Comic book panels and iPhone games have seemed like a natural pairing, ever since Framed ($3.99) first released to universal praise from critics and casual gamers alike. While 2017’s greatly improved sequel Framed 2 ($4.99) underlined the appeal of its fluid cartoon aesthetic design, we’ve been dying out for even more games to use the cool comic book context for even more creative adventures, and Stay Heavy Games are determined to satiate such demand with their upcoming release Comic Boy. Based on an old App Store prototype release titled Escape the Page, Comic Boy is a platforming title with a heavy emphasis on rhythm and style, as you run through the panels and avoid enemies to reach the end of 36 handcrafted levels. While Comic Boy is still very much a work in progress, the developers are looking for eager beta testers to try out the game early on our forum thread.

Despite there being no gameplay video apart from the early 2014 prototype – the developers are hinting at a major reveal at this year’s Gamescom conference – the early screenshots of Comic Boy are extremely slick, and give a glimpse at the sort of challenges that will be taking place in the main game. The hand-drawn cartoon graphical style remains a constant through numerous wildly different worlds, and a soundtrack composed by Jesper Binzer (from Danish rock band D.A.D) gives the platforming action a pulsating and funky edge. If the developers can keep the six worlds varied, and give the various playable characters their own personal edge, there is a lot of potential for Comic Boy to transcend its relatively derivative runner nature and become something entirely unique, which is an exciting prospect. Look out for more news on Comic Boy in the near future, and sign up for the exclusive TouchArcade beta test on our forum thread.