Smelter is an action-platform-strategy hybrid that will be blasting out of the DANGEN Entertainment stable with release on Xbox, PlayStation, Switch and PC. Today, the hype for it starts to ramp up with not just a new trailer being revealed, but the full release date now confirmed. And the best news of the lot? We won’t have to wait too long before getting hands-on.
Smelter will come to Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, PS4, PS5, Nintendo Switch and PC come April 22nd 2021, giving players the chance to take in an action-strategy hybrid which many see as Actraiser meets Mega Man.
Combining 2D shooting with real-time strategy and some explosive side scrolling action, Smelter will allow players the opportunity to join the life of Eve as she heads out on a journey to find Adam. On the way though she meets a mysterious being – Smelter – fusing together and gaining incredible power. It is here where the game begins to unfurl, working strategy, action and cinematic sequences all pushed along with a rather wacky narrative.
Taking in an overhead, Mode 7-style map stages, players control airborne Smelter, who can fly, shoot and destroy enemies and obstacles while giving commands to his troops to expand territory, build structures and unleash attack units against enemy monsters in various regions. Players control Smelter in a top-down strategic conquest as he and his Zirm forces attempt to expand his empire by completing quests and taking on an onslaught of enemies determined to stop him. Gameplay is designed with shooting and command-driven interfaces, adding modern-day tutorials to assist both veteran gamers and those new to the genre.
That won’t be all you get involved in though and once you’ve completed certain NPC-driven quests and fortified key locations on the map, you’ll gain access to new and exciting action-platformer stages, controlling Eve infused with Smelter on foot and taking on the bad guys. It is here where Eve can perform an array of melee attacks, jumps, dashes, wall grabs, whilst Smelter works special attacks and maneuvers to complete the stages and progress the story.
There will be more than a touch of reason to explore too as stages contain secret Trial Stages where players are rewarded by completing short levels within given conditions, such as Time Trial, Don’t Get Hit, Don’t Be Seen and more.
Smelter comes with key modern-day features, one of which is the elemental skill tree system that grants Eve and Smelter special abilities on land and air; you’ll be able to perform punching combos and rock shield counters with Gurabi’s earth and gravity-based skills, launch shock-infused spinning jump attacks with Eremagu’s electrified abilities, and fire long-range shooting attacks with the unstable yet deadly Nutoro elemental skill set. By unlocking new abilities, players can reach new areas and tackle stages with different approaches.
“When planning SMELTER, while although we made it a priority to give our own spin on the top-down strategy and action-platformer genres, we were definitely inspired by classics like Actraiser and the Mega Man series simply because those were the games many of us loved to play and still love to play. And while that might explain some of the inspirations for the game design choices, we feel SMELTER has ultimately become a combination of our team’s personalities and what each of us enjoy to read, listen to, play and watch,” says Brian Otten, one of the core developers at X PLUS.
We’ll remind you when that April 22nd 2021 release of Smelter on Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, PS4, PS5, PC and Nintendo Switch rolls around. For now though, enjoy what it will bring by taking in the mad trailer below.
