TECHMASH

Tag: #Firevolt

  • Honey, I Shrunk the Co-op: Why WheelMates is Your Next Multiplayer Obsession

    Honey, I Shrunk the Co-op: Why WheelMates is Your Next Multiplayer Obsession

    If you’ve ever looked at a ventilation shaft and thought, “I bet I could fit a miniature chassis through there,” then FireVolt has heard your oddly specific prayers.

    The indie studio’s latest title, WheelMates, has just rolled onto our radar, and it’s doing something refreshingly tactile in the co-op space. Forget high-fantasy raids or tactical shooters; this is about two people, two RC cars, and one massive, mystery-filled mansion belonging to an eccentric (and conveniently missing) scientist.

    The Premise: Tiny Wheels, Big Secrets

    In WheelMates, you and a partner take control of “The Rovers”—twin remote-controlled vehicles designed by the vanished Dr. Aris Thorne. You aren’t just racing to the finish line; you’re navigating a “Honey, I Shrunk the Kids” style landscape where a spilt bowl of cereal is a hazardous swamp and a staircase is a mountain range.

    The hook? The house is alive with Rube Goldberg-style machinery. To progress, you’ll need to solve environmental puzzles that require genuine synchronicity.

    Why It Works: The “Two-Driver” Dynamic

    While many co-op games let you wander off on your own, WheelMates tethers you together through clever level design.

    • Asymmetrical Abilities: One car might be equipped with a high-powered winch to pull objects, while the other features a jump-jet to reach high-altitude switches.
    • Physics-Based Fun: The physics engine is delightfully “crunchy.” You’ll feel every bounce of the tyres and every tilt of the floorboards.
    • The “Spotter” Mechanic: Often, one player will need to navigate a dark crawlspace while the other stays back to shine their headlights or operate a remote terminal to guide them through.

    The Vibe: Science, Mystery, and Dust Bunnies

    Developer FireVolt has nailed the “eccentric scientist” aesthetic. Dr. Thorne’s house isn’t just a backdrop; it’s a character. As you explore, you’ll find:

    • Secret Labs: Hidden behind false bookshelves.
    • Impossible Tech: Miniature portals and gravity-defying ramps.
    • Environmental Storytelling: Post-it notes and half-finished inventions that hint at where the Doctor went—and what he was running from.

    “We wanted to capture that childhood feeling of imagining a whole world under the sofa,” says the lead dev at FireVolt. “But with more lasers and hydraulic lifts.”

    The TechMash Verdict

    WheelMates feels like a love letter to local and online co-op. It’s charming, deceptively challenging, and avoids the “combat bloat” that many modern adventures fall into. Whether you’re carefully winching your partner across a boiling kitchen sink or high-tailing it away from a particularly territorial house cat, the sense of scale is consistently impressive.

    The Bottom Line: If you have a Player Two and a penchant for exploration, put this on your wishlist immediately. Just watch out for the vacuum cleaner—it’s a boss fight you won’t soon forget.

    Find out more here – https://s.team/a/3905450

    #WheelMates #RCcars #scientist #FireVolt #coop #adventure #cars #driving #videogames #gamers #gaming #gametrailer

  • Build Big, Fall Hard: Digital Vortex and Firevolt Unveil ‘Salvation Denied’

    Build Big, Fall Hard: Digital Vortex and Firevolt Unveil ‘Salvation Denied’

    If there is one thing we love at TechMash, it’s a game that takes high-end physics and turns it into absolute, unmitigated chaos. Today, publisher Digital Vortex Entertainment and indie developer Firevolt have officially pulled back the curtain on their latest project: Salvation Denied.

    Described as a “chaotic co-op building sim,” this isn’t your typical, relaxing Sunday afternoon of digital architecture. It’s a high-stakes, slapstick race against gravity where your structures are just as likely to crush you as they are to reach the finish line.

    The Premise: Robots, Chaos, and Physics

    Set on a hostile alien planet, you and up to three friends take control of a crew of mischievous, yellow construction robots. Your task? To fulfil massive building contracts for a mysterious (and frankly, quite obsessed) client.

    The catch is the HAVOK-powered physics engine. In Salvation Denied, every beam has weight, every joint has a breaking point, and every “shortcut” you take will likely result in a spectacular, slow-motion collapse. It’s a game where the building process is the antagonist, and the environment—complete with meteor showers and acid rain—is just waiting to test your structural integrity.

    Tools of the Trade

    To handle the mayhem, Firevolt has equipped players with a suite of “absurd” tools and massive machinery:

    The Gravity Gun: Perfect for repositioning massive slabs of metal or “accidentally” launching your teammates.

    The Foam Gun: A temporary fix to stabilise a wobbling tower before it topples.

    Heavy Machinery: Take the wheel of a Gravity Tank to shift entire sections of your build, or use the Fatboy—a bulldozer-shredder hybrid—to recycle your failures into new materials.

    Play It Right Now

    The best part of this announcement? You don’t have to wait until the 2026 launch to start breaking things. Digital Vortex has launched a limited-time open playtest on Steam, running from March 25th to March 31st, 2026.

    “We wanted a game about creative building with friends, but with real physics that constantly keeps players on edge,” says Ajven Pabiarzhyn, Creative Director at Firevolt. “The best moments happen when the structure starts to wobble, and nobody knows if it’s about to collapse or somehow survive.”

    Salvation Denied looks to be a must-play for fans of Poly Bridge or Lethal Company who enjoy a side of comedy with their engineering.

    Find out more here on Steam – https://shorturl.at/I8UAi

    #DigitalVortexEntertainment #UtmostGames #Firevolt #SalvationDenied #scifi #gameupdate #games #gaming #gamers #platformer #gameplay #demogame #videogames #arcadegames