.
Perfect for mech fans. The crawler isn’t just a stats stick; it’s a customizable machine. Swapping out a mortar for a flamethrower fundamentally changes how your team approaches a fight.
Skip if you play solo. While playable alone with AI bots, the magic comes from the chaos of shouting orders at friends. Managing the entire crawler by yourself can feel overwhelming and tedious.

Why It Works
It works because of the scale. Seeing a giant enemy fortress-walker crest a sand dune while your team scrambles to load the cannons creates a cinematic moment that feels unscripted. The juxtaposition of the massive vehicle combat with the intimate, frantic on-foot dungeon delving ensures that neither mechanic overstays its welcome.