As a huge fan of both action-platforming games and endless runners, I’m pretty darn excited for the upcoming game Roboto from developer Fenix Fire. Roboto looks to blend aspects from both of these genres. The levels in the game are heavily designed for running and jumping through quickly like an endless running game, except you aren’t moving automatically and you still have full control of your character. This means you can stop to turn around if you happen to miss an item, or engage in a quick gunfight with an enemy during your run towards the finish line.
There’s also a gravity flipping mechanic in Roboto, similar to Gravity Guy [99¢/Lite] or the gnomey level in Hook Worlds [99¢]. As you’re running along, passing through certain gates will trigger a gravity flip, and you’ll run upside down along the ceiling as if it was the ground. The core gameplay elements in Roboto all work together really well, as you can tell for yourself by playing the first 3 levels of the game via the free web demo on the Fenix Fire website. And here’s a free tip: the web demo plays wonderfully with the Joypad [Free] controller app paired with its desktop client.
While the gameplay is indeed quite nice, what I’m really liking the most about Roboto are its striking visuals. The game is bright and colorful, with a sort of cel-shaded look to it. The backgrounds are rendered in 3D which gives the game a great sense of depth and movement as you’re running through a level. The whole thing gives me a bit of a Viewtiful Joe vibe, which certainly isn’t a bad thing. Check out the trailer for yourself:
The release date for Roboto is vaguely set for sometime this Summer for both the iPhone and iPad. It will feature more than 30 levels including several mini-games, one of which is playable in the web demo and is a fun little riff on Space Invaders. I’m really impressed with what I’ve seen and played of Roboto so far, and there’s a lot of commenters in our forums who seem pretty stoked on the game as well. We’ll keep a keen eye out for pricing details or a release date for the iOS version of Roboto, and in the meantime make sure you give the web demo a try.
