Sadly we didn't hear about this one while the Kickstarter was still going on but it was successful – leaving us with the future prospect of exploding asteroids with a space ship. If it all sounds a bit familiar that's because it is, right down to the vector style graphics, but sphereFACE has a twist and a rather intriguing one at that – space a a sphere but you pilot on a 2D plane. Here at Pixel Judge we're suckers for old school games getting a fresh update so sphereFACE has our attention. In case it doesn't have your attention yet, check out the very informative press release below:
An unashamedly abstract shooter that ranges from slow, strategic sniping to frantic fast-paced rock-dodging action, with roguelike elements of exploration, progression, discovery and sudden death.
You can look freely around each sphere using mouselook, or your controller, or your keyboard, or even in virtual reality using your Oculus Rift.
Success depends on mastering spherical flight dynamics in what is effectively curved 2D space - easy to pick up, but difficult to master.
Asteroids break apart "realistically" along fracture lines, forming shards and boulders when hit. The result of an impact on an asteroid depends on your choice of weapon, the angle and speed. However, you have to plan your demolition carefully to avoid flying debris - just one hit can kill. Of course there's much more than just asteroids! Destroy the obstacles in each sphere to unlock the portals leading out of it, and navigate through a procedurally generated 3D maze of tunnels and spheres. As you proceed through the spherespace, you'll encounter increasingly aggressive enemies.
Pick up and unlock a variety of cool and quirky weapons. Each has its own strategy and learning curve, but the true sphereFACE master must learn to use them in concert with each other. Every weapon can be upgraded progressively to alter its effects, improve its performance and bring it to the next level. Choose your favourite weapon to upgrade, but be careful - the upgrade pods are fragile. If you're too trigger-happy, you might destroy them before you can collect them!
The game features entirely original music by four awesome professional musicians - HODSON, Waveland, DorianSRed and Skin Walker. Each sphere has its own music track, and all audio is 3D positional with real speed-of-sound delay, doppler and realistic head shadow, which is made possible by our unique built-from-scratch HDR sound engine. A lot of effort is focused on sound design.
The game is already fully playable; VoxelStorm are currently running a very small Kickstarter to complete it and add extended features such as more weapons, enemies, additional music and a roguelike layout of spheres. The Kickstarter is currently 80% funded with a week left to go.
sphereFACE is currently on Steam Greenlight. Stay tuned for more information as we get it!
