Spate puts you in the role of Detective Bluth, a private detective, who has been hired to find a businessman in a forbidden zone called known as the Xzone: an island in the middle of nowhere where it rains continuously and no one has ever come back from. From the recent trailer for the game, we can also expect to find robots, as well as giant and unusual creatures. Say, like one that looks like a bird with a lot of top hats in the area.
PixlBit | "It's been quite a journey for the game Spate, from initial conception, to successful Kickstarter campaign, to final release on Steam. Dragged into reality by Eric Provan of Ayyo Games, the game is a dreamy, artistic experience. Ayyo Games might have struggled to make this game, but they didn't do it alone: they were accompanied by classical composer and game scorer Mike Raznick, who approached them during the Kickstarter campaign. The result is a stark audio experience unlike most games. Enamored with both the game and the soundtrack, we caught up with Mike Raznick to talk about how he created the score, his influences, and what he thinks of video game music.
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SteamFirst: Spate is a 2.5D indie platformer available on Steam. You play as a detective trying to track down a wealthy businessman in the X Zone . Is Spate a deluge of fun, or is it a complete wash out?
PixlBit | "For better or worse, games like Braid, Limbo, and other 2.5D “masterpieces” have reconfigured what a platformer can be. Spate, developed by Eric Provan and his development team at Ayyo, is not as complete a package as these games, but is still an astoundingly beautiful work of art, with truly arresting imagery, an interesting story, and a unique and moody soundtrack. However, with its tired mechanics, inconsistent controls, and sloppy (yet forgiving) physics, it is hard to quantify, or to even categorize. It is a conundrum, as it stretches between these two poles – one of artistic genius; and the other of uninspired game design.
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Looks promising!