Today's Xbox Partner Preview had a ton of interesting titles of all shapes and sizes, but few other caught my eye like Erosion, the latest title from Plot Twist.
Plot Twist is known for The Last Case of Benedict Fox, another ID@Xbox game that featured heavily in previous Xbox showcase events. The team is back with publisher Lyrical Games to offer its take on the twin-stick shooter genre, albeit with various, heavy twists (they are called Plot Twist after all).
Erosion is set in an alternative and futuristic Wild West. A warped time anomaly known as the Pillar is gradually eroding reality, and its on the player to dive directly into the mysterious Pillar in a bid to rescue the main character's daughter.
The Pillar dungeons will be familiar in format to those who have played games like Hades or Moonlighter, albeit with fully (and satisfyingly) destructible environments owing to the game's voxelized engine. The studio has worked hard to ensure every chunk of the environment can be shredded into mulch, reacting to the large variety of weapons and power ups you'll find on each dungeon run.
The Pillar problematically accelerates time while you're inside it. Every death moves the environment forward decades in time, turning formerly busy settlements into abandoned husks. Similarly, every failure brings your daughter closer to death too. She'll start off as a child, progress to adulthood, and if you're unsuccessful, eventually succumb to the passing of time. It creates a air of urgency among the chaos, and the high stakes should give Erosion a sense of emotional depth often missing from these types of games.
Indeed, Erosion isn't simply all about combat. Visiting settlements, participating in mini games, vehicular customization, character progression, solving side-quests, and making story decisions can also impact the world in big ways.
You can side with different factions, for example, which could carry consequences in future time skips. Supporting one faction may lead to another becoming hostile towards you in the future — reminding me of that one episode of Rick and Morty with the wine, you know the one.
Helping an innocent store keeper get ahead of his competition might lead to him becoming a crime kingpin in the next time skip. Failing to deal with a small group of crazies might lead to them becoming a dangerous cult in the future. The decisions should make each run more interesting, and the game's open-world design potentially lends itself to a large array of future content drops and collaborations.
The Partner Preview gave us a fun glimpse at strong Xbox Play Anywhere titles
The Xbox Partner Preview had a ton of games of all shapes and sizes, all endowed with Xbox Play Anywhere and many with Xbox Game Pass features too. Erosion continues Plot Twist's partnership with Microsoft to that end, with the excelllent Last Case of Benedict Fox also featuring therein.
I think Erosion could have a broader appeal than Benedict Fox, however. Games like Hades, Moonlighter, and Cult of the Lamb have offered a blueprint for how to nail these types of games. But much like Plot Twist's namesake, the spin they've put on Erosion gives it a uniqueness that should help it stand out in an increasingly busy crowd.
Tons of side content, choice and consequence, vehicular combat in an open world, destructible environments, wild eldritch boss battles, and its unique Wild West futurism should land it on your list of most anticipated upcoming Xbox games. I know it's on mine.
Erosion will hit Early Access and Xbox Game Preview (for PC) in Spring 2026, with a wider launch coming soon after. It will also feature Xbox Play Anywhere support, and drop day one into Xbox Game Pass Ultimate and Xbox Cloud Gaming.
If Erosion nails the upgrade gameplay loop without feeling overly repetitive, I can see it becoming my next Xbox handheld addiction next year.
Be sure to check out more of the games from this week's Xbox Partner Preview over here.
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