‘Erosion’ looks set to be my next Xbox indie addiction — this cyberpunk western warps timelines on a quest to save your daughter

by

I was watching the Xbox Partner Preview today, and while there were a lot of cool games shown off, one really stood out to me – Erosion, the new game from Plot Twist. I’m really excited about it!

Plot Twist previously created The Last Case of Benedict Fox, a game showcased by Xbox. Now, partnering with Lyrical Games, they’re bringing their unique style – known for unexpected turns – to the twin-stick shooter genre.

Erosion is fundamentally a twin-stick shooter featuring blocky, voxel-based graphics and a static camera, making it well-suited for devices like the Xbox Ally and Xbox Cloud Gaming. It will first be released as an Early Access game on Steam and through Xbox PC Game Preview and Game Pass, though the developers say this Early Access period will be relatively brief. Testing will begin in Spring 2026.

Erosion takes place in a futuristic version of the Wild West. A strange time distortion called the Pillar is slowly destroying reality, and the player must enter the Pillar to save the main character’s daughter.

The dungeons in The Pillar will feel similar to those in games like Hades or Moonlighter, but with a unique twist: everything can be completely destroyed. Because the game uses a voxel-based engine, you can shatter every piece of the environment, and it will react realistically to the different weapons and power-ups you discover during each playthrough.

Inside The Pillar, time moves forward at a rapid and unsettling pace. Each time you die, decades pass in the game world, transforming thriving towns into desolate ruins. This also affects your daughter, who ages as you fail – starting as a child, growing into an adult, and ultimately, perishing from old age if you don’t succeed. This creates a constant sense of urgency amidst the challenging gameplay, and should give the game, Erosion, a level of emotional weight that’s rare in similar titles.

I’ve noticed that *Erosion* is much more than just fighting. What you do outside of combat—visiting towns, playing little games, customizing your vehicles, leveling up your character, completing side quests, and even the choices you make in the story—actually has a significant impact on the world around you.

Choosing to support different groups within the game can have long-term effects. Helping one group might make another hostile towards you later on – it’s a bit like that Rick and Morty episode with the wine, if you’re familiar with it.

Small choices you make can have surprisingly big consequences. Helping a local shop owner could unexpectedly turn them into a powerful criminal, and ignoring a minor threat might allow a dangerous cult to rise. These decisions are meant to make each playthrough unique, and the game’s open world allows for lots of potential future updates and partnerships.

The Partner Preview gave us a fun glimpse at strong Xbox Play Anywhere titles

The recent Xbox Partner Preview showcased a wide variety of games, many of which support Xbox Play Anywhere and are available with Xbox Game Pass. Erosion continues to collaborate with Microsoft on these initiatives, and the highly-rated Last Case of Benedict Fox was also included in the preview.

I’m really excited about Erosion, and I think it has the potential to reach a wider audience than Benedict Fox did. There are so many great games like Hades, Moonlighter, and Cult of the Lamb that show what players love in this genre. But what I love about Erosion is that Plot Twist has really put their own spin on things, and that unique touch should help it stand out from the crowd – there are *so* many games coming out these days!

With a huge amount of extra content, meaningful choices that affect the story, exciting vehicle combat, environments you can destroy, epic boss fights against otherworldly creatures, and a cool blend of Wild West and futuristic themes, this game definitely deserves to be on your radar as one of the most anticipated Xbox releases. It’s certainly on my list!

The game Erosion will be available in Early Access and as part of the Xbox Game Preview program (on PC) in Spring 2026, with a full release planned shortly after. It will support Xbox Play Anywhere, letting you play on both your console and PC, and will be available immediately with an Xbox Game Pass Ultimate or Xbox Cloud Gaming subscription.

If Erosion manages to create a fun and engaging upgrade system that doesn’t get boring, it could easily become my go-to game on the Xbox handheld next year.

Be sure to check out more of the games from this week’s Xbox Partner Preview over here.

Read More

2025-11-20 22:10