14 DAY TRIAL // Team Colorblind has announced their debut game, a two-dimensional beat'em up titled Aztez and slated for release later this year on much more platforms than the initial plan to launch on PC stated.
"Our first release will still be on Steam (PC/Mac/Linux), with consoles releases as soon as possible afterwards. If we could, we'd love to launch on everything at once, but really there are just the two of us and launching on a console is a ton of work. We'll have more timeframe details as we get closer to release," the team shared on the Aztez blog.
Aztez's premise is simple, you are tasked with expanding and maintaining the Aztec empire through various turn-based strategy decisions, while handling all the violence through good old-fashioned side-scrolling real time beat'em up sequences.
The two-dimensional brawling game has been in development for two years, being worked on by just two intrepid developers based in Arizona.
The developers described their game as profoundly influenced by the feel and creativity of Bayonetta, the mobility of Capcom's Alien Versus Predator and the precision and difficulty of the classic Devil May Cry, with the team studying what makes a good combat-based game for years.
The game's other major part is an empire management strategy game which confers the game its replayability, as the team decided early on that they wanted to make more than a linear narrative where players go through platforming sections, and thus created a Risk-like historical map.
The game's main focus is combat though, and it attempts to provide an in-depth and skill testing experience, complete with several weapons that dictate your playstyle and various types of enemies, as well as many acrobatic moves, juggles, air combos and everything a proper brawling game needs.
Aztez also features a unique minimalistic art style that seems to fit the gameplay really well, and the developers have set up an art blog where they regularly post gifs of various in-game elements, such as the different combat styles that come with each weapon.
The teaser trailer also advertises an engaging and varied beat'em up experience, and showcases the grayscale plus crimson blood color scheme, allowing the first glimpse of the upcoming game's intricate battle system, filled to the brim with bloody combos and daring stunts.
Aztez is currently scheduled for release on PC, Mac and Linux in early 2014, with versions for Xbox One, PlayStation 4, PlayStation Vita and Wii U scheduled to come sometime later this year.