After seven years of development, veteran game developer Paul Helman (not to be confused with promoter and producer Paul Heyman) and Sean Scaplehorn’s Horace is finally set to see the light of day on July 18th, 2019 later this month. The game will release on Steam for PC, featuring an unbelievably bizarre adventure that combines a bunch of different genres into one sprite-based platformer that spans space, time, and tons of pop-cultural references.
The game is being published by 505 Games, and they’re currently going through a call-to-action to have the community determine the price for the game. The details of this not-so-little opportunity to determine the launch price for the game is rolled out over on the Steam page.
The game itself is a serious throwback to classic British humor, as players take on the role of Horace, who must utilize his abilities to travel through dimensions, time, and space in order to not only save mankind from complete annihilation but also reunite the robot with his family. The game sees players meeting and interacting with plenty of familiar faces from pop-culture all digitized down into pixelated sprites represented in a 16-bit style. You can see what the inventive indie game is like with the launch trailer below.
The game isn’t just a platformer, you’ll also have to fly through arcade SHMUPs, dodge cars in a Outrun style racer, deflect projectiles, flee from a bunch of raving mad monkeys, operate construction equipment, race on a track, participate in a music-rhythm game, partake in a Sky Free rip-off, and defeat a wide number of different bosses.
The game looks insane.
The animations are superb, and the 16-bit throwback is a proper retro-inspired take on the 1990s art-styles that helped shape the golden age of gaming.
Of course, Paul Helman – the mastermind behind the project – is no San Francisco hipster. He’s worked on a number of recognizable titles over the years, including The Die Hard Trilogy and Terracon to name a few. I remember playing The Die Hard Trilogy all day long on the PSX, especially the taxi segments from Die Hard: With A Vengeance. Great game, great movie, great bit of nostalgia right there.
Anyway, Horace looks like a right proper treat for chaps in chasing a cheery time with a challenging side-scroller filled with a wide variety of different mini-games.
If you’re interested in getting your hands on the game you can whitelist Horace right now or learn more by visiting the Steam store page.
