Co-Op Horror Game Pipes.exe Announced at PC Gaming Show 2026
Pipes.exe extends Critical Reflex's track record of low-poly, quirky horror titles into a cooperative format, leaning heavily on nostalgic Windows-era visual design as a distinguishing hook.
Reporting from 2 sources: 4Gamer.net, Game Spark.
Publisher Critical Reflex and developer Moving Pieces Interactive announced the cooperative first-person horror game Pipes.exe during the PC Gaming Show 2026 on June 8. The game supports one to four players who take on the role of low-level QA testers at a company called SYSTEM 6D. Players enter a software environment styled after 1990s-era Windows PCs, navigating procedurally generated worlds that resemble classic screen savers. The objective is to collect artifact items and deposit them into a trash bin, then reach an exit to clear each stage. Gameplay involves climbing pipes, avoiding monsters, and dealing with gimmicks such as pipe tips that attack like snakes, bugs that cling to inventory, and streams of stars that cause falls. There are six stages total, and two consecutive wipes on the same stage result in a game over. Between stages, players can purchase items at a shop. The game is scheduled for release on PC via Steam. A live-action trailer was also released, set in a 1990s-style office with unsettling atmosphere.
The developer, Moving Pieces Interactive, was founded in Brooklyn in 2019 and has produced "solid, up-and-coming works," according to a Game Spark preview. The game's visual design is its standout feature, faithfully recreating the look of a 1990s-era Windows PC. The preview notes a "not-so-cute assistant AI at the bottom of the screen" and "cheaply made mini-games pre-installed."
Gameplay is a 3D platformer using unstable footholds. Players climb pipes by left-clicking to attach the left hand and right-clicking to attach the right hand. Stamina is present, but the preview warns that "overconfidence is not advised." The controller mapping is solid for pad users. The gimmicks escalate across the six stages: pipe tips open and attack like snakes, bugs cling to inventory items, and streams of stars cause falls. One stage is a brown 3D maze screensaver where players avoid mosaic-covered monsters while searching for keys and doors, which the preview notes felt reminiscent of the earlier game "R.E.P.O."
Two consecutive wipes on the same stage result in a game over with no fundraising required. Between stages, players can buy helpful items at a shop. The in-game emails contain "musty and unsettling lore," and failed stage attempts leave corpses scattered around, conveying the company's shadiness "in a nicely ironic way." The preview describes the game as "a cooperative horror with a uniquely quirky visual style, just like CRITICAL REFLEX."
Synthesized by Yomimono from the 2 cited sources below, including Japanese-language reporting where cited, then editorially reviewed before publishing.