Crisis On Infinite Games: Team Indie

Ah, crossovers! Characters and universes colliding to settle scores or combine powers and, not for the first time, indie game mascots are at it too. Brightside Games are bringing indie characters together to solve puzzles and assist an accidentally cyberspaced cat in their platformer Team Indie. It uses the Braid/Super Time Force single-player co-op method, where characters combine their 'unique skills' to assist each other to the exit. Trailer and thoughts on a preview build below.

Turns out, combining a bunch of systems all of which were enough for an entire game on their own gives you a lot of options for puzzles. The nine guest stars bring their most recognisable elements, so BraidDude can manipulate time while Tiny from Tiny & Big has a grappling hook. How they interact is the charm, laying down platforms or triggering switches for one another. A layer of goo left by J. Jitters, for example, means Commander Video can make it across a chasm to slide under a rock and hit a switch.

While enemies are present, they're more part of timing and jumping puzzles than actual threats. There's little here to scare or confuse: the puzzles aren't mind-bending, at least early on, and there's plenty of leeway in the platforming.

Team Indie is due this autumn. Hopefully a public demo will come for you to give it a shot yourself.