Motion Twin has shared a new trailer for their next game, Windblown, and it’s fair to say they are taking things to the next level after Dead Cells.
As reported by Insider Gaming, Motion Twin announced the end of development on Dead Cells last February, so that they could move forward with their next project. They revealed Windblown with an animated trailer in last year’s The Game Awards, but that trailer did not show a frame of gameplay.
Today, they finally show us gameplay with this new trailer, and it’s clear that Motion Twin really wanted to move on from the 2D gameplay of Dead Cells. We don’t mean to disparage 2D, sprite based video games of course. Rather, this is about Motion Twin wanting to grow as a developer, and that means taking new risks by trying new ideas.
What I am describing, of course, is what Christian Whitehead did, when he and the rest of the team who made Sonic Mania, formed their own studio, called Evening Star, and made Penny’s Big Breakaway. Both of those games are incredible, and the fans who followed Christian and his team know that you can see how the studio grew as game designers when they shifted perspectives.
The trailer also confirms a thing that I’m sure many fans wanted to immediately know after reading that headline. The camera is consistently on the top and distant, giving players a good constant view of the action. It’s more or less top-down, though the camera isn’t so high up that you have to see small sprites of your characters. It’s a bit closer, and it moves around a bit too.
The gameplay itself is what you expect out of 3D action, and maybe I’m not the only one wondering if there’s a weapon planned that lets you shoot ranged attacks and treat it like a twin stick shooter. But for the most part, Windblown promises an easy to pick up and play experience, with the challenge found in AAA 3D action games.
The co-op segment is also interesting. So far, we don’t see any indications that there will be any kind of live service element to this title, but given how team based gameplay is a major factor in the genre, it’s not impossible that it is.
But maybe we’re completely off base there, and Motion Twin has some smart ideas on how to do online co-op that aren’t related to live service. If you’re a fan of Motion Twin, this sounds like something you want to get into Early Access for, to make sure they’re steered in the direction you prefer.
Windblown will go on PC Early Access via Steam this year. You can watch the latest trailer below.
