In Co-Op Shooter Lazy River, Peeing In The Pool Turns Guests Into Zombies

Day of the Devs rarely disappoints. Every edition of the showcase has at least one game that looks both delightful and truly off-the-wall (Building Relationships often springs to mind for me in that regard). Lazy River was one such project that popped up during the latest Day of the Devs stream at Summer Game Fest. This is, fundamentally, a co-op survival shooter with some base building, but the concept and fun ideas the developers rolled into Lazy River are what help make it stand out.

The game is set in “the galaxy’s most unregulated waterpark,” which is called Water Station One. It features a lazy river that winds all the way through the park. That sounds lovely, and would likely make for a pleasant day out. Unfortunately, things won’t quite go to plan.

“Since the water park is on a space station, they can only use special space water,” creator Mike Boxleiter explained. “Because of the special properties of space water, you should not pee in the pool. If you do pee in the pool, the pee will go back up into you and turn you and everyone else in the water into zombies.”

Someone clearly couldn’t help themselves from following that one important rule. You and up to three of your buds are the only non-zombified guests in the park. All the others want to kill your group. Fortunately, the zombies explode once they get too wet and there are a whole lot of water balloons and squirt guns around the park. You can thwack them with pool noodles too.

To make it out of Water Station One in one piece, you’ll need to build a raft and ride it to the other end of the park. You’ll start by lashing together inner tubes and then upgrade your raft with things like walls, sails and engines. Keeping the raft balanced and not too heavy is important, and you’ll need to watch out for zombies hopping onboard (water cannons can help keep them at bay).

There are blockades along the river. These feature robot security teams that can damage your raft. Setting off the alarm system is something you’ll want to avoid too, since that will trigger a self-clean process that takes out all organic lifeforms in a given area. To replenish your health, you’ll need to find and grill nutritious food like hot dogs, onion rings, burgers and tater tots.

Boxleiter — who previously worked on the likes of Solipskier and TouchToneas well as the board game Secret Hitler — teamed up with a few friends to make Lazy River. The game, which has been in development for four years, will hit Steam in early access in summer 2027. It’s slated to cost $20.