Team 17, the name you probably know from their legendary franchise Worms, have unveiled a trailer for their upcoming atmospheric platformer called Planet Alpha and judging by the looks of it we're in for a treat when it launches in Q3 2018.
The developer says that Planet Alpha combines exploration, puzzles and stealth mechanics, all of which comes wrapped in unique and delightful visual packaging. That much is at least clear, because Planet Alpha's art style is nothing if not captivating.
Visuals aside though, Planet Alpha seems to be packing some pretty inventive level designs, seemingly thinking outside the box. From jumping about in collapsing temples and levitating islands, to escaping lava filled mazes and sneaking around in alien foliage, Planet Alpha seems to pack plenty of punch.
Players will awake on the alien world of Planet Alpha and discover useful talents along the way, such as the one to rotate the planet. "Injured, alone and stranded", players will be piecing together the events that brought about the alien predicament.
Planet Alpha has day and night cycles, which are not only cosmetic in nature. The dev actually made it an in-game gimmick, although we're bound to find out as we draw closer to launch.
Note that the game is developed by Danish independent developer Adrian Lazar, whose studio is named after Planet Alpha. So, Team17 is not actually in charge of development, but rather publishing and distribution.
Unfortunately, other than the Q3 launch, there is very little to go by. Planet Alpha's Steam page doesn't have final specs either, only listing requirements for 5GB of space and 4GB of RAM. We wouldn't quite expect it to be a performance hog, although it shouldn't be underestimated either.
Team17
Even though it would be easy to disregard Planet Alpha's requirement, it probably chews through quite a lot of resources when rendering foliage and atmospheric effects. And to be fair, it would be a pity not to experience the game in all its visual glory, seeing as how it does well to establish its own visual identity. More please?
