Smelter launches today on Xbox One and Xbox Series X | S.

Hello everybody! Brian Otten from X Plus in Osaka, Japan here. We are very happy about the publication smelter, a 16-bit style action-strategy hybrid that is out today on Xbox One and Xbox Series X | S is available!

So what is it? smelter all about?

smelter is a story about a boy. It’s actually a story about a girl and a boy. Wait – it’s actually a story about a girl and a talkative winged creature who transforms into a range of armor and can command myriad powers to expand his magnificent realm in the deepest reaches of Rumbly Lands in order to regain what what he and the girl lost.

smelter is our debut title since coming together as a team in 2018 and our take on a combination we haven’t seen much in the last few years: a top-down strategy, a 16-bit style action platformer.

In mode 7-style overhead map stages, players control Smelter in the air, who can fly, shoot and destroy enemies and obstacles, while he commands his troops to expand territory, build structures and attack units against enemy monsters in different regions unleash. Players control Smelter from top to bottom in a strategic conquest as he and his Zirm forces seek to expand his empire by completing quests and facing an onslaught of enemies determined to stop him. The gameplay has been developed with shooting and command-driven user interfaces, and features modern tutorials to help both experienced and new players.

Once the player has completed certain NPC controlled quests and fortified key locations on the map, they will be able to access new and exciting action platform levels where they can walk in control of Eve who is smelter infused and face the bad guys. Eve can perform a range of melee attacks, leaps, strokes, wall grips, smelter special attacks, and maneuvers to complete the stages and advance the story. The stages contain secret “test phases” in which the players are rewarded by completing short levels under certain conditions, e.g. B. Time Trial, Not Be Hit, Not Be Seen, and more.

One of the most important modern features of smelter is the elementary skill tree system that gives Eva and Schmelze special skills on land and in the air. Perform punch combinations and stone shield counters with Gurabi’s earth and gravity-based abilities, launch shocking spinning jump attacks with Eremagu’s electrified abilities, and fire long-range attacks with the unstable but deadly Nutoro elemental abilities. By unlocking new skills, players can reach new areas and approach levels with different approaches.

inspiration

When planning smelterWhile we made it our business to determine the top-down strategy and action platform genres ourselves, we definitely took inspiration from classics like Actraiser and the Megaman series simply because these were the games that did many of us loved to play and still love to play.

And while this might explain some of the inspirations for choosing game design, we feel smelter has ultimately become a combination of the personalities of the team and what each of us likes to read, hear, play, and see – anything that inspires us personally, whether it’s a sarcastic comedy, an action-packed anime with characters that Wearing armor that has no business being worn in combat, a memorable boss from a game we played years ago, or a super heavy metal soundtrack that we rack our brains at work.

The trip to Rumbly Land

The majority of us at X Plus were (and are) foreigners living in Osaka, Japan. The game development community in Japan is usually quite connected, especially among expats. This makes it a great place to find those with similar goals. We were all looking for something new and we finally found ourselves together at X Plus in Japan, which has a long history of collectible figurines, and they were ready to give us a chance to pursue anything we wanted to do.

During the planning process, we had to wonder if we wanted to make it big. Or do we want to play it safe and get small? We had a lot of cool ideas! However, we realized that we have to be honest with ourselves to deliver the quality we shot for and the experience we wanted from the players.

We went back to the whiteboard and asked ourselves, “What do we think makes a game fun?”

The result that we have achieved is this smelter Players can now experience: an action-packed platform and strategy game with three different elements and an easy-to-learn, interchangeable skill set system, a simple but convincing narrative, colorful and high-quality pixel art, entertaining strategy mechanics and more emphatic thematic stage mechanics that are good for fits the skills available to the player.

Last but not least, a great soundtrack and sound design by incredibly dedicated and passionate artists who helped bring the graphics and game mechanics to life.

Message to the players

We were super happy to come together and go through this journey of making smelter what it is today. The team lived and breathed for over two years smelter (even had dreams!). We all put a piece of ourselves into it smelter and we hope to have the chance to share the story of smelter with players all over the world.