German publisher Headup has released a trailer for the upcoming co-op Metroidvania Outbuddies.
Outbuddies was funded on Kickstarter back in April of 2017, and since then its humble three-person team has been quietly chugging along on it. Now, the game’s debut gameplay trailer has revealed some of the fruits of their labors. A lot of what’s on display here is classic Metroidvania.
There are dark subterranean environments, eerie monsters, giant boss fights, and even a power-up that lets you transform into a ball, Samus-style. At one point in the trailer the game’s protagonist additionally goes for a swim, a great improvement over the Castlevania heroes who tend to sink like stones in water and walk along the bottom. Outbuddies will also feature local co-op, with a second player capable of controlling the main character’s titular invincible buddy to clear out environmental hazards and solve puzzles.
In its Kickstarter campaign, Headup described Outbuddies as having a 16-bit aesthetic, but you can’t fool me. Those jet blacks, cool greys, and spikes of green and orange are pure Commander Keen, and the game’s look overall hews far closer to MS-DOS than the Sega Genesis. It’s a cool look, and one that even the pixel-happy indie scene hasn’t really rehabilitated yet. Throw in a Vangelis-like retro synthesized soundtrack, and this could be something interesting.
Outbuddies comes to PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Switch, and Steam later this year.
