Cleared Hot Demo Hands-On: MicroProse Revives Helicopter Action With Physics and Creative Mayhem

If you’ve ever lamented that modern shooters have lost their sense of wild experimentation, the Cleared Hot demo on Steam Next Fest just might hit your sweet spot. As someone who grew up on Desert Strike, Jungle Strike, and the old MicroProse sims, I had to check out this new chopper game-not just for a quick nostalgia trip, but to see if MicroProse can actually bring that chunky, satisfying arcade feel into the sandbox era. Spoiler: It mostly does, but with some fascinating new tricks.

Cleared Hot Demo: Physics-Driven Helicopter Action Comes to Steam

• Physics-driven mayhem: Manipulate crates, barrels, and, yes, chickens using rope and magnet mechanics-bringing back a sense of playful experimentation missing from modern shooters.
• Old-school meets new-school: Arcade flight and upgraded helis combine with sandbox tactics, creating plenty of “did that just work?” moments.
• MicroProse’s roots show: The veteran studio leans on a legacy of simulation, but Cleared Hot embraces creative fun over dry realism.
• The demo’s got substance: Four missions cover daylight and night ops, giving a real taste of campaign pacing and variety-not just a barebones tutorial.

Game Info

Feature	Specification
Publisher	MicroProse
Release Date	TBA (Demo out now)
Genres	Action, Tactical Shooter, Physics Sandbox
Platforms	PC (Steam)

Let’s be real: helicopter sims and shooters have kind of become a lost art. Outside of the occasional indie love letter or throwback remaster, nobody has recaptured the mid-80s-to-90s glory days, when you could throw a chopper around, dodge missiles, and haphazardly tow weird stuff with joyfully over-torqued physics. Cleared Hot feels like MicroProse’s play to fix that—and it’s got the energy of a studio that still understands what’s fun about these games.

What stood out immediately in the demo wasn’t just the nostalgia. Sure, the retro aesthetic and laser-guided soundtrack tick all the right boxes for people raised on the likes of Gunship or F15 Strike Eagle. But it’s the creative rope and magnet mechanics that feel genuinely new: you can literally yank barrels mid-flight, slam crates into obstacles, even pick up livestock and deliver environmental punishment. I lobbed a barrel into a guard tower, watched it tumble with real weight, and realized that Cleared Hot’s physics aren’t a gimmick—they’re the core, baked into every encounter. It feels closer to Moving Out in a warzone than another sterile vehicle sim.

The mission structure does lean on what you’d expect—rescue squads, blow up outposts, ferry supplies—but the sheer amount of improvisation is where things get lively. Need to reposition your squad under fire? Lash them to the chopper with the rope, swing low, and pray the AI pathfinding gods are kind. Got a heat-seeking missile on your tail? Redirect it with the terrain…or sacrifice one of those environmental objects you kindly “borrowed.” That sense of “let’s see if this works” is what modern tactical shooters have been missing.

Mechanically, the customizable helicopters offer a taste of loadout tinkering—enough to suggest the full game will reward creative play, but not so much that it bogs down the arcade roots. Upgrades change up the missile count, armor, or speed, but you still feel nimble and a little reckless. Importantly, the demo delivers both daytime and dusk ops, nudging you to switch up tactics with darkness and thermal vision. MicroProse seems to have learned from its sim-heavy past: for Cleared Hot, fun trumps fidelity.

Is this going to be the next big esports hit or VR sim? Not likely, and that’s not a flaw—it’s a deliberate throwback for gamers who want sandbox freedom, crunchy physics, and chaotic problem-solving. The fact that MicroProse is even making original action games again (after years of only managing old franchises) is a win for anyone tired of open-world bloat and microtransaction-laden shooters. If you’re a veteran of Strike games or just want a break from endless live service grinds, Cleared Hot is worth the demo download—if only to revel in the kind of physics-driven chaos AAA studios rarely attempt anymore.

What’s the takeaway for players? Don’t expect a deep military sim or ultra-realistic flight modeling. Instead, the appeal here is playful experimentation: can you win a mission by flinging a truck at a SAM site? Do barrels beat bullets when the chips are down? The campaign hints are promising, the upgrade system has potential, and the environmental physics lead to a ton of unscripted moments. Whether it’ll have long-term legs depends on how wild MicroProse lets things get in the full release, but for now, it’s proof that classic action can still feel fresh if you let the player go wild.

TL;DR: Cleared Hot’s Steam demo is an unexpectedly creative revival of helicopter arcade-action—and a sign that MicroProse hasn’t lost its knack for pure, physics-fueled fun. If you crave the experimental chaos of Strike games (or just want to weaponize chickens), clear your schedule for a test flight.