Low poly horror Tumblebee combines the joy of tumbling bees with the not-joy of being chased by huge spiders

For the past few years, the author has been attempting to transform their fear of spiders into a more measured appreciation. They draw pictures of spiders and write stories about them, marveling at their form. However, upon seeing a spider in the wild, they rush away in terror, trying to remove any imaginary silk strands from their face.

Video games like Tumblebee do not aid in this process, as none of the title suggests being chased through tunnels by eight-legged creatures. The name suggests a cheerful platformer or an apicultural spin on Peggle.

In Tumblebee, spiders have kidnapped the protagonist's bee companions and cocooned them in a cave. The player must rescue them before the spiders wake up and devour them. Unfortunately, the player cannot run fast enough to escape the spiders, which is where the unique "tumbling bee" mechanic comes into play. Players can roll, hop, and bounce from mushrooms to gain precious centimeters of distance from the spiders. The Steam page does not reveal if the player can get caught in a web, but that is a distinct possibility.

The game's soundtrack is a clangorous, roaring electronic score that causes the player's blood to rush to their head. Tumblebee is set to release on September 17, 2026. The author writes about this game partly because it is from Agelvik, the creators of the popular underwater hell shooter Death in Abyss, and partly because they are trying to overcome their own arachnophobia.

As spiders are wonders of nature, the author hopes to identify the spiders featured in Tumblebee. Based on their size, the author believes one is a Huntsman in the fourth screen shot.