This co-op extraction shooter has aerial combat and full destruction, and it’s free to try right now

I remember earlier in the year being hooked by a reveal trailer for Polaris, one of the many upcoming extraction shooter games that have been announced in recent months. Well, the time has come for players to get their hands on it during Steam Next Fest and give its chaotic yet stylish co-op action a try.

Yes, Polaris has got a free demo over on Steam right now. In the third-person co-op game, you and up to three other pals drop into missions with limited lives and a timer ticking down with one goal in mind – destroy dozens of ships belonging to the evil group known as the Regime. There are no battles against other foot soldiers here – it’s just you and your teammates against some colossal aircraft.

As you progress throughout a match and take out more and more ships, you’ll earn tokens that you can use to buy better weapons and items. However, there comes a point where you need a bit more firepower than just Polaris’ arsenal of guns, and that’s where aerial combat comes in. You can take to the skies and have a shootout with the Regime in a ship all of your own. Should you find yourself with insufficient funds, you can still get airborne, as individual characters can fly around, Superman-style, thanks to their grav boots.

With fully destructible environments and its distinctive art style (I barely recognized it compared to how it looked when it was first revealed) Polaris does look like a unique member of the Extraction Shooter Newcomers Club. The actual ‘extraction’ element does seem a little thin when compared to its rivals, but there’s still some fun co-op mayhem to be had here.

While Polaris is a way off launching yet, you can play its Steam Next Fest demo from now until Monday October 21. You can download the demo, wishlist the game, and find out more about it right here.

Once you’re done with Polaris, you’ll find plenty of other chaotic co-op titles on our lists of the best FPS games and the best multiplayer games.

You can also follow us on Google News for daily PC games news, reviews, and guides, or grab our PCGN deals tracker to net yourself some bargains.