Teardown blends Red Faction physics with Minecraft worlds

Red Faction Guerrilla made a huge mark, thanks to its outrageously ambitious destruction engine. Other games have tried to mimic the technology but, even 10 years on, no one has quite managed to best Volition’s efforts. The latest competitor for the physics throne is Teardown, a game that’s in development at Tuxedo Labs.

The premise is simple: You must collect a handful of keycards that are scattered around a boxy, Minecraft-esque town. There are no enemies to worry about, but the moment you pick up one of the keycards, a timer starts. Failing to pick up all of the cards before time runs out means defeat, so you have to plan your path carefully.

Assisting you in the task is the game’s physics engine. Everything in this world is destructible, and you’re given a range of tools (think hammers, shotguns, and rocket launchers) to blow holes in things. You can also drive any of the vehicles, using them to make your getaway or drive straight through a pesky building.

In a developer walkthrough, Dennis Gustafsson of Tuxedo Labs explains the flow of each level, showing off the destruction engine in all its glory. Even though the graphics are blocky, the voxel design really allows the world to be taken apart, bit by bit.

There’s currently no release date for Teardown, though it does have Steam Wishlist page, for those interested in keeping an eye on it.