Gorgeous motorbike Metroidvania flies to the top of my wishlist with the coolest idea of 2023: "A mother coyote that reloads her gun doing backflips"

Laika: Aged Through Blood promises a "Motorvania" where a "mother coyote reloads her gun doing backflips" on a motorcycle, and that's all I need to hear.

If that doesn't immediately draw your attention to this stellar-looking indie game, I don't know what will. Earlier today, October 6, developer Brainwash Gang affirmed that Laika: Aged Through Blood will be out later this month on October 19 on PC - and there's a Steam demo available right now.

Just take a look at the trailer below, though. The entire thing is utterly captivating. The animated portions of the trailer for Laika are incredible, while the action-packed segments show the mother coyote jumping and backflipping with her motorcycle to blast villains away with guns. It's like a hand-drawn Excitebike Metroidvania, which I didn't know I needed until now. 

Laika looks fast-paced and hectic, but not unwieldy enough for non-action-game players to be put off. It also seems like the mother coyote's motorcycle can actually block incoming gunfire, letting her take cover briefly mid-air before firing back at enemies.

I'm also extremely into the (I assume) boss encounters. We can see some weird sort of towering chicken being battled at one point in the trailer before it's roughly pulled to the ground, primed for grilling. The post-apocalyptic animal motif is fascinating, especially in this "Western-inspired" setting.  

Laika: Aged Through Blood is on October 19 for PC, available via Steam, the Epic Games Store, and GOG. 

Keep an eye on our upcoming indie games guide for a look over all the other small-time bangers coming up.