JellySnow Studio and NeoWiz are working on a new side-scrolling action-platformer called Metal Unit. The game is like a throwback to a lot of Treasure’s action, side-scrolling classics, such as Gunstar Heroes or more recent fanfare like Gunvolt. The game is scheduled to release onto Steam at some point in the first quarter of 2020.

The game centers around a soldier named Joanna who is sent on a mission to retrieve her sister, who is wanted for treason. Joanna, however, will have to search high and low for her sister through a region overrun with monsters and aliens, so the only way she’ll be able to proceed is by utilizing the M-Unit 11 mechanized combat suit.

You can get a glimpse of what the gameplay and some of the cinematics are like with the gameplay trailer below.

Throughout the game you’ll be able to discover more about Joanna and her family by interacting with NPCs.

Story elements unravel using multiple choice dialogue boxes, and that will determine how Joanna develops through the game, along with the basic rogue-like elements where dying allows you to further upgrade her skills and abilities.

The game sounds a little bit like titles such as Edge of Space or Terraria, where you burrow underground and fight all sorts of monsters and whatnot to uncover new weapons and equipment. Most of the story progression will take place above ground, but you will need those extra weapons and items to help aid you later into the game.

When you die with the equipment you’ve looted, you can turn those items into skill points to help permanently boost Joanna’s abilities.

I don’t know how well that’s going to work out for the replay values, but at least the game is using proper pixelated animations for the in-game character sprites, and it feels like a classic action-oriented side-scroller from the Nintendo DS heyday.

You can wishlist Metal Unit right now by visiting the Steam store page ahead of its first quarter, 2020 release.

(Thanks for the news tip Erobotan)