Luftrausers
| Luftrausers | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Developer(s) | Vlambeer |
| Publisher(s) | Devolver Digital |
| Composer(s) | Jukio "Kozilek" Kallio |
| Platform(s) | Microsoft Windows, OS X, Linux, PlayStation 3, PlayStation Vita, Android |
| Release date(s) |
Windows, OS X, Linux
PS3, PS Vita Android
|
| Genre(s) | Shoot 'em up |
| Mode(s) | Single-player |
Luftrausers (stylized as LUFTRAUSERS) is a 2014 shoot 'em up video game developed by Netherlands-based indie developer studio Vlambeer and published by Devolver Digital for Microsoft Windows, OS X, Linux, PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Vita. It was released on 18 March 2014 and ported to Android by General Arcade on 20 December 2014.
Gameplay
Luftrausers is an airplane-based shoot 'em up. Unlike traditional shoot 'em ups, where the direction of the player craft is fixed, Luftrausers allows 360 degrees of motion, more akin to a multidirectional shooter. However, the player's main weapon can only fire from the front, forcing the player to take into account the position and angle of the airplane. Players must take into account the momentum of their plane while flying, using gravity and drift to maneuver as much as forward propulsion. There is no health bar: player health is indicated by a circle around the aircraft that shrinks as damage increases and naturally regenerates when not firing the weapon. Aircraft can be customized with dozens of combinations of engines, weapons, and hulls [1] that affect the soundtrack as much as the gameplay. Each weapon part comes with sets of challenges that give objects to strive for on top of the arcade nature of the game.
Development
Jan Willem Nijman of Vlambeer started Luftrausers while on the airplane home from the March 2012 Game Developers Conference (GDC) in San Francisco. Polygon reported that he was inspired by the "beauty of his view" and did not have on-flight television. At the time, Vlambeer was finishing development on Ridiculous Fishing, a game whose development was marked by a high-profile struggle with a similar, subsequent game known as a clone.[2]
Luftrausers is an update of Luftrauser, an earlier, free Flash game created by Vlambeer's Rami Ismail, artist Paul Veer, and composer Kozilek in the GameMaker: Studio engine and was ported to pure C++ by Michel Paulissen via his Dex converter tool.[3][4] Vlambeer originally announced the game for release in Q2 2013 on PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Vita, having chosen those platforms due to their positive working relationship with Sony.[3] In the weeks before the expected release, the Bangalore-based Rubiq Lab released a similar airplane dogfight game called SkyFar in April 2013 and Vlambeer contacted Apple and Google to intervene so as to avoid "another clone war".[2] Rami Ismail's backpack containing "everything Vlambeer" including electronics and the game's code was stolen during E3 2013.[5] Although their work was backed up, Ismail described the theft as "a giant pain".[5]
The game was simultaneously released on Microsoft Windows, OS X, Linux, PlayStation 3, and PlayStation Vita (via Steam and the Humble Store)[1] on 18 March 2014, being published by Devolver Digital. The game's two-and-a-half-year development cycle was profitable within three days of its release.[6] On 20 December 2014, the game was ported to Amazon Fire TV by General Arcade.[7]
Reception
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The game received "generally favorable" reviews, according to video game review score aggregator Metacritic.[8] Giant Bomb awarded the game Best Music of 2014.[16]
References
- 1 2 Farokhmanesh, Megan (10 February 2014). "Luftrausers to launch for all five platforms simultaneously". Polygon. Vox Media. Retrieved 10 February 2014.
- 1 2 Pitts, Russ (24 April 2013). "Cloned at Birth: The Story of Ridiculous Fishing". Polygon. Vox Media. Retrieved 12 June 2013.
- 1 2 McWhertor, Michael (21 March 2013). "Vlambeer's Luftrausers coming to PS3 and PS Vita this spring". Polygon. Vox Media. Retrieved 10 February 2014.
- ↑ Paulissen, Michel (4 March 2014). "LUFTRAUSERS - Michel Paulissen's Portfolio". Retrieved 4 November 2014.
- 1 2 Crecente, Brian (14 June 2013). "'Vlambeer got stolen,' Ridiculous Fishing dev says". Polygon. Vox Media. Retrieved 15 February 2014.
- ↑ Sarkar, Samit (21 March 2014). "Vlambeer's Luftrausers became profitable in three days". Polygon. Vox Media. Retrieved 22 March 2014.
- ↑ Devolver Digital (20 December 2014). "Devolver Digital on Twitter: "LUFTRAUSERS from @Vlambeer is now available on @Amazon Fire TV!". Twitter. Retrieved 21 December 2014.
- 1 2 "Luftrausers Critic Reviews for PC". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved 7 June 2014.
- ↑ "Luftrausers Critic Reviews for PlayStation 3". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved 19 March 2014.
- ↑ "Luftrausers Critic Reviews for PlayStation Vita". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved 7 June 2014.
- ↑ Patterson, Eric L (18 March 2014). "EGM Review: Luftrausers". Electronic Gaming Monthly. EGM Media. Retrieved 7 June 2014.
- ↑ Turi, Tim (18 March 2014). "Luftrausers - Aerial Supremacy". Game Informer. GameStop. Retrieved 7 June 2014.
- ↑ Peele, Britton (18 March 2014). "Luftrausers Review". GameSpot. CBS Interactive. Retrieved 7 June 2014.
- ↑ Richard, Cobbett (21 March 2014). "Luftrausers Review". IGN. IGN Entertainment. Retrieved 7 June 2014.
- ↑ Gies, Arthur (24 March 2014). "Luftrausers Review: Vintage Bomber". Polygon. Vox Media. Retrieved 7 June 2014.
- ↑ Staff, Giant Bomb (27 December 2014). "Giant Bomb's 2014 Game of the Year Awards: Day Two Text Recap". Giant Bomb. CBS Interactive. Retrieved 27 December 2014.