A development team with talent from Pixar and LucasArts is making an indie game about Cold War espionage, and it looks really freakin’ cool.
CounterSpy will blend 2D platforming with third-person, cover-based shooting. Sounds unique, right? It certainly seems to be–Counter Spy boasts a somewhat muted aesthetic that calls to mind USSR propaganda of the Cold War era.
First screenshots here
"At Dynamighty, we are huge fans of side-scrollers and CounterSpy is our love letter to the genre," said lead designer David Nottingham. "These are some of the classic games that shaped our childhood: Flashback, Out of this World, Impossible Mission, Metroid, and more recently, the awesome Shadow Complex. We’re inspired to deliver something that brings our own voice to the genre."
As you sneak around through nuclear weapon factories and other environments inspired by "Bond movies," "the classic Mission Impossible TV show," and other sources, you’ll be racing against an in-game Doomsday Clock the entire time. The clock counts down during your playtime, so any extra time spent chasing collectibles and upgrades brings the world closer to nuclear destruction. However, performing certain tasks will also set the Doomsday Clock back in time–you’ll need to think fast about the impact of your actions.
Not enough to whet your appetite? How about asynchronous multiplayer? The PlayStation Blog was shy on details, but an exclusive Game Informer feature has a bit more to say. Friends will not only be able to compete on the same campaign levels by shooting for high scores, but they can also loot items from a corpse where the other friend has fallen.
CounterSpy is planned for cross-platform release on PS3, PS Vita, and mobile platforms in 2013. The latter won’t be a full game experience, instead complementing the console releases in some way.
Today has been HUGE for PlayStation game announcements, but I’m extremely excited by the allusionary art style and Metroidvania gameplay of CounterSpy. We should have more to say soon, so stay tuned and give us your take in the comments below.