Imagine Tokyo Jungle and Sword & Sworcery mated and had a slugcat baby
Say hello to Rain World, a stylish as hell platformer.
Like Hyper Light Drifter before it, Rain World emerged on Kickstarter out of nowhere and boy does it look good!
In stills its retro-chic aesthetic looks properly pink and pleasant, but maybe not quite revolutionary. Then you see it in motion and its fluid, frantic action and phenomenal animation recall Nidhogg by way of Sword & Sworcery.
Playing as a too-adorable-for-words "slugcat," you explore a derelict industrial world plagued by a near perpetual downpour. Given the harsh climate, most living creatures tend to take shelter from the nefarious percipitation and gales, but predators and prey alike have got to come out some time. "The gameplay consists of platforming and fast paced sneaking," Team Rain World explained on the Kickstarter page. It all sounds a bit Tokyo Jungle with fewer sweater-sporting corgis.
When I asked about Rain World's structure, the two-person development team e-mailed me to explain that it's "Metroidvania but... even more open world." It then added "The different areas, 'levels' if you will, are more based on the players actual skill than some 'find red key, find blue key' sort of thing."
In addition to its single-player campaign, Rain World will feature up to four-player multiplayer in both competitive and co-operative game modes consisting of deathmatch, endurance, waves, custom challenges and more.
Reserving Rain World upon its estimated PC and Mac release this autumn costs a respectable $10, while reserving an early build and soundtrack requires a $25 pledge.
So far the Rain World developer has only acquired $1107 of its $25K goal, but it also just launched its campaign mere hours ago. I feel confident it will pick up a lot of steam soon, even if it may not topple something like Hyper Light Drifter, the other crowdfunded neon pink-tinted ode to retro gaming with modern sensibilities. But does Hyper Light Drifter have a slugcat? I thought not.
