SpeedRunners Passes Early Access Finish Line, Out Now
King of the swingers
SpeedRunners [official site] is DoubleDutch's sidescrolling, wall-jumping, superhero-sporting, grappling hook-tossing, competitive platformer that you may have spotted living on Early Access over the last three years. In that time, it's accrued over one million downloads, received hundreds of updates and has gained official recognition from the eSports League - all of which makes it a great example of how the Early Access process should be handled. It's finally out now and has marked the occasion with a host of new features and a trailer.
First, the launch cinematic:
Full details on the new features version 1.0 brings with it be found here, however highlights include: a new GIF editor and exporter lets players crop and export GIFs from the game's Replay suite; a new Team Fortress 2-style Trails Shop and Editor that allows you to create your own trails and later trade them in the curated store; and a new "Mario Kart style" single-player campaign that includes challenges and story triggers, and is designed to introduce newcomers to competitive play.
Once you've eased yourself in, the following video is the standard you're looking to match. Adam's linked to this in the past, but PurpleTurkey and DistinctMadness duking it out in last year's ESL NA Finals is probably the best example of speedrunning SpeedRunners you'll ever see:
Perhaps not quite to that standard, but I've always found throwing myself around SpeedRunners previous iterations to be great fun. While it supports two player local and online games, I'd recommend playing with three friends if you can - if for nothing else but to test the veracity of your friendship.
On SpeedRunners releasing in full, publisher tinyBuild and devs DoubleDutch said this in a joint statement:
"FA special, enormous, hug-worthy THANK YOU to everyone who have been with us during Early Access. It's been an insane journey and without you guys we wouldn't be here. The hundred-reply threads on the forums, the in-depth discussions, the King of Speeds, everything about SpeedRunners Early Access revolved around obsessively reading the forum and figuring out the best solutions.
"Yes, everyone in Early Access is getting a special BETA trail which is available right now."
Be sure to grab your free trail if you did back SpeedRunners in Early Access. Otherwise, it's out now on Steam for £10.99.