First Impressions: Sundered
By: MithrandielWalking the vast expo hall at TwitchCon 2016, it's easy for the numerous game demos to fade into the background. One game, however, stood out from the crowd with its striking hand-drawn art: Sundered. Announced by Thunder Lotus Games, creators of the Norse epic Jotun, this 2D metroidvania game pits you against hordes of eldritch horrors as you struggle to maintain your sanity.
First off, the game looks spectacular. The visuals are unique and captivating, and every movement of your character is captured beautifully, from acrobatic double jumps to the dramatic recoil of your massive cannon. Complementing the unique aesthetic is a great commitment to quality music and sound effects as well. As a game that focuses on the preservation of your sanity, hearing echoed groans, screams and even an occasional creepy laugh in the background really helped to flesh out the hellish world that you've found yourself in.
As a metroidvania style game, simple and fluid gameplay is important, and Sundered definitely delivers on that front. X to jump, square to attack, triangle for your oversized gun and circle for roll/dash gets you up and running quickly, and the hordes of monsters lend to a frenzied style of play that leaves you with one persisting thought: survive! My one critique of the gameplay so far is that the recoil on the gun is ridiculous. I'm guessing that there will be other guns later in the game, but the temporary knockdown made me not want to use it. It did provide an interesting mechanic for falls and navigating to some areas as the knockback could sometimes land you on otherwise inaccessible ledges.
Overall, if Thunder Lotus' work on Jotun and this demo provide any indication for what the final project will look and feel like, Sundered is going to be a hit when it arrives early next year.Not only did I get a chance to play through the demo at TwitchCon, I also got to chat with the President and Creative Director of Thunder Lotus Games, William Dubé. Check out our interview below:[arve url="https://www.youtube.com/embed/NVmL0r3BYpg"]For more info on Sundered, you can visit the main site here. The team is shooting for a target date of Q1 2017, though a more detailed release date has yet to be announced.
