Don an antique diving suit and take to the waters solo, or with up to three other players, to face gruesome monsters and recover treasure lost deep below the surface in Aqua Lungers.
I met with Diego Almazan of WarpedCore Studio to check out a demo of their exciting new multiplayer platforming game, Aqua Lungers. The split-screen build was set up to accommodate four players, so I picked up a controller, took control of my diver and dived in to the action.
The first thing you’ll notice when playing is that the game is ridiculously fluid — no pun intended. From swimming underwater, dashing to move faster, to running about on shore, the controls have a very tight and responsive feel to them. That paired with the fierce combat of four divers all drastically trying to stab each other with their javelins — all while avoiding enemies and the boss creature — is bound to entertain and delight.
The rules are simple: gather gold from chests at the bottom of each arena by any means necessary and bring it to the surface to put in your matching colored treasure chest. Getting hit by enemies or players will cause you to drop precious gold, which will either drop or sink down, depending on whether you are on the surface or not. The first to retrieve it — whether it’s you or another player — gets to add it to their stock. Gold, or rather lots of it will start to weigh you down, causing you to both swim and move slower.
There are plenty of power-ups to help you in your quest including tools, weapons, and shields. Tools help you in ways that don’t directly hurt other players, such as monster bait that lures the level’s monster for a short period of time and a gravity well that pulls in and immobilizes players, enemies and even some of the projectiles. Weapons, such as a bomb and magic missile, help your player blow up or shoot projectiles that follow players, respectively. The Aqua Shield will provide you defence from projectiles or direct hits, but shields such as Whirlwind Shield which pushes objects away and the Light Shield which grants you temporary invulnerability add some additional depth to your arsenal. It’s a fair amount of options to consider while you are risking your life for some pieces of eight.
Aqua Lungers is a lot of fun competing against others and the frantic pace of it all keeps you on your toes. Each game seems to lend itself to unique possibilities and strategies, therefore suggesting that the game will feel fresh each time. The art is beautiful and with the controls being so well executed, it seems like this couch co-op title is on its way to making a splash when it releases sometime this year.
Aqua Lungers is available now in Early Access on Steam. Check out their website and Twitter feed for more information.
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