It seems like not a week goes by anymore without us encountering a new indie title that immediately shoots to the top of our most anticipated titles, with the latest example of this being Nick Oztok's Sonic & Mario-inspired platformer Aurascope, which is currently in development Steam.
Described by Oztok as "basically a 2D SM64 styled collectathon", the game recently came to our attention thanks to a cool new trend on Twitter/X, which sees indie developers sharing a video of their game alongside a breakdown of the "hard facts" about the game. And, immediately, upon seeing the smooth gameplay and its GBA-esque style pixel art, we found ourselves becoming instantly smitten with the project.
According to the description on Steam, the game follows the story of two friends Trace and Aurora who set out to uncover the secrets of the Aurascope — "a mysterious drive from beyond the stars" that allows players to interact with objects, attack enemies, and gain an additional jump boost while in the air. The goal of the game is to use its abilities to maneuver quickly around a bunch of worlds collecting objects called Energy Cores to restore power back to the Islands of Starlight.
Though the game is clearly a platformer first and foremost, it also reportedly features a mix of "light puzzle and RPG elements", with Oztok also listing Zelda among the game's influences.
There are also apparently various challenge modes to complete, as well as online leaderboards, and a head-to-head battle mode that sees you either teaming up or competing against your friends.
According to Oztok, a demo of the game is already available on Steam, with a Kickstarter expected to launch for the project next month, on April 14th.
You can follow the project now on Twitter/X or BlueSky.