Nintendo's 2020 Indie World Showcase had interesting announcement for the company's hybrid console, including the immediate Switch release for Dodge Roll's Exit the Gungeon. One of the oddest games revealed coming to Nintendo's hardware was Cyanide & Happiness: Freakpocalypse, a single-player adventure game based on the popular webcomic published by Explosm.
About five minutes into the showcase, viewers were greeted by Cyanide & Happiness creator Kris Wilson talking to a "hideous mutant freak" on a green screened news set. The mutant says that he is a featured character in Freakpocalypse, where players can "explore, solve puzzles, and try to survive in what's left of our terrible world." A splash screen at the end says the game, developed by Explosm and Serenity Forge, will be a timed exclusive for the Switch coming this summer.
Later Nintendo released a gameplay-focused trailer for the title — which is the first part in a series — on Twitter, showing protagonist Cooper McCarthy having to "find a prom date in the apocalypse" by exploring a "dark" world full of "dozens of secrets and alternate costumes." Stylistically it seems reminiscent of recent South Park games like The Fractured But Whole, in that players get to explore an entire world steeped in the unique art style of a popular franchise.
Cyanide & Happiness: Freakpocalypse began as a Kickstarter project, similar to indie hits like Shovel Knight, that launched in September 2017 and went on to make nearly $600,000 from 15,000 backers. The webcomic's brand has funded other projects through the crowdfunding site, including a card game called Joking Hazard.
The Twitter trailer says there will be more than 100 bizarre characters to meet throughout the world of Freakpocalypse. Some of those characters will feature "special guest voice actors" like Arin "Egoraptor" Hanson, Adam Johnston of YourMovieSucks, and Jim Sterling according to the game's Kickstarter page.
While other revealed titles like Hello Games' The Last Campfire may have received more attention due to the developer's previous notoriety in gaming circles, Freakpocalypse certainly stood out for having a bizarre teaser reveal. It should be interesting to see what exactly the Cyanide & Happiness team have been working on for their first venture into the interactive medium.
Cyanide & Happiness: Freakpocalypse will be available exclusively for the Nintendo Switch in summer 2020.
Source: Kickstarter