New IP Announced by Press Play: Project Totem

After the awesome Max: The Curse Of Brotherhood a brand new IP (intellectual property) is here. Remember when Press Play’s Studio Head Rune Dittmer said during an interview with iLLGaming that they will be announcing their new title at PAX 2014? They finally have, and this ones called Project Totem. The game sounds ambitious and a lot different from what we have seen from Press Play, but at its core it is still a platformer.

Very little is known about the game but from what we know so far, the game has a very different control pattern, you are basically controlling two characters at same time. Don’t confuse this with the control scheme in Brothers: A Tale Of Sons, where you shift between the characters. In Project Totem you control both the characters from one controller, one input will control two characters. If one jumps, the other will follow. Moreover, movements are linked between the characters. It’s a new and fresh take on controlling character. These innovative ideas that Press Play associated with their games make them one of my favourite game development studio. Below is some gameplay footage and some official information.

In Project Totem you control two pieces of a totem pole at the same time with the same input. The challenge, the two are not always on the same path.

Project Totem plays in solid 60 fps full HD with controls tighter that tight. It feels both retro and new at the same time and its mind bending puzzle design and twitchy gameplay present plenty of challenge to the experienced gamer.

Project Totem features a local “couch” co-op campaign that you can challenge yourself and a friend with. It is designed to be played right away and does not require tutorial or unlocks. The basic premise for the co-op campaign? “We have doubled everything – except the double jump. It has been quadrupled!”

A WORK IN PROGRESS

Project Totem is not done yet. It is actually very much in development. That also means that everything shown is subject to change and some of it may not make it into the final product, but it reflects where Press Play are right now.

IGN also has some alpha footage for the game you can watch it below.

SIGN UP FOR CLOSED BETA

You can also signup for a closed beta on Press Play’s website but the condition is that you need to have an Xbox One.
Beta Link

TALKING POINTS

• Two playable protagonists
• Toyed with the idea when putting finishing touches to Max: TCOB
• Prototyped by two brothers and worked its way to the directors of the studio who liked it
• Side scrolling colourful single player or co-op game – I like the art style

Set on a Tropical island your goal is to recover pieces of a Totem pole that once stood in your village, shattered by a Dark Shaman who killed the monument’s White Shaman guardian in the process, the pieces are now scattered

• Retrieve the pieces by negotiating obstacle courses that make up the levels ensuring you both survive
• Two paths – one for each character, early on its a split (one at the top one at the bottom) but they mix that up later in the game
• Make use of the environment to work your way through puzzles that can affect the player on the other screen (e.g. blocking ones path so the other can get past)
• When on the same plane you can stand on each others shoulders allowing you to double jump etc
• The colour of the zones form the backdrop to the puzzle (purple and green single player or red and blue in co-op) and only the character matching the colour of the backdrop can pass through them
• Swap the characters position with a button press
  

   The game delights in setting up patterns and then second-guessing your instinct, resulting in a death that will initially have you casting for someone to blame before concluding that its your fault – think of Limbo pressure plate operated crushers

• A couple of falling sequences require extremely quick thinking as we plummet through alternating patterns
• Tests your reactions
• Achieves a pleasing balance between puzzle solving and switch platforming
• Campaign split into three worlds each with its own special power
• Only one revealed: Gravity – combines the basic swapping mechanic with inverted forces of attraction. Use to switch surfaces and it gets more difficult as time goes on requiring more precise button presses to to stay in the air and float through sections safely
• Pickups help decide your final score and how many you collect will help decide what Totem piece you get (e.g. uninspiring piece of wood or colourful face sporting accoutrements such as sunglasses or a pipe)

Still in the early stages but the well weighted platforming feels satisfying and substantial

Co-op details “Twotem” (says local co-op no mention of online specifically)

• Provides two characters for each player
• One has two blue villagers the other two red
• Can be stacked in any order
• Single player combined quadruple jump becomes an octuple manoeuvre
• Requires communication and each hurdle feels like a massive achievement but things can quickly disintegrate into disarray

Project Totem is scheduled for launch at Fall 2014 for the Xbox 360 and Xbox One.