Wander an alien galaxy in platform adventure Nykra
Pink grass, green skies, blue hair
I'm always up for exploring weird alien worlds. Give me a sweeping synth soundtrack, strangely coloured skies and some aliens to hang out with and I'm cool. It's no surprise then that I immediately liked the cut of Nykra's jib, after stumbling upon a new trailer for it released just today. Developed by two-man indie outfit ENDESGA and funded on Kickstarter back in 2016, it's now due for release later this year. While we wait, check out the trailer below (and its lovely music), and give the demo a spin, too.
While there is the occasional bit of combat (and some sci-fi horror elements) in Nykra, this is primarily a game about exploration and storytelling. There's characters to chat with, books to leaf through, architecture to climb and a general sense that you're just a small, confused creature in a strange and beautiful universe. Judging by the award logos from Play By Play 2018, I'm not the only one charmed by its sweeping sci-fi aspirations either.
There's a focus on tinkering and fine-tuning your equipment in the game. Protagonist Keu has a backpack which eventually becomes visibly stuffed with all the strange wotsits you've picked up along the way, giving it a nice tactile feel. The demo contains the first (and presumably shortest) of seven chapters, and the full game promises seven worlds to explore in total. They're a varied bunch if the trailer above is any indication, as are their inhabitants, and I'm already eager to dig deeper and explore further into Nykra's many worlds.
Nykra is due out later this year. You can try the demo here on Itch.io, wishlist it here on Steam, or put $20 down on it early on the developer's own site.