Blazing Chrome gets more Contra than Contra (with ninjas) on July 11th
Bio-meat monsters represent!
Contra is back next month on July 11th - not in name, but undeniably in spirit. Blazing Chrome by Joymasher is exactly my kind of run-and-gun platformer. Loud, fast, and packed with mean-looking robots and weird biomechanical monsters with far too many eyes and teeth. Today, along with announcing the release date, they put out a new trailer showing off even more of the game (complete with some perspective-shifting set-pieces) and a pair of unlockable ninja characters. Who needs guns when you've got sword beams, anyway? Attack aggressively below.
While Brendy has been wooed by its cyborg panda, I remain unimpressed by Konami's recently-announced Contra: Rogue Corps. It looks loud and messy where Contra should be loud but precise, like a perfectly-delivered power chord. Everything I've seen of Blazing Chrome suggests that it understands that; it's Mathcore metal, where something explodes every half second, but a single bullet is death. The new characters announced in the trailer below look even more technical, with higher jumps and a dash-dodge move, which looks to result in a more precise, considered style of play.
The trailer also gives us a great look at the game, which is tickling every part of my brain associated with the (brillo) Contra Hardcorps. Enemies made out of segmented sprites that wobble and bounce when hit, an intentionally Genesis-inspired limited colour palette and mech suits to stomp around in. It also gives us our first look at what appears to be a tunnel-diving third-person segment. Shades of Contra 3's top-down levels, but with even more of a chance for the developers to flex their sprite art skills. I'm excited to play this one, master it, unlock the ninjas and do it all over again.
Blazing Chrome hits Steam and GOG on July 11th, published by The Arcade Crew. No price has been announced yet. Joymasher also developed the excellent 'What if Berserk had a NES game' platformer Odallus: The Dark Call, if you want to warm up before this one.