Teardown trailer sets a new standard for physics-driven destruction

Teardown looked like the perfect kind of game to work out a day of frustration in its big stage debut at Gamescom Opening Night Live.

The physics-driven first-person game challenges players to use a ton of destructive tools to create efficient paths for pulling off speedy heists. That could be as simple as grabbing a hammer and smashing out a window. You could escalate a bit by using explosives to blast a hole in the side of a building, or you could escalate a lot by commandeering a construction crane and using it to smash a wrecking ball straight through a city block.

It goes beyond simply flattening buildings: Teardown's deeply simulated physics let you put massive destruction toward specific purposes. Knock out the support beams of a patio to create a ramp upward, ram a column into place to create the perfect bridge from one rooftop from another, start a fire then grab an extinguisher and put it out once it's done the job. After you have everything smashed together just the way you like it, grab your first objective and start running.

No, I don't know why driving construction equipment through a building doesn't set off an alarm but detaching a little electronic device from a wire does. But it does make for a creative way to blend unrestricted level modification (via destruction) with frantic speedrunning.

Teardown is coming to Steam early access later this year, and you can add it to your Steam wishlist right now.

See what else is on the way with our big guide to upcoming games.