A thing that always tickles me in a particular way is when a game takes a beloved mechanic from an iconic game that doesn't technically exist. By not existing I'm talking about something like wavedashing in Super Smash Bros. Melee. You can't play that game professionally without doing it, and yet it's just an exploit as opposed to something purposeful, but there are derivatives that directly bake it in. So, despite never playing its source (pun intended (you'll see what I mean in a second)) of inspiration, I'm quite intrigued by Clipmatrix, a momentum platformer set in surreal, industrial locales built around Source Engine bunny hopping found in the likes of Counter-Strike.

I'm going to bastardise this a bit, but for the uninitiated, bunny hopping is a bit of movement tech found in a range of shooters where you are constantly chaining jumps and mid-air strafes to gain more speed than the game would normally allow for. I think, anyway, I'm not an expert on this. Clipmatrix is a platformer that is all about this one form of movement, with no shooting to be found, just a range of low-resolution JPEGs of an arm holding various kinds of knives (and sometimes an old iPhone, the kind that still had a home button).

— Alice Bottino (@bottino.games) August 18, 2026 at 2:25 AM

It certainly seems like a game geared towards speedrunner. There's a 100 level campaign to play through, filled with hazy floating concrete platforms and walls to almost float across, with an endless race mode containing a further 50 tracks that morph into an "unpredictable, non-linear loop." But even with that, there's a Garry's Mod, virtual hangout spot kind of vibe to it by the sounds of things, as there's a hub area you can hang out in with other folks, and lobbies that can host up to 250 other runners on the same track at once.

If any of this sounds intimidating to you, the Steam page does highlight a "dedicated tutorial" that teaches you all about "strafe timing, momentum preservation, and speed mechanics from scratch in a clear, step-by-step training mode." The whole thing just seems neat and vibey, and comes from developer Dreamware Media, the same folks that made Hyperbeat, alongside the also upcoming and differently vibey pipedog. You can wishlist Clipmatrix here.