The indie landscape has been a great place over the last few years for small developers to make a name for themselves with inventive and tightly polished retro throwbacks. Among these, the Action Platformers, often referred to as Metroidvanias have quickly become the gold standard for these indie titles that manage to impress fans with the work of only a handful of developers. In the wake of this resurgence of retro-styled Metroidvanias, Studio Thunderhorse has released its own take on the genre after several years of development in the form of Flynn: Son of Crimson.
Studio Thunderhorse has also graciously sat down with Game Rant to share some interesting moments from development, from the initial Kickstarter to eventually finding a publisher. The following interview was conducted over email, with Studio Thunderhorse preparing answers to the questions asked regarding the process of development and future of Flynn: Son of Crimson. The interview has been edited for clarity and brevity.
Q: With Flynn: Son of Crimson releasing across most major consoles, are there plans to release a version that’s optimized for next-gen consoles after launch?
A: No plans at the moment! With Flynn, the game plays on either console in the exact way we intended it to. We feel like it would be the same exact experience on both old and new-gen consoles, so no optimization is needed.
Q: Additionally, were there any specific difficulties that Studio Thunderhorse faced while preparing for a multi-platform launch, such as optimizing for any specific console?
A: We thankfully didn’t run into many issues! The porting and testing phases for the console versions of Flynn were very smooth. The only potential issue we had during development was a Switch version not being possible via our engine not supporting a Switch port at the time, but that ended up lining up well.
Q: The Kickstarter for Flynn: Son of Crimson was also fairly successful, with several stretch goals being reached during the campaign. What were some of the benefits and difficulties that came with getting development funding rolling through the Kickstarter campaign?
A: One of the difficulties with getting a Kickstarter campaign like ours going is it’s a lot of work that is taken away from development. Though we can’t consider it much of a con as we would of course say that all of that time was worth it in the end, since the campaign really kicked off our community and gave us a huge boost needed to get to the finish line! The campaign was a great way as well to get Flynn in front of publishers, leading us to put the game in the hands of Humble Games, which has been a great experience.
Q: Are there plans for any future projects in Flynn: Son of Crimson’s world of Rosantica, possible through a sequel or following another character through other lands in that world?
A: We do have some plans and ideas being tossed around currently and have wanted to expand on the lore, characters and environments for a while now so hopefully if the game is well received we can build on them much further. In terms of a potential sequel, this is definitely something we’ve considered if people like our red-haired kiddo and the world around him. In general, we’d love to involve Dex a lot more too, as well as dive into Flynn’s rival, Rozia’s background some more.
Q: On a similar note as the last question with follow-up titles, are there plans for DLC after Flynn: Son of Crimson launches?
A: We don’t have plans for DLC for Flynn at the moment! After almost 5 years of development, we definitely like to consider it a fully finished product that doesn’t require expanding on. We’re just itching to take everything we’ve learned onto our next project, whether that’s in Flynn’s universe or not!
Q: What features do you hope will entice players to make Flynn: Son of Crimson stand out against other titles in the Action Platformer genre?
A: We have always aimed to deliver on satisfying gameplay, whether that be simple movement or hard-hitting melee impacts, the latter lending itself more towards the fighting game genre. Mixing both tight controls and platforming with satisfying “fighter-like” combat is something we don’t often see.
Q: Boss encounters and often a centerpiece of games like Flynn: Son of Crimson. So, are there any major bosses that you’re excited to see players face off against, either by their unique mechanics or visual design?
A: We’re really looking forward to seeing people take on the Kravios fight (the one with the water and moving platforms) as the green volt electricity affects the water and will keep players on their toes - there’s no real safe spot here so players will have to hop between the small floating blocks akin to Sonic & Knuckles (for the Genesis) Lava Reef zone act 2 boss.
Q: Apart from boss designs, traversal is a huge part of the action-platformer genre. Can players expect to find any unique skills to help them travel the world of Rosantica, such as special jumps, dashes, or wall clings?
A: Yes to all! We wanted to include lots of different ways to get around Rosantica to keep the movement interesting, even in just short bursts. Later in the game, you’ll unlock wall jumping which is used to scale up vertical areas. Players will get hands on a short-term leaf glider to allow you to soar through the air whilst avoiding any kind of hazards. There are also attack-dashes and dodge rolls that allow players to queue into a jump for a longer, faster roll jump. A huge focus for Flynn was to combine all of these movement abilities in a way that feels as polished as possible.
Q: On the topic of traversal, how many unique biomes can players expect to travel between, and should they be on alert for secrets and prizes hidden in the nooks and crannies?
A: There are 6 main regions ranging from lush forest to cursed floating islands and within them, the player has access to over 40 stages to traverse through each introducing a new mechanic for that specific stage to keep them fresh. Yes, players should definitely keep an eye open for secrets and trinkets we’ve scattered throughout the entire game, most have clues to their whereabouts in the environmental details so we’ll not spoil anything here!
Q: It looks like one of the most unique features of Flynn: Son of Crimson’s combat is the Crimson Energy, with the weapons even being tied to traversal. Are there any Crimson Energy weapons that didn’t make the cut during development, or any that might reappear in a future project or DLC?
A: The sword, ax, and claws have always been with us pretty much since day one as we always really liked the clear difference between speeds and damage but also how they allow Flynn to perform wild abilities like transforming into a tornado or pogo-ing on top of enemies heads. Originally we had two other abilities that didn’t make the cut, one being the Crimson Bow - which ultimately transformed into a magic blast straight from Flynn’s palms and the other was a grapple (both of these were present in the Kickstarter demo). As for these reappearing in future projects or DLC.. never say never, right?
Q: Another major focus of the game seems to be the large canine companion Dex. Are there any specific ways that players might be able to interact with her outside of combat?
A: From the outset, your very first task is to take her for her walkies, have some pets and take a nap with her. Beyond any kind of combat, she’s a big ol’ floofball who just wants to give her companionship.
Q: Finally, is there anything you’d like to say to longtime fans and hopefully some new ones as Flynn: Son of Crimson releases?
A: A massive thank you needs to be said to the fans of Flynn that stuck with us and our fiery red-haired lad through these years. The constant support and excitement for the game were a huge help through development. For any new fans: Hi! We’re Studio Thunderhorse, a duo from California and England plus many talented friends that created this game that we hope you like!
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Flynn: Son of Crimson is available now for PC, PS4, Switch, and Xbox One.