Outland Is An Action Platformer With A Touch Of Ikaruga

The PlayStation blog has a post up about an interesting game titled Outland, created by the developers of Super Stardust HD, Housemarque. A sword-combat platformer, Outland has you playing in the boots of a character seeking spiritual awakening.

(…and he has to save the world from a pair of evil Goddesses that want to destroy it, too.)

Outland is modeled after action platformers like Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, where you start out as a relatively weak character and gain more abilities and unlock new areas as you play. The game’s other twist, however, sounds almost Ikaruga-like.

Outland has two kinds of orbs: red and blue. Tapping the L2 trigger lets you shift between red (dark) and blue (light) energy alignments. Shifting to either alignment will allow you to absorb orbs of the same colour, but will make you vulnerable to orbs of the other. Part of the game’s platforming challenge requires you to switch back and forth between the two alignments while the screen is packed with several red and blue orbs. Entire platforms in Outland can be colour-coded, too.

Housemarque are also including online (and only online) cooperative multiplayer to the game, both in story and challenge modes. The game is slated to release on the PlayStation Network in late April or early May. It’s also headed to Xbox Live Arcade. Ubisoft will be handling publishing duties for Outland.