To start making a game like Speedollama You have to be a genius and, also, be a little crazy. Or rather, like a flame. Nicola Piovesan and the Chaosmonger Studio team are inspired by classics like Metal Slug or Turrican and the frenetic action of the most recent Broforce to bet on that kind of platform action that never goes out of style. A formula that has conquered entire generations and returns with an interesting twist: its scenarios are procedurally generated.
The premise of Speedollama It boils down to purging side-scrolling levels filled with alpacas in record time. The reason? According to their creators, they have always been the natural enemies of flames. That said, in the end it all comes down to fast-paced games based on the idea of running in all directions like hell and shooting even faster. And, for example, its most recent trailer.
From here, a note: if the name of Speedollama It catches you new, it’s normal. The origin of everything lies in a crowdfunding campaign that the Chaosmonger Studio team launched last year and was revived through itch.io under the name Schizollamaalthough even in that version the playable bases and the three protagonists of this candy for us lovers of pixelated run’n’gun were already perfectly defined.
In fact, behind this small (but tough) project we find a very small team but with quite clear ideas: Chaosmonger Studio has recently launched ENCODYA or Soul Tolerance and according to the Kickstarter campaign page Speedollama It has been developed with a team of only six people.
What lies ahead of us? The essential plan is to enter and destroy nine areas with their corresponding final boss and that make a total of 36 levels that, in all probability, we will only be able to discover once: the stages of Speedollama They are procedurally generated and their design will change in each game. A premise that, by the way, seems to borrow from other roguelite hits like Dead Cells but that ends up sweeping home through its classic gameplay.
That said, the beauty of any classic shooter is in the action and the enemies. In Speedollama We have 18 beasts, six types of alpacas that will face us, nine bosses (one for each scenario) and, as in Metal Slugdifferent armored vehicles that we will have to shoot down by spraying them with lead. The influences of this game are always visible and work in its favor.
For our part as players, Speedollama It has three protagonists (Chris, Arnold and Lizzy) with their corresponding predefined characteristics and up to 23 types of upgrades. Which, added to the six types of weapons, greatly multiplies the replayability of a proposal defined by Chaosmonger Studio as a “pixelated carnage not suitable for the faint of heart.” It is clear that its creators hate alpacas unconditionally. And that brings us to the last big question: When and where can we play?
The launch of Speedollama is scheduled for next October 21 on Nintendo Switch, PlayStation, Xbox and PC, being compatible with Steam Deck. All in all, you will be happy to know that you can now test the resistance of your controller’s buttons through the Steam demo. An appetizer from one of those indies who, perhaps, do not aspire to invent gunpowder but know very well how much we retro lovers love pixelated explosions.
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