Acclaim recently released a sizzle reel of sorts featuring gameplay of nine games they are planning on releasing. They represent a few genres and graphics styles here with only a few genres not being covered. Obviously they are not going to be able to cover every genre ever. What is represented is an interesting mix from sports to 2D side scrolling action affairs.
Curb Your Enthusiasm at the Door
Look, I am going to just get this out upfront. If you are expecting Mortal Kombat, Turok, Shadowman, etc then you will certainly be let down. No well-known IP is represented here; these are all brand new intellectual properties.
If you are interested in seeing new games in genres that, admittedly, either lacking or making a comeback, then you will probably find something interesting here.
There are nine games shown in total and they run the gamut of interesting to I don’t know about that one, at least for me. That doesn’t mean they are not likely to be interesting to you or others.
New Acclaim, New Games
First up is Grid Beat, this is a music based, overhead action game that feels like it is trying to pull elements of stealth in. The graphics are similar to what retro gamers may have referred to as “new age”, wire frame, etc. This is one, based on the clips, that I am unsure about. It might be a sleeper hit as gamers love music games.
Basketball Classics is a minimalist art style rocking sports entry. There are small calls to games like Mega Man and even Konami’s Double Dribble game. The graphics are clearly going for modern interpretation of Atari 2600 style graphics.
Ground Zero Hero is an overhead shooter, similar looking to Robotron but with much better cartoony graphics. Some sprites have a VERY similar look to properties Disney owns so, could be a collector’s item if the House of Mouse acts.
Pixel Washer is a 16-Bit style looking overhead power washing game. If you enjoy overhead adventures with a unique twist, you probably will enjoy this one.
Talaka is an interesting entry that stands out from the others in this list. First the protagonist is an African-American female and the game is 2D side scrolling action. Then the graphics hit you, it has a crayon/grease pencil look that stands out as at least eye catching, particularly well shown in the bosses.
Judging by the gameplay shown, that jumping/falling is going to be painful to adjust to. It seems the protagonist has A LOT more weight to them than the rest of the characters in the game. Oddly off putting.
Toss Down is an overhead action game pitting you as a delivery person. Anyone remember that PSOne game that was like that, you rode a bike and rode around town in a 3D world. Back to Toss Down, the graphics remind me a lot of the art style that Epic Mega Games uses for Fortnite. Stylized is what I think it is called.
The Prisoning is another 2D side scrolling action platformer with more 16-Bit looking graphics mixed with bosses that would fit in with early 32-Bit 2D games. The art style is familiar, and the jumping seems to be on point.
HyperYuki is another sports entry, this time snowboarding. The game looks quite good, I figure they are using Unity here, nothing wrong with that, it is a great engine. I do have concerns of the VERY Godzilla looking character in the background early in the clip. I hope Toho doesn’t see that.
Finally we have Katanaut, another 2D side scrolling action game, this time more horror/gore focused. This one gives me a very Chakan The Forever Man vibe, could be the character sprite, could be the darker aesthetics, could be I am completely wrong. Still, this one leads the pack as one I want to grab when these launch.
What do you think of Acclaims first wave of games? Do any stand out to you? Let me know in the comments below.
Overall, I would say, a decent first wave showing many genres, attempting to reach many different markets, and showing they are not doing one game at a time. This lends credence to my thoughts that they need to work with many developers, go for a broad approach, give voice/recognition to games that might otherwise have fallen to the wayside without marketing.