Just when I think it can't get cooler, viral nuke-parrying Soulslike lets you parry the earth itself to avoid fall damage

Screenshot from V.A Proxy
(Image credit: Pyro Lith)

In its ceaseless mission to let players parry anything and everything, indie Soulslike V.A Proxy now lets you parry the literal earth to avoid fall damage.

You might recognize V.A Proxy from the gameplay clips that frequently go viral on social media, showing how players will be able to parry ultra-quick enemy mechs, a nuclear bomb, and even God itself, among other outlandish things. Next up is: the ground. 

Developer Pyro Lith posted a snippet on social media to show how the move works. “While falling from big heights or doing ground slams, you can parry the floor to get an explosive jump that can stack with other movement options,” the developer explains in the Tweet embedded below. Parrying earth seems like a good way to avoid fall damage, but can also double as a stylish way to boost through the desolate alien world. 

That’s in addition to the other movement options like, say, grappling across a flying mechanized leviathan. V.A Proxy seems to be reveling in the maximalism that attracts so many to the spectacle-slasher genre, but where does the game go from here? How many other things can we parry before the novelty wears off? Is there even a limit? Probably not.

We’ll find out when the game is ready for release, but for now, V.A Proxy has a playable demo available via Steam right now. “V.A Proxy is a fast-paced parry-focused combat game with a dynamic megastructure to explore,” reads the storefront description, “it follows the story of three machines that seek freedom as they fall deeper into the guts of this world.” It’s not entirely clear if we play as the three separate machines, or if we’re hunting them, but regardless, I can’t wait for what is arguably the coolest game on the horizon.

Check out the upcoming indie games from 2024 and beyond to discover more sweet gems. 

Freelance contributor

Kaan freelances for various websites including Rock Paper Shotgun, Eurogamer, and this one, Gamesradar. He particularly enjoys writing about spooky indies, throwback RPGs, and anything that's vaguely silly. Also has an English Literature and Film Studies degree that he'll soon forget.