Headup announced the PC release date of their upcoming classic metroidvania Outbuddies for the 15th of October. To date, Outbuddies’ developer Julian Laufer constantly improved the game and added new content, now there are only a few minor fixes left. After the release on PC in October, it will come to “PS4”, Nintendo Switch and Xbox One in Q1 2020.
Developer Insights about Outbuddies’ Combat Mechanics & Weapon Systems
Outbuddies uses ranged weapons and classic 4-way shooting, which was chosen by intention and forces the player to directly engage all types of foes. Poisonous bugs and spiky crawlers inflict contact damage while bigger enemies can be passed-by and use both ranged and melee-type attacks to kick your ass.
All types of hazards can be dodged by steam-rolling and a late-game upgrade, the Spin Blade, even allows to harm enemies by dodging them. All four up-gradable weapon systems also function as a selective tools and there are two weapon slots available, that can be equipped in parallel to create some interesting mix-ups. All four weapons and their functions at a glance:
- The Seahorse Revolver: Your standard plasma gun and best friend. Unleashes a powerful vaporizing beam when charged-up. Has a high fire rate and good damage output.
- The Missile Launcher: Your best choice when facing heavy duty like boss encounters or multiple tanky enemies at once. They can even break stones, but your storage is very limited and has to be upgraded by searching for missile tanks.
- The Bubble Beam: A tactical weapon that fires organic ooze that can immobilize enemies and turn them into a suitable platform to step on. When charged, immobilizing clusters will spread to stun whole groups of foes.
- The Corridium Galvanizer: Energizes wall structures and can re-power shut-down facilities. When charged it unleashes a powerful dash that can connect to a spider-ball like wall run and enables you to reach every corner of Bahlam.
“Movement in Outbuddies is very fast-paced, like also seen in Hollow Knight or Dead Cells. Controls are also tight, allowing for split-second decisions and various cancels to survive heated combat situations. To spice things up, I’ve implemented a (mostly optional) stealth system, so large enemy groups and security systems can be sneaked-by”, adds Julian Laufer.
“Your droid Buddy is equipped with telekinetic abilities to use the environment against your enemies and collect-able hacking protocols enable Buddy to even modify enemy behavior to your advantage.”
