Hot Lava is a first-person course running game that takes cues from Source, Quake, CounterStrike and even a little Mirror's Edge, all with the nostalgic tie of that 'floor's lava!" game that we all used to play as kids. You play as an adult-sized action figure that has to maneuver around different areas where the ground has been covered by lava.

I talked with Mark Laprairie, who had the idea for the game and is now kind of the point man on on it. He always had a fascination with the Quake and CounterStrike maneuverability courses and the communities that congregated around them, but was never able to play them because they were way too hard. This is understandable, because these games were all mods that focussed on glitches in a character's movement. His goal with Hot Lava was to make a game that made it easier for people to get a hang of the mechanics, but then challenge them just like the old courses did.

The maps of Hot Lava tell the story of the game. It is all about growing up, but also about thinking back to what life was like as a kid. You'll start off in your bedroom, move to the living room, into the basement. As you grow, you'll end up in maps like High School, where you are in an office space, but of course it too has been filled to the knee with lava. These areas are designed with a "critical path" that Laprairie and the crew have envisioned, but he did say that the hardcore surfing audience will find ways to maneuver the maps more efficiently.

And for those of you who remember goofing off and getting thrown out of supermarkets as a kid, here's a sneak peak of one of the new maps, called Wholesale, where you'll be jumping, climbing and sliding around a Costco-esque market:

Laprairie also mentioned that Hot Lava is intended to be a very social multiplayer game. You'll be able to play through levels in groups of six or eight others that can not interfere with you, so there won't be any griefing. The point of it is to keep players invested in one map long enough to have fun experiences and to make friends. They do this by having players unlock new versions and modes for each map so that they spend more time grinding through all of it before the head to the next, instead of blowing through all of the maps in a speed run.

Hot Lava leans heavily on the characters you will play as and unlock to make you feel all nostalgic for the 80s and 90s. Each one, although they won't feel or play any different, has a unique design that is reminiscent of a certain character or archetype from back in the day. There are characters who will remind you of GI: Joe, TMNT, Indiana Jones, and tons more that all come in their own, impeccably designed boxes that you might just want to leave them in, because once you open them up, the box is gone forever. It is a real clever way to do character unlocks, and one that I will personally be struggling with when I see that sweet box art.

To go along with these characters and to establish them in the Hot Lava universe, they will all be getting different comic books and TV shows that will unlock alongside the characters. They will be available in game, and will tell their stories, just as if you were watching Saturday morning cartoons.

Whether it's the speed running, the multiplayer/social experience, or the sense of nostalgia that gets you excited, it is hard to think of who might not find something to love in Hot Lava. It's got mechanics, an awesome art style and a sense of charm that Klei games always have. Hot Lava has been "Greenlit" and is coming to PC via Steam. No release date yet, but that is just how Klei does things. It will be out when its out.