The dev behind mobile classics Fruit Ninja and Jetpack Joyride is back with... an eldritch horror roguelike about exploring deepsea caves?
A change of pace, but not necessarily a bad one.
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If you loved cutting bits of fruit and riding a jetpack on your phone, then you'll love… collecting treasure from procedurally generated undersea, eldritch-horror filled caves.
Remember Fruit Ninja? It was a simple, very arcadey sort of game that was all the rage in the distant year of two thousand and ten, a time when mobile games were more tiny timewasters rather than full-blown experiences. The creator of that game, Luke Muscat, later went on to make another very popular mobile title, Jetpack Joyride, a game with a little bit more substance than slicing up your five a day, again a replayable, arcadey kind of game. Neither of them would likely be very popular today unfortunately, as it's a lot more difficult to have a breakout mobile hit, not to mention certain genres dominating digital storefronts. One such genre is roguelikes, and funnily enough, Muscat has actually made one such game, Feed the Deep, a horror roguelite all about exploring deepsea caves (thanks, GamesRadar).
"Feed the Deep is a compulsive lovecraftian roguelike inspired by the likes of Dome Keeper and Spelunky," the game's about section on Steam explains. "Dive into an ever-changing system of undersea caves. Collect resources that can be traded for upgrades and items. Explore ever deeper, managing dark spaces, limited oxygen, and hostile wildlife, and complete your mission to Feed the Deep." Muscat also notes that this new title was "built almost entirely" on their own, as a "couple of years ago I decided I wanted to try the ultimate game dev challenge and make a game completely solo."
Muscat has also been documenting the process of making the game on YouTube, with several videos going into the development of the game (and even a couple about designing Fruit Ninja and Jetpack Joyride, if you want a nostalgia trip).
Feed the Deep is currently set to release Q3 on Steam, and you can wishlist it here.