As one of the main creators behind Sonic the Hedgehog, NiGHTS Into Dreams, and Billy Hatcher, Yuji Naka is known for making distinctly whimsical games. His next title, Balan Wonderworld, looks set to continue that trend, and if the opening movie that Square Enix released this week is any indication, it will be absolutely stuffed with whimsy.
The opening cinematic manages to squeeze a lot of colorful atmosphere into a mere two and a half minutes. It begins with Balan Wonderworld’s two protagonists, Leo and Emma, in different cities, but as they follow strange creatures known as Tims, they both end up in the same abandoned theatre. There, they come across the enigmatic maestro Balan, who puts on a dazzling show for them before sending them on their way to adventure in Wonderworld.
From what’s been shown so far since Balan Wonderworld was announced, gameplay will harken back to classic collection-based 3D platformers. As players explore the game’s 12 unique worlds, they will utilize 80 different costumes with unique abilities to aid them, and will even be able to help each other out in two-player co-op. Additionally, the game’s website confirms that players will be able to raise Tims and upgrade them in different ways, which should appeal to fans of the Sonic Adventure games’ Chao Garden.
These days, it’s the norm for major publishers like Square Enix to have AAA games lean more towards some semblance of realism. That’s what makes Balan Wonderworld and its unabashedly fanciful world such an interesting change of pace, and with a few months to go before the game finally launches, Square has plenty of opportunities to highlight it even further.
Balan Wonderworld will launch on March 26, 2021, for PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.
Source: Balan Wonderworld