By Dexerto | Created at 2026-10-18 17:11:44 | Updated at 2026-10-18 18:45:19
1 hour ago
The friendslop genre, or “FriendSLAP” as Hitbox Entertainment calls it, has a new contender on Steam, and this one is all about keeping a balloon off the floor.
Keep It Up! is the studio’s debut game, and its free demo has already passed 500,000 downloads ahead of its full release.
The rules are simple. Players have to work together to keep a single balloon in the air, and the moment it touches the ground, the run falls apart.
Keep It Up! has players batting a balloon through 15 rooms
According to its Steam page, up to four players take on the role of test subjects working their way through rooms filled with fans, spikes and narrow hallways.
Each of the 15 rooms is harder than the last, and letting the balloon drop comes with what the game calls harsh consequences.
When they aren’t keeping the balloon alive, players can mess around in a physics playground lobby and use in-game voice chat to coordinate. There’s also a character creator with more than 25 sliders, plus unlockable hair and outfit cosmetics.
The four developers behind it were previously in a touring band together, and they only started making the game in February 2026.
Keep It Up! is set to launch in Q4 2026, though a price hasn’t been announced yet. Until then, the demo is free to download on Steam.
