DANGEN Entertainment recently announced that its action platform-strategy hybrid, Smelter, will be coming to Nintendo Switch, PS4, Xbox, and PC on April 22nd, 2021. Called “Actraiser meets Mega Man,” SMELTER combines 2D shooting-infused real-time strategy with explosive side-scrolling action stages. Pre-orders for SMELTER on the Nintendo Switch eShop go live on March 25th.
Smelter is an action-strategy hybrid that combines real-time strategy with 2D platforming stages. Players take the role of Eve, who embarks on a journey to find Adam and meets a mysterious being named “Smelter.” After some quick convincing, Eve fuses with Smelter, gaining incredible power, and agrees to help Smelter expand his empire in a joint effort to discover Adam’s whereabouts. The game unfolds in a rotation between strategy and action stages, punctuated by cinematic sequences, all wrapped up in a wacky narrative.
Don't let it hit you, move. ? #gamedev #indiedev #pixelart pic.twitter.com/deYsla3HsK
— Smelter (His Large Wingedness) @RumblyLands (@SmelterXp) April 6, 2021
In overhead, Mode 7-style map stages, players control airborne Smelter, who can fly, shoot and destroy enemies and obstacles while giving commands to his troops to expand territory, build structures and unleash attack units against enemy monsters in various regions. Players control Smelter in a top-down strategic conquest as he and his Zirm forces attempt to expand his empire by completing quests and taking on an onslaught of enemies determined to stop him. Gameplay is designed with shooting and command-driven interfaces, adding modern-day tutorials to assist both veteran gamers and those new to the genre.
Once the player has completed certain NPC-driven quests and fortified key locations on the map, they will access new and exciting action-platformer stages where they control Eve infused with Smelter on foot and take on the bad guys. Eve can perform an array of melee attacks, jumps, dashes, wall grabs, Smelter special attacks and maneuvers to complete the stages and progress the story. Stages contain secret Trial Stages where the players are rewarded by completing short levels within given conditions, such as Time Trial, Don’t Get Hit, Don’t Be Seen, and more.
One of the key modern-day features of SMELTER is the elemental skill tree system that grants Eve and Smelter special abilities on land and air. Perform punching combos and rock shield counters with Gurabi’s earth and gravity-based skills, launch shock-infused spinning jump attacks with Eremagu’s electrified abilities, and fire long-range shooting attacks with the unstable yet deadly Nutoro elemental skill set. By unlocking new abilities, players can reach new areas and tackle stages with different approaches.
When planning SMELTER, while although we made it a priority to give our own spin on the top-down strategy and action-platformer genres, we were definitely inspired by classics like Actraiser and the Mega Man series simply because those were the games many of us loved to play and still love to play. And while that might explain some of the inspirations for the game design choices, we feel SMELTER has ultimately become a combination of our team’s personalities and what each of us enjoy to read, listen to, play and watch
Brian Otten – one of the core developers at X PLUS
KEY FEATURES
- Hybrid gameplay that combines fast-paced platforming with top-down strategy.
- Explore incredible, diverse worlds ranging from the hellish to the beautiful.
- Master three skill sets, complete with over 40 upgrades obtainable through multiple challenges, allowing for varied combat, movement and defense tactics.
- Fire up the “Smelt” ability, which can be used both in combat and on objects to navigate through difficult terrain.
- Open a can of whoop ass on challenging 2D action levels, enemies, and bosses with their own back stories!
- Expand your empire across a variety of regions, utilizing a variety of building types, upgrades, and units.
- Uncover a multitude of secrets, including powerful hidden upgrades and hard-as-nails trial levels.
- Indulge in hand-crafted, high-quality pixel art.
- Meet a cast of characters with personalities ranging from the eccentric to the completely insane.
- Rock out to a killer soundtrack combining synth and guitar, featuring music by Evader, and opening and ending theme by Manami Matsumae (Mega Man, Shovel Knight).
