If you're an indie developer, the Switch has to be one of your target platforms these days. The console's popularity – combined with a vibrant digital storefront – has triggered a flood of indie classics. However, it's becoming increasingly hard to stand out on the crowded eShop, so it's easy to see why some developers might be tempted to be a big fish in a small pond, rather than the other way around.
We assume that's the conclusion that Diplodocus Games has come to, as it's about to release a 3D platformer on the Wii U. Yes, you read that right.
Regina & Mac is a '90s-style adventure which is very much inspired by the likes of Banjo-Kazooie – it even has a duo as its lead characters, one of which sits on the back of the other.
Here's some PR:
Join the macaw Regina and the tyrannosaurus Mac on their adventure as they try to escape a lifeless research lab. The only way out? To find the golden Floppy discs on which the memory of the lab’s computer system U64 is stored so that it can help the duo to find an exit. Regina & Mac is a 3D platformer that stands in the tradition of the classics from the late 90s and offers a fair challenge even for genre aficionados.
- Venture through nine expansive, yet compact worlds with ten golden Floppies each.
- Tackle the tasks in your order. You are free to explore the lab and its levels and choose the order in which you want to collect the Floppies.
- Exploration, Platforming and Puzzle solving await.
- An ever-expanding move set keeps the experience fresh from start to finish.
- Featuring visuals reminiscent of the early 3D days at 60 frames per seconds. Relive the atmosphere of yesteryear without sacrificing comfort.
The game launches next week at $9.99 / £8.99, but our friends over at Go Nintendo have enjoyed some early hands-on time with the game, which they endearingly describe as "wonky" on more than one occasion:
Will you be dusting off your Wii U to download this one?
[source gonintendo.com]
Comments 41
I don’t know about their development credentials, but whoever is in charge of their PR is an absolute genius.
Day 1. No doubt about it.
Game of the Year definitely !!!!!!!
This looks like a good free game to find on sites like GameJolt or itch.io, one of those attempts from a one man team to make a big type of game despite their limited resources and game making abilities, I can totally respect that.
However I'm not sure I can appreciate this game as much with that price tag and getting released on console without some extra polish (I know the Wii U is dead, but even the dead deserve some respect ;w; ).
Looks too bare bones for N64-style, possibly even sub-PS1. Nonetheless, huzzah for probably the Wii U’s GOTY.
@gaga64 alot of indie games are like this, it looks like a test level not a finished game
Yeah, looks quite lifeless and bland, even for an N64 game; animations are too bare-bones, and the whole aesthetic is just inconsistent. Just look at Mario 64 or Banjo and how good those games look.
Just because it looks bad, doesn't mean you can call it an "N64 inspired game".
I wish I could find a Wii U on local stores that isn't used.
Damn I regret so much not buying one of those, I got all of Nintendo consoles since the DS except for the Wii U ):
@Octane It would be more accurate to call it a PS1 game, as full 3D Games on PS1 mostly looked this bad due to lack of RAM, and GPU power. PS1 dated even worse than N64, as PS1 games didn't have trilinear filtering on 3D.
Too bare-bones and test level like. I would rank this below Yooka-Laylee. I guess it would be a great back in the 90's but now it's just too under developed to meet my standards anyone elses for more than a couple hours.
I'll stick with A hat in time and it's upcoming new DLC thank you.
It's really bare-bones, and I don't like the way the character moves. It looks like a really early version of a game. But it's nice to see more releases on the Wii U. Really.
At this point, the Wii U is gonna be that console that gets a small game every so often until Ninty shuts the servers.
@Octane how good those games look? You should say how good their art style looks because those games look terribly. Unless on an emulator of course
@nkarafo in theory doesn't it have to win if it's an official release? It will be the only platformer maybe even game released in 2020 so if that's the case it wins lol.
Yet they say the Wii U is dead. See this is what gets me about when a console is considered dead because support has dried up. If there's even a tiny percent of people still playing a system it's not dead.
Oof, this game gives me Bubsy 3D vibes
I love it that they describe the need to escape from a "lifeless research lab." "Yes, our game is bland and ugly, but that's the point!"
@Dr_Corndog
Yeah that is funny. It's like Superman 64 with its "kryptonite fog".
The fact that this game is only available on PC through Itch.io tells me all I really need to know.
Well, that and watching the trailer. The trailer solidifies it.
Will you be dusting off your Wii U to download this one?
No. 2 reasons.
1st my WiiU isn’t dusty because it gets plenty of play time and love.
2nd this game looks like a shiny blocky turd.
Pre-alpha, right?
I'm glad some developers still kept the Wii U close to their heart just like me. I still play my Wii U from time to time just to get a good work out and some old VC classics and I'm glad Nintendo hasn't axe the online on it yet. Right now the Wii U is still the best YouTube and Netflix box Nintendo had so if you still own a Wii U and wants to watch Netflix better to just go back and make the best of it. You could even watch your favorite Netflix Castlevania show on your Wii U and play your Switch in handheld mode at the same time without interruption.
It doesn't look very good to me. Definitely would be one of those forgettable N64 games that I picked up on a whim at a rental store. And I personally don't think it looks like a N64 game all that much. The animations, and level design are way too basic, unless they were attempting to make it look a mid-low tier game feom that era.
I still play my Wii U regularly. Until Nintendo steps up their game on Switch, the Wii U is absolutely a better console for playing legacy Virtual Console games.
@Ventilator Looks worse than a PS1 game even.
Looks like an early access Steam game rather than an N64 one.
Oh man, shovelware at its finest!
I'm another who still plays my Wii U. The price of this game is ridiculous and the camera looks awful. Definitely a game that's going to get frustrating for all the wrong reasons. Controlling the character looks a bit loose too.
Will be interesting to see if this actually sells any copies.
"We assume that's the conclusion that Diplodocus Games has come to"
Or maybe they just like the Wii U better. It's still the better system in some regards, after all.
@Jowmecuei
Adopt a used/refurbished one. The poor thing deserves a better home.
Lovely! Let's keep the Wii U alive
Of course sales would be incredibly higher if this was coming to Switch or even 3DS instead...
Haha I saw this while thumbing thru the wii u eshop and I completely thought n64 platformer
Interesting art style!
@Octane Let's call it a tech demo for Saturn then.
@Ventilator Made in three days by a five-year-old
@TheAwesomeBowser The Wii U will get a small Indy every so often, and then we’ll all be shocked when we get a BotW2 port
@embison Yeah basically.
Long live the King
As long as people are enjoying Wii U games including Wii U exclusives, Wii games that they have never played, Virtual Console or even Netflix, Wii U could be even more alive than Switch in their homes.
This new game, however, looks extremely poor.
This looks like Saturn's attempt at an 3D platformer.
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