• Disconcerting indie game HoverGrease 2 is set to launch this week
• It's a top-down hero shooter with both a story campaign and multiplayer modes
• The oddly realistic art direction and bizarre title has gamers confused on social media

Everywhere I go, I see HoverGrease 2. At least, everywhere I go on Instagram, because for some reason, my algorithm has decided that I simply have to know all about it.

It's an onslaught, with endless posts about the upcoming game (mainly from the official HoverGrease account) appearing after every other reel that I watch. Although the account only has a few hundred followers, many of these posts have thousands of likes, so I'm obviously not alone in this experience.

Now, this isn't an entirely new phenomenon (and anyone who has used the Instagram app will know that your personalized algorithm can sometimes become fixated on often quite bizarre topics), but it's the first time I've been devoutly served content about a title that's so... unsettling.

On paper, HoverGrease 2 sounds like it might be up my street. It's a top-down hero shooter with both a single-player story and a suite of competitive online multiplayer modes. It's got ten playable characters, with each boasting 18 unique weapons or attacks to play around with.

The online offering sounds surprisingly fleshed out, too, with talk of a battle pass and various unlockable items on the game's Steam store page.

The first problem, at least for me, is the art direction. The developers describe the game's world as "bio-cyberpunk," which basically means that it's a sci-fi setting populated by weird mutants.

There's a guy with a chicken head, some kind of horse lady, a human-rabbit hybrid, and more. It's not a bad idea in and of itself, but the quite realistic visual style just leaves each one of them looking seriously uncanny.

Then there's the sexualization. Every playable woman in the game seems to be wearing the skimpiest outfit possible (in contrast to the comparatively clothed men), which, combined with the realistic animal features, just feels a bit weird and gross. Are you really meant to sit there and leer at the exposed, slimy, yellow skin of a talking humanoid frog? Greasy indeed.

I'm clearly not alone either in being left feeling a bit icky, as the comments on the game's initial reveal trailer (posted to the official IGN channel, of all places) are a wall of reactions that range from bemused to downright uncomfortable.

"Is this game a prank? What even is this?" wrote one user. "This is terrifying... Why do the bunny and squirrel look more human than animal?" asked another. One commenter simply wrote: "I'm confused and I need an adult."

And the elephant in the room to top it all off is the question of what on earth "HoverGrease" actually means. In fact, how is this even HoverGrease 2 when there doesn't seem to have ever been a HoverGrease 1? The more I think about it, the more confused I get.

You could argue that all this strangeness has actually worked out in the developer's favor, though. Here I am writing about the game, and here you are reading about it. I'm honestly even a little tempted to dive in come its May 22, 2026 launch to see what it's all about.

If you're keen on joining in, you can wishlist the game on Steam now. Just be warned that your friends might judge you for doing so.

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Dash is an experienced tech journalist who specializes in video games, electronic entertainment products, and the wider industry that surrounds them. He currently serves as the Gaming Editor at TechRadar, leading our review, preview, feature, and news coverage of the latest and greatest releases.

Before joining the team, he was Contributing Writer at PLAY (formerly Official PlayStation Magazine UK) and has written articles for many of the UK's other biggest gaming magazines including the likes of Edge, PC Gamer, and SFX.

Now, when he's not getting his greasy little mitts on the newest hardware or gaming gadget, he can be found listening to J-pop or feverishly devouring the latest Nintendo Switch otome.