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GDC 2012: ‘Squids’ Sequel ‘Squids Western Kingdom’ Coming This Summer

First this this morning we met with Emeric Thoa from The Game Bakers, famously known for releasing Squids [$1.99]. We thought the game had promise in our review but weird balance issues kept us from giving it two thumbs up. The good news is, those issues have been smoothed out via updates, and should be totally eliminated in the upcoming sequel.

The working title is Squids Western Kingdom, which focuses on expanding the story of the cowboy squid Clint. This game introduces the above cast of characters, and fleshes out the Squids universe further. The Game Bakers are planning on building up the Squids IP too, working off additional “kingdoms" and potentially even making the jump off of mobile games to other forms of media.

Gameplay remains mostly the same with some additional new features. Maps are more interactive, and features switches and various other widgets to add some puzzle elements to the game. In addition, a new collection mechanic has been added. Seahorses are in game which your squids can mount for bonuses, and you get to capture them for keeps sort of like the Chocobo system in Final Fantasy games.

Of course with the game taking place in a new locale, there’s all sorts of new enemies which require different strategies to overcome. For example, we were shown an enemy with a forward facing shield. Defeating this dude requires either mounting up on a seahorse, or attacking from behind.

The Game Bakers hopes to have Squids Western Kingdoms on the App Store sometime this june.