Press release:
Madrid, Spain. April 19th 2023.
The Toronto-based (Canada) indie games publisher Astrolabe Games and Madrid-based (Spain) indie games developer Dr. Kucho! Games, today announced with great joy and thrill that their retro save-them-all action/platformer “Moons of Darsalon”, is now available for PC via Steam.
After more than 8 years of long waiting, players are finally able to enroll the Darsanauts Rescue Missions! Be a hero in charge of rescuing your lost colleagues and bringing them to the closest base station using your commands and their advanced AI. Fight fierceful alien creatures, avoid all sorts of threats and get rid of obstacles with a jetpack, enjoy the advanced physics engine that allows you to destroy terrain, and even make new paths with the ground maker!
“Making this game has been fulfilling the dream I had as a teenager, which I gave up to dedicate myself to music, and which I recovered at 42 years old, eight years later. Moons of Darsalon is a reality in which I have put all my obsessive perfectionism, avoiding following trendy styles and focusing on offering a fresh and quality gaming experience.” – Dr. Kucho
“Moons of Darsalon is a challenging, charming little lemmings-like puzzle-platformer that drove me to the brink (in a good way). I highly recommend checking out its free demo and wishlisting the game on Steam.” (Ted Litchfield)
MAIN FEATURES
Fast-paced laser gun shooting action against dangerous alien creatures.
Enhanced mobility thanks to accessories like the jet pack and vehicles like the space truck and drop ship.
Darsanauts implement advanced platforming AI including dynamic terrain detection, jump force calculation, light sensitivity, inter-NPC communication.
Voice Commands to control companion NPCs.
Dynamic ground destruction and creation: Destroy terrain and make new paths with the ground maker gun.
Fully interactive and realistic liquid physics.
Realistic off road vehicle physics.
8 bit music based on MOS 6581 (SID) chip from 1982 and speech synthesis.
Graphics are generated with a unique render pipeline that combines modern lighting, 2D sprites and 3D models pixelated in real time, all featuring a restricted color palette for an authentic retro feel.
And of course, we cannot miss the good old CRT filter!
CAREER AS GAME DEVELOPER
Dr. Kucho’s path as a game developer started in 2013, when he began developing his debut title “Ghosts’n Djs”, a homage to the 80s arcade classic platformer Ghosts’n Goblins and a satirical critic to the commercial electronic music industry.
In 2020, Kucho released his second title, Pilots of Darsalon, which introduces the Darsalon universe and presents a physics based arcade game. Finally and after more than 8 years of development, Dr. Kucho returns with his largest project to date, Moons of Darsalon, where players will have to rescue and command a squad of darsanauts, mixing physics-based run’n gun mechanics with the save them all genre, in this sequel he applied all the lessons learned about his audience, and how PC self-publishing works.
About Astrolabe Games:
Astrolabe Games is a global video game publisher based in Shanghai, China, with an office in Toronto, Canada.
Founded by a squad of industry veterans, we strive to “align the stars” for talented devs so that they can focus on visualizing and realizing their best creative ideas to bring fun and diverse play experiences for all gamers.
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Jonas “O.J” Ek
The Gaming Ground
Twitter: @TheGamingGround
More by Jonas Ek:
Tags: Action, Astrolabe Games, Dr. Kucho! Games, Indie games, Moons of Darsalon, PC games, Physics, Platformer, Retro games, Save-them-all, Steam