Last year we told you about a small indie title known as “Shapes of Gray”. The developer shared a new update today, revealing that quite a bit has changed over the past few months.
The latest from Secret Tunnel Entertainment is below:
The core design is still there, but the interactions between the various enemies are more complex and dynamic. After getting some great feedback from other developers who have worked on similar games (like Alex Neuse, the lead director of the BIT.TRIP series, and Rami Ismail, the producer behind Luftrausers and Nuclear Throne), I also added in more eye candy and visual polish, along with a ton of new sound effects, all of which add up to make the game world feel much more alive.
Probably the biggest criticism of the original PC version of Shapes of Gray was that there was no score-tracking; imagine, an arcade game with no way to see your high score! Having people tell me that my game is fun and that they’d like to play it over and over again, but that they have no incentive to, was pretty disappointing—so one of the biggest additions that I’ve made to the Wii U version of Shapes of Gray is the Arcade Mode. Designing Arcade Mode has been a ton of fun, and there are a few differences in how it plays that make it really interesting to “figure out”—you’ll get more info on that in just a few weeks.
On top of all that, there’s still so much more to the Wii U version of Shapes of Gray that I can’t wait for you all to see. The core game is now doubled in length, with twice as many enemies and bosses, there are new powerups scattered throughout the levels, there are challenges for the best players to take on, and there are even some awesome new surprises that you’ll have to see for yourself. Of course, the fantastic soundtrack (composed by Negative World’s very own Chicago-based indie-punktronic Andrew Nee) is still intact, and sounds better than ever being blared into your ears from the Wii U Gamepad speakers.
Speaking of which, there will be Gamepad-only play too—because what’s a Wii U game without it?
Secret Tunnel Entertainment remains on track for launch sometime this spring.
Sneaky Ninja has managed to reach its Kickstarter goal with less than a day remaining in its campaign. Total funds surpassed $10,000 just a short while ago, and the game is now guaranteed to come to Wii U.
Sneaky Ninja is a 2D stealth platformer. Players can choose from an arsenal of tools and magical powers to fight enemies or stay hidden in the shadows.
Watch a trailer for Sneaky Ninja aobve.
Axiom Verge would seem like the perfect fit on Wii U. The action-adventure game, which launches on PlayStation 4 later this month and other platforms down the line, is a true Metroidvania experience.
The team behind Axiom Verge does have interest in bringing Axiom Verge to Wii U. Dan Adelman, who is handling business and PR for the title, told NintendoWorldReport:
We obviously would love to bring it to Nintendo platforms at some point and we’re looking at ways we might want to do that. Because of some technical reasons and the way the game was designed, it will take a little bit of time to get it ported over, so we’re looking into what that will cost us and how long it will take but that’s something we definitely are considering.
The main issue surrounding a possible Axiom Verge Wii U port is the console’s incompatibility with MonoGame development software. We had heard towards the end of 2013 that the tool was coming to Wii U, but that actually hasn’t happened after all. In order to make a Wii U version of Axiom Verge possible, MonoGame needs to be supported on Wii U, or the title would need to be ported to C++.
Atlus has shared a bunch of information regarding SpotPass and StreetPass support in Devil Survivor 2: Record Breaker. All of the details are posted below, and you can find a new round of screenshots above.
Demon summoners in Devil Survivor 2 will have some wireless advantages once the game launches. Thanks to the Nintendo 3DS system’s SpotPass and StreetPass features, players will be able to unlock and advance their demons in new ways!
SpotPass
We’ll have several waves of SpotPass content rolling out once the game launches (schedule still TBD), but the immediate advantage will be a whole ton of new demons for players to fuse. So if you were looking for your precious Tyrant Lucifer Frost or Wilder Catoblepas, they’ll be rolling out to players via SpotPass. Another bonus going out via SpotPass will be some skill add-ons. One of the hallmarks of the Devil Summoner series is cracking skills that are assigned from a communal skill pool, meaning players can’t use the same skill on more than one character. Via SpotPass, players will be able to get a helpful magic skill, a powerful normal skill, and a recommended physical skill added to their skill pool. But that’s all we’re telling you about them!
Jorg Winterstein’s mobile game Bloo Kid 2 is currently being ported over to the 3DS. At the moment, a release date has not been determined.
Bloo Kid 2 is a 2D platformer with five worlds (nine levels in each), boss battles, and chiptune music. You can watch a trailer above.
Theatrhythm Dragon Quest’s demo is out now in Japan, and we’ve been hearing that it doesn’t support stereoscopic 3D. This will apply to the final game as well, according to Nintendo’s website.
This is the first Theatrhythm to not make use of 3D. Theatrhythm Final Fantasy and Theatrhythm Final Fantasy: Curtain Call both had support for the feature.
F-Zero: GP Legend is coming to the North American Wii U Virtual Console tomorrow, Nintendo’s website confirms. The game was just rated by the ESRB yesterday, which hinted at an upcoming release.
F-Zero: GP Legend will be available for $6.99 when it launches on the eShop.
An update for Paper Monsters Recut has gone live in Europe. The patch should be coming to North America soon, and we’ll update this post when that happens. Developer Mobot Studios says the update mainly addresses bugs.
Paper Monsters Recut for #WiiU update is live in EU. Should be coming any day now in NA too. Mostly bug fixes.
— Fletcher (@MobotStudios) March 11, 2015
Reviews for Code Name: S.T.E.A.M. are starting to come in, and the critical reception appears to be a bit mixed thus far. Here’s a look at the early verdicts:
IGN – 7.9 / 10
Game Informer – 8 / 10
GameSpot – 4 / 10
NintendoWorldReport – N/A
Nintendo Life – 8 / 10
Shacknews – 8 / 10
Destructoid – 6.5 / 10
GamesRadar – 8 / 10
USgamer – 4 / 5
GameTrailers – 8 / 10
