Captain Kaon, the retro twin-stick gravity shooter inspired by seminal Spectrum and Amiga games, launches for PC on Steam Early Access today.
A salute to such 1980s classics as Thrust and Gravitar, Captain Kaon brings the vector graphics of old right ‘up-to-date’ with vibrant Amiga-style pixel art and a tight twin-stick control mechanic. As a much-loved but long neglected genre, gravity shooters have found their modern champion in indie developer James Buckle. He played the pants off these games as a child and is launching on Steam Early Access today to gather valuable community feedback and ensure that Captain Kaon is the perfect celebration of the genre.
“I got an old second hand ZX Spectrum when I was a kid, which was when I first learned to code and make games”, said James Buckle, founder and developer at Engage Pixel. “One of my favourites was Thrust; I loved having to manoeuvre your ship through the caves and pick off the bad guys. It was a style of game I adored which you just don’t see anymore and I realised there is a whole generation who hasn’t played these exceptional games. Captain Kaon takes the best bits from this classic genre and brings them into the 21st century”.
What is Captain Kaon?
Developed by UK-based Engage Pixel, Captain Kaon is a 1980s Thrust and Gravitar inspired twin-stick gravity shooter. Here are some of the key features:
Enjoy classic sci-fi, tilt/thrust gravity-based gameplay
Battle enemies with twin-stick or 360° mouse aim
Explore vibrant Amiga-style pixel art environments
Manage resources and carefully select missions in Campaign Mode
Relive this ‘forgotten’ shmup sub-genre
Available now on Steam Early Access
Full launch on PC in 2017
Story of Captain Kaon
The overcrowded Earth has found a new home amongst the stars – a clutch of habitable worlds in the Regulus sector. But peace in this new paradise is short-lived as a strange alien force begins a relentless assault on the colonies. This threat to human expansion cannot go unchallenged.
In response the Earth sends the finest ships in the Interstellar Navy to defend the colonists and protect its interests. Left behind are the old and out-of-date, led by the flagship Argus – a small fleet of relics to defend humanity’s homeworld.
Hotheaded and insubordinate, Captain Talia ‘Kaon’ faces a court martial as war breaks out in the Regulus sector. Hoping combat offers the chance for salvation, she instead finds herself left behind. With the Argus operating on a skeleton crew, she is assigned as its sole gunship pilot.
In the midst of this uncertainty the miners of Ceres revolt against Earth rule, refusing to supply the fleet with the deuterium fuel it sorely needs. Without it the fleet in Regulus will be unable to fight and Earth will become increasingly vulnerable. Only Captain Kaon can fly her gunship through the twisting tunnels beneath Ceres surface and fight the revolt.