A group of industry veterans came together in Portland, Oregon to form a new independent game studio, Starsoft. Building love-letters to classics, but focused on modern engagement, the studio is just now focused on its first game. The inaugural project is called Savior, a new 2D pixel-art action indie game. A trailer shows off the title's unique combat and movement.
Starsoft's Savior is an open-world action-adventure game set on the island-nation of Arcadia. Players traverse the 2D side-scrolling world as Sam, a lost young woman trapped between two opposing societies. The Chosen and The Fallen have been divided for centuries, and it's up to the player to help resolve the conflict between the two groups.
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A new gameplay and overview trailer for Savior has given players a taste of what to expect from the game. In it, Starsoft expanded on three core elements that make Savior special. The first special element is the game's combat, which is inspired by games like Punch-Out!! and the Batman Arkham series. All enemies can strike, dodge, and parry, making combat more exciting and dangerous. Opponents will try to surround the player, so learning how enemies telegraph their attacks will help players succeed in battle.
The second core element in Savior is smooth movement. As players run around Arcadia, Sam will be able to lunge, jump, swim, and climb with parkour movement inspired by Prince of Persia, and other games. The fluid movements are due in part to the dozens of animations for every action, which help create intriguing visuals while playing. The third core element is the game's story. In essence, players have to unite two factions against a greater enemy, but the game allows for unique interactions, and a player's choices will influence the world.
While the story itself may not be entirely unique, it will be interesting to see how it will stand on its own. Savior looks to be a promising indie game, with clean gameplay mechanics that will entice any fan of Metroidvania-type games. Starsoft is hoping to release Savior in Winter 2022, so it's just a matter of time before players can get their hands on it.
Savior is in development for PC and Nintendo Switch.