Planned Release Date: To be announced

About This Game

Shoot down to go up

Gob is a goblin who drank an entire barrel of ale and then, for reasons that made sense at the time, climbed inside it. It's a good barrel. It's also his whole body now. So when the volcano under the tavern wakes up, running is off the table.

What he can do is pull the trigger. Every blast of his shotgun throws him the other way, so you aim at the floor to go up and at a wall to go sideways. He holds three shells. Landing on anything reloads, and every bat he blows out of the air hands a shell back, which makes bats the closest thing he has to friends down there.

A cart for every mood

Every 100 meters there's a station. Nothing can hurt you there, and even the lava waits politely. Two mine carts are parked at each one, each with a card on the side and a zone at the end of its rails. Hop into one and it rides you up. The other one leaves without you, and you'll always wonder.

Each zone bends one rule. The Old Mine has draughts that blow you sideways. The Cold Seam's ledges are iced over. In the Crater you float, but the lava is quicker. The Blind Shaft has no light at all, except your lamp and your own gunfire.

Cards that get along

A station gun goes on the second button. The Howitzer spends one shell on one enormous jump. The Minigun is ridden like a jetpack, which is not what anyone designed it for. Perks bend the rules in Gob's favor. With Rubber Hoops the walls bounce you off at full speed, and Tarred Bottom lets the lava spit you back out once.

New cards come from small jobs, like killing 10 bats. Every card has a partner, and when the two meet, something extra switches on. Fire a rocket into the lava while wearing Tarred Bottom and the lava throws you up the shaft. That one's called Geyser, and it is exactly as dignified as it sounds.

What's in the barrel

• Runs of 5 to 10 minutes. At 500 meters the volcano erupts, and that's your way out.

• 8 zones, 16 cards and 8 combos.

• Five heat levels after your first escape. Each one adds a new problem.

• A score that loves kills in mid-air. The more in one flight, the more each is worth.

• A chiptune theme for every zone.

• Mouse and keyboard, or a gamepad.