forma.8 May Be The Most Abstract, Child Friendly Indie Of This Generation

We have news of a new multiplatform game coming from Italy called forma.8. Interestingly enough, it's skipping Xbox, but going to Playstation 4, Wii U, Vita, iOS, Windows, Mac, and Linux.

Developer MixedBag is only a two person team, making this an impressive little indie, especially if you check out the teaser trailer below. The game itself appears to be a combination Metroidvania and LocoRoco. forma.8 itself is an exploration probe, which found itself in that classic ET scenario of getting separated from its peers and stranded in an alien world. forma.8 has very floaty, glidy physics, and explores cavernous alien landscapes to power itself up and make its way to a powerful energy source deep under the surface.

The game's hybrid vector / 3D graphics should be similar to Pixeljunk fans. However, it also promises to be one of the most abstract games this generation this side of a flower, or journey. Lacking spoken communication, you will have to seek out audio and visual cues to make your way around and find those powerups.

The most fascinating thing about this, to me anyway, is that the game already has a PEGI rating of 7, equivalent to ESRB's E for Everyone rating. The story hints at some dark undertones, but with an abstract approach MixedBag may have been able to make a child friendly game, sure to be a hit with parents as well as hardcore fans. Check out forma.8's Steam Greenlight page here and its announcement trailer below.