Albany, New York-based developer DIE SOFT has announced Little Nemo and the Guardians of Slumberland, a Metroidvania platformer coming to Switch and PC via Steam and itch.io in Q4 2023. The developer also launched a Kickstarter campaign seeking $65,000 to fund development.
Here is an overview of the game, via DIE SOFT:
About
Play as Little Nemo armed with toys, stuffed animals, and a pocket full of candy in this colorful platforming Metroidvania. Explore a vast, seamless world made up of unique zones and full of interesting characters in your quest to save Slumberland from the mysterious Oblivion. All of the characters and environments have been carefully hand-animated frame-by-frame to create a unique and beautiful dream world.
The world of Little Nemo and the Guardians of Slumberland was inspired by Winsor McCay’s early 20th century comic strips, with gameplay inspired by NES platformers from Capcom and Nintendo. It’s been in development for three years with a single developer (David Mauro). The team has more recently added Peter Berkman (of Anamanaguchi) for the soundtrack and Jonathan Baken for Sound Effects.
Key Features
- Art – Featuring a lush, hand-drawn frame-by-frame animation at 4K resolution.
- Exploration – Slumberland is a vast and seamless world made up of many unique zones for the player to explore as they find new toys and rescue the Guardians. Your adventure will take you to the Dreamswept Plains, Gumdrop Gardens, Mushroom Marsh, and many more unique locations.
- Progression – Collect new toys, pajamas, and stuffed animals to unlock powerful new abilities. These new abilities will expand your platforming and combat capabilities as well as open new pathways in the world.
- Characters – Featuring characters inspired by the original Winsor McCay comics, as well as completely new characters. These characters will add charm and intrigue to the world, while also providing side-adventures for the player to embark upon.
- Music – A soundtrack by Anamanaguchi’s Peter Berkman will provide a sound evocative of NES platforming classics, but without limiting itself to a “chip” sound.
- Accessibility – Plenty of options to make the game accessible to a wide audience.
Watch the announcement trailer below. View the first screenshots at the gallery.