Guts and Glory

Overview

Guts and Glory is a survival racing game created by solo game developer Jedediah “HakJak” Steen and published by tinyBuild. It's loosely based on the concept of ordinary people competing in life-or-death race challenges in a twisted game. However, little has been revealed about this story so far.

It features physics-based vehicles with dynamic destruction, ragdoll characters with real-time dismemberment, and obstacle-course-like tracks full of deadly hazards.

New tracks are continually built by the community using the built-in level editor and Steam Workshop.

The game is in early development, scheduled for release on Steam's Early Access program February 16th, 2017, for Windows, Mac, and Linux (SteamOS). Console releases are planned for PS4 and Xbox One in early 2018.

Gameplay

The primary goal of the game is to race to the finish line while everything tries to kill the player. Players will be assaulted by a wide assortment of hazards as they attempt to complete the levels, losing limbs and blood along the way. Players can race for the fastest time, try to reach the finish line alive, or just try to kill the characters in creative fashions.

The developer has stated that he plans to add additional game modes in the future, and possibly game mechanics for community-made levels to have their own unique goals.

Damage System

Guts and Glory is well-known for its dynamic damage system that causes every death to be unique. Characters can be cut, stabbed, dismembered, and blown into pieces. Bones can be broken and characters knocked unconscious. Characters can also die by losing too much health.

The damage system in Guts and Glory is based on both physics and game mechanics. For example, if a character is hit by a medium-velocity object, it may just break the bone--leaving a flopping, useless arm dangling in the wind. But if the character takes a high-velocity impact, their arm may be torn off completely, complete with profuse bleeding. Hazards such as saws will just cut the appendages off immediately. Or if a player takes too much damage, like too many arrows or a headshot, their characters will die.

The developer has stated that he plans to add more damage mechanics in the future, such as fire and frost.

Version 2.0 of the damage system (currently in development) features more realistic blood particles, dynamic blood splatter, guts, gibs, and more over-the-top violence in general. The developer has also stated that user settings will be added to adjust these variables, as well as a satirical "family friendly" setting.

Characters and Vehicles

Each character is assigned to a specific vehicle and may actually consist of multiple characters. These character-vehicle combos are referred to as simply Characters or Heroes.

There are currently four Characters available. The developer has revealed plans to develop at least eight more before the full release of the game.

John and Jimmy

John is a hard-working dad trying to live the American Dream. He and his son Jimmy compete in the Guts and Glory games on their trusty Golden Goose brand bicycle. It is one of the smallest vehicles in the game, allowing them to traverse narrow pathways or navigate difficult environments. It is also very sturdy, with the ability to withstand significant damage. The tires have good traction but can be popped by sharp objects or knocked off by hard impacts.

Losing Jimmy will not cause John to fail, and will actually make the vehicle slightly lighter and faster.

Earl

Earl is an intoxicated redneck and proud of it. He signed up for The Games on a drunken whim and races with the loves of his life--his ATV, his beer, and his shotgun Betsy. The ATV has high acceleration and good top speed, but poor control at high speeds. It's good at climbing steep terrain or quickly escaping dangerous locations.

The Yang Family

The Yang Family consists of three characters: Wang, Kim, and Yin.

Wang Yang is the husband and father. He's over-his-head in debt, living beyond his means, and always trying to keep his wife happy--which is an impossible task.

Kim Yang is the wife and mother. She's never happy and always demanding more of her husband and daughter. She loves spending money and is always trying to maintain appearances.

Yin Yang is the daughter. She hates her life and is always trying to escape into books and TV shows. She's a huge fan of the Gumsy and Gomar Show, a very popular children's program with senseless violence and life-teaching moments.

The Yang Family competes in their Mezooki 600 Series convertible car. It has a high top speed and handles corners and drifts fairly well. Although it looks nice, it's very cheaply made and damages easily.

Larry

Dr. Lawrence Walters, aka "Lawn-chair Larry", was once a brilliant rocket scientist. But then he discovered the wonders of LSD and has been on a never-ending trip since. He's competing in The Games to either reclaim his former glory or fuel his drug addiction further.

Larry uses a lawn chair with rockets strapped to each leg of it as his vehicle. He made it himself. It's difficult to control, but very fast.

This character is currently in early development stages.

Vehicle Classes

Each Character falls under a specific Vehicle Class. These classes group vehicles with similar attributes for easier level design and player experience.

Class A

These vehicles are smaller and slower than the rest. Examples include bicycles, tricycles, or scooters.

Class B

Small-medium sized vehicles, with medium-fast speeds. Examples include ATVs, motorcycles, or snowmobiles.

Class C

Cars, trucks and other large-sized vehicles with high speeds.

Class F

Flying vehicle types. These could be rocket-powered contraptions, small airplanes, helicopters or gliders.