MixedBag announces “forma.8”, planned for Wii U

After teasing a new title for Wii U earlier this week, MixedBag has announced “forma.8”. The title is slated for the eShop as well as the PS4, PS Vita, PC, Mac, Linux, and iOS.

forma.8 is a Metroidvania-inspired project set in a distant future. Players will float and explore their way through an alien planet without any sort of direction – everything is conveyed through images and sounds – as they attempt to locate and recover a powerful energy source deep under the surface before it’s too late.

MixedBag says forma.8 is the first Italian-made game announced for a next generation console. It’s also being worked on by just two people.

forma.8 will be shown at EGX Rezzed 2014 in the Leftfield Collection at the end of March.

You’ll find a trailer for the game above. An official announcement with more details is below.

MixedBag announces forma.8 for PS4, PSVita, Wii U, iOS, PC, Mac and Linux

After announcing Futuridium EP Deluxe for PlayStation Vita last week, italian indie studio MixedBag is proud to reveal that his long in the work action adventure forma.8 is coming to PlayStation 4, PlayStation Vita, Wii U, iOS, PC, Mac and Linux by the end of the year.

forma.8 is MixedBag’s own take on the classic metroidvania formula, a project started over two years ago as a little gameplay concept centered on an experimental control system for touch devices that evolved in an adventure of epic scale.?It’s the kind of game that, as a two-person indie developer, anyone tells you ‘hey, don’t start with something big like this!’… err…

In a distant future, the small exploration probe forma.8 is stranded alone on the surface of an alien planet. He got parted away from his companions by an accidental event and has a life or death mission to accomplish: he needs to find and recover a powerful energy source deep under the surface before it’s too late. Ancient civilisations, great perils and dystopian visions awaits him, and not everything is as it seems…

Floating gracefully in mid air, with a control system that aims to give the player a true sense of flying, our little hero forma.8 starts with no powers, no weapons and no hints of what to do and where to go: it’s up to the player to explore the planet, deal with its often hostile inhabitants, and slowly uncover the story.? There’s no verbal communication in the game, everything is conveyed to the player only with images and sounds.

A unique mix of hand drawn vector graphics and 3d elements brings the world of forma.8 to life with a clean and vibrant look, while the fully physics based interaction with the environment and the planet weird fauna offers unexpected twists to the gameplay.

Mandatory feature list (yawn):
• an expansive world to explore
• an intriguing and mysterious story
• action!
• puzzles!
• dystopian visions!
• combat!
• secrets to uncover
• lots of enemies
• lots of BIG enemies
• some more B I G G E R enemies
• …and all the power-ups you need to take care of them and to avoid all the nasty stuff you’ll face on the remote, alien planet
• 60 frames per second super fluid action

forma.8 will be playable at the EGX Rezzed (http://www.egxrezzed.net) in Birmingham, march 28-30, as part of the Leftfield Collection.

A Steam Greenlight for forma.8 is now online:
http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=232708850

Mauro Fanelli, confounder of MixedBag: “I’m so excited to finally reveal forma.8 for consoles, mobile, tablets and computers. I think it’s amazing that the first game announced for a next-generation console from an italian team is an indie project made by an indie team. It wouldn’t have been possible just a few years ago. A massive thanks to Sony and Nintendo for the support, and to Unity for making it possible”.

About MixedBag: MixedBag is a totally indipendent, two person, self funded studio based in Turin, Italy. MixedBag was founded in 2013 by the ex-videogame journalist Mauro Fanelli and the graphic designer Andrea Gellato. After working together for more than a year in their spare time, they decided it was the right move to go indie and work full time on their games. MixedBag released Futuridium EP for PC/Mac and iOS in 2013 and is now working on Futuridium EP Deluxe for PlayStation Vita and forma.8 for PlayStation 4, PlayStation Vita, Wii U, iOS, PC, Mac, Linux.