2D Blaster Relic Hunters Zero Will Be Open Source, Free

As in, actually free, open-source free. Or "Free4Real" as developers Rogue Snail put it, presumably in an attempt to make me hate them personally. The two-man team of Betu Souza and Mark Venturelli are currently employed at Behold Studios, working on Chroma Squad. In their spare time they've made Relic Hunters Zero, a top-down shoot 'em up with a psychedelic style and heavily-armed animals. It'll be out some time during autumn and they're tackling the Greenlight gauntlet in the mean time. Strike a rad pose and continue below for a trailer and preview build thoughts.

Relic Hunters has that impact freezeframe, you know that one, where hits and kills stop the action for just a split second so you can admire your work. It's cheap and common these days, because it works. It's one of many details the game gets right, including the hordes of enemies on screen at once and the electronic soundtrack everyone seems to be constantly jiving to. It's pretty basic to play, pointing and clicking on enemies until they satisfactorily explode. The fun's there though, from a variety of weapons and the more challenging enemies requiring tactical manoeuvres. Some of the visual feedback isn't perfect yet, particularly when it comes to reloading, but it's already very polished for what will be a free game.

Rogue Snail are thinking of expanding it into a full commercial release if it's successful, saying that would "be WAY more ambitious, something like The Legend of Zelda meets Borderlands."