Gearbox Publishing
Like a lot of gamers , I was knocked out when I get a line that Xbox hadshuttered Tango Gameworksearlier this calendar month . The exceptionally talented studio had just come off a banner yr where it released thecritically belovedHi - Fi Rush . Despite being label as a achiever by Xbox administrator , that was n’t enough to save Tango , which was keep out down as it actively tried to flip a continuation . It ’s warn news program that ’s led to me wishing more publishers were willing to parent originative ideas from small-scale teams .
In that sense , RKGK‘s timing could n’t be serious . On its surface , the new platforming risky venture from Wabisabi Games bears a striking resemblance toHi - Fi Rush . It ’s a colorful plot about counterculture revolt , and it ’s all set to a high - push soundtrack . Its graffiti gameplay hooking calls to mindJet Set Radiomorethan the musical action ofHi - Fi Rush , but it has the same youthful smell that makes that secret plan so special .
Gearbox Publishing
ThoughRKGKis much rougher around the edges than the game it ’s inspired by , its development story is a hopeful one for an industry presently mired in topsy-turvydom . The task , a debut from a team free-base in Latin America , was made with the support of Riot Games ’ Underrepresented Founders Program . That donation facilitate a fresh studio receive its terms and experimentation in a way that will only aid it grow . RKGKmight not be a perfect debut , but it ’s the sort of project I require to see much more of as newspaper publisher pull support from studios with creative visions to tag .
In RKGK , player take control of Valah , a graffiti creative person living in Cap City . The urban center has establish itself brainwashed by an evil corporation using hypnotizing cover around town . It ’s up to Valah , with the aid of the titulary RKGK establishment , to paint over those screens with graffiti and take down the nefarious Mr. Buff . It ’s a fairly boilerplate story , but the simplicity of it pee it feel like a throwback to theSega Dreamcast earned run average .
Wabisabi Games bugger off a lot of chances to bend its muscles with its tight - paced platforming sweetener . In each level , I call for to traverse platforming gauntlets while pick up paint cans . I can use those to spray over dozens of blind disperse around each level with a immediate button press , freeing a morsel more of the city each meter . If I ’ve spray over enough by the end of each chapter , I can bulge out into a knob fight that has me dodging robot plan of attack ( we ’re verbalise classic “ startle over life-threatening circles ” encounters ) and spraying their screens . It ’s all very Greco-Roman in nature , with a collect - a - thon platformer design that ’s not far off fromold - school day Nintendo design .
While the tier goal are basic , RKGKpresents some not bad mobility ideas that show Wabisabi Games ’ potential . I can use Valah ’s spray cans to zip around on the ground , like a Splatoon calamary zoom through ink . Holding it in the line also lets me hover , and that doubles as an offensive bar as the flak will hurt any robots under me . Those little techniques pair withRKGK‘s hobo camp gymnasium - like tier design , which has me hop up platform and grinding down rails at high-pitched fastness . Speedrunning seems to be a clean-cut focus here , as a lot of levels can be dispatch in under a minute if I ’m not stopping to garner buttocks or paint blind . That quick yard , partner off with its colorful art , should make for a fun spectator summercater .
It ’s not that I loveRKGK . It very much feels like a introduction full of first ideas . fight is shallow and the atomizer - painting loop does n’t change much from its opening story . But what I apprize is that Wabisabi Games actually get a chance to get its first idea out the door with the help of a publisher that attend the value in spring up studio like this . There are enough promising ideas here that I ’m promising that the studio can now build on that impulse and take its creativeness further . That ’s a luxury that a passel of studio are n’t getting powerful now , but few masterpieces get from a studio ’s first up at bat . give birth space to learn and experimentation is key .
If you ’re looking to see a bright - eyed new studio apartment grow , RKGKis a fun minuscule debut that ’s pack with electric potential . Given the place to retell and evolve , I imagine that Wabisabi Games will be able-bodied to make an even big splash on its next outing . Let ’s just hope that a currently volatile games landscape gives it the space and resources it needs to deliver the goods .
RKGKis out now on PC .
