Rising Heat: Everything We Know

You’re strapped behind the wheel of a spaceship. Myriads of other enemy ships gain on you, streaming in from all around you. You breathe deep and fire back at the vultures non-stop. Gradually, you start to thin the herd, ultimately scooping up the crown. Yet, even as you catch your breath, one cheeky thought remains: Is that all you got? 

Rising Heat lives up to its name, dishing out increasingly challenging gladiator-style spaceship battles at you. It’s still in the works, though, so while we prepare for battle, here’s everything we know so far about the upcoming Rising Heat.

What is Rising Heat?

Rising Heat is an upcoming gladiator-style spaceship horde survival shoot’ em-up roguelike game. It pits you against an army of enemy spaceships, testing your flying and combat skills against waves of enemies. You’ll climb the ranks in the infamous Rising Heat tournament. All along, upgrade your ship into a beast machine that can take anything you throw at it.

Story

Somewhere in the cosmos, the extraterrestrial elite has set up a series of galactic gladiator-style tournaments for their pleasure. You’ll enter the tournament as a low-ranking rookie and compete in intense battles against the best the cosmos has to offer. Slowly but surely, you’ll climb the ranks, dusting off your skills and ship as you progress. Can you scoop up the prestigious crown at the end of the tournament?

Gameplay

Rising Heat plans to throw players into a sea of galactic bullet-hell arenas, crawling with intense tournament battles, customizable pilots and ships, and dynamic co-op gameplay. You’ll start with a single ship and pilot. Onward, you’ll unlock new wingmen and ship upgrades that strengthen your skills and transform your ship into a beast machine. Since Rising Heat is a roguelike game, having over 60 upgrades is promising, from increasing firepower to more specialized ones like freezing enemies in place.

Furthermore, battles not only involve firing at waves of enemies non-stop but also piloting your ship through obstacles. You’ll constantly face challenges and embark on an adventure that pushes your skills and strategy to the limit. You’ll also dodge incoming fire with precision, using Rising Heat’s dynamic movement to your benefit. You can choose to play solo or as a team in co-op mode. Either way, the stakes will be higher with each run. 

Check out the official gameplay to expect below via Steam.

Key Features

• Enter the Rising Heat – The infamous Rising Heat is a gladiator-style spaceship spectacle, a tournament backed by the exorbitantly wealthy, extraterrestrial elite. Wingmen from across the cosmos test their skills and compete for a chance to achieve a prestigious victory. Can you beat the heat?
• Bullet Heaven or Hell? – Fight back and forth through waves of enemies and huge bullet hell-style boss battles. Balance your upgrades to suit your playstyle to switch between these two types of challenges.
• Dash and Smash – Master a dynamic movement system that allows you to weave through bullets, dash to avoid enemies, or smash right through them.
• Build your Fighter – Each pilot has their own strengths and weaknesses with unique playstyles and abilities. No two pilots or ships are the same, so no two runs are the same. Choose from more than 60 game-changing upgrades to craft the ultimate build that complements your pilot and suits the challenges ahead.
• Fly with a Friend – In co-op mode, both players have their ships connected by a deadly energy beam. While the beam can be used to destroy enemies, uncoordinated movement can yank your wingman into danger.

Development

Developer Fuzzy Sock Studios and publisher Apogee Entertainment are currently working on Rising Heat. Fuzzy Sock Studios is an independent game developer that prides itself on making games in fuzzy socks. Outfits aside, the studio has one game currently out called Toy Tanks. It’s, as the name suggests, a tank game with a twist. You jump, dash, and shoot your way to victory in arena-like battles. You also unlock new tanks with better stats and abilities. 

Sounds familiar? Well, Rising Heat is right on par, except instead of tanks, you’re steering spaceships. Here’s to hoping Rising Heat is just as good, and maybe even better, building on what has worked before and adding new innovative features to capture a broader audience.

On the other hand, Apogee Entertainment is a publisher that partners with indie developers, providing them with fierce marketing and global exposure. The publisher’s expertise traces back to the 1980s. They’ve worked on legacy and current games like Duke Nukem, Wolfenstein 3D, Turbo Overkill, Max Payne, Bread & Fred, Rise of the Triad, and many more.

Trailer

You can watch the official reveal trailer for Rising Heat now on YouTube. The subtitle of the video says, “Game footage not final,” suggesting we may see a different product in the final game. Still, the trailer is the closest you can get to a rough idea of what the final game’s visuals and gameplay might look like.

Release Date, Platforms, & Editions

Unfortunately, we don’t have an exact release date for Rising Heat. However, we do have a launch window currently scheduled for Q1 2025. It seems, though, that from the reveal trailer, we may be getting our hands on the demo version sometime sooner. The video wraps up with the words, “Demo coming soon,” so we’ll be keeping an eye out for that and let you know.

As for the platforms, we can confirm that Rising Heat will launch on PC platforms via Steam, GOG, and Epic Games Store. No other platforms have been confirmed yet, as have the editions that still remain under wraps. For now, you can add Rising Heat to your Steam wishlist here to get a notification as soon as it drops. You can also follow the official social handle here to get fresh updates on the upcoming game.

So, what’s your take? Will you be grabbing a copy of Rising Heat when it drops? Let us know over on our socials here.