Curve Digital today announced the release of Iron Fisticle, a twin-stick, retro-inspired arcade game created Dave Parsons and Dugan Jackson, two game developers who have previously worked at Curve and helped created the Stealth Inc (Stealth Bastard) series of games. Iron Fisticle will be released on Steam, Green Man Gaming and the Humble Store on September 16th, 2014.
Iron Fisticle is a challenging twin-stick shooter with a scoreboard that requires reflexes, speed and quick thinking to master. It takes the classic arcade arena shooters of the mid 80s and drags them, axes flying, into the 21st century. Inspired by truly old school arcade games right down to the (optional) scanlines themselves, Iron Fisticle is both a retro game and a reinvention of a classic genre, with multiple routes through the game, a large variety of weapons and enemies, clever boss fights and procedurally generated levels.
Iron Fisticle was initially a spare-time project to create a simple arcade style game, and has grown to become a more ambitious title over its development, including a clever scoring system, a variety of bonus stages and, most importantly of all, 2 player simultaneous local co-op for that true 80s arcade experience.
Lead developer on the game, Dave Parsons, said: “We’ve been working on this game for almost 4 years now, in our evenings and weekends,. while working at Curve and elsewhere. To be honest, it all got a little out of hand – we’ve made so many changes and improvements from the original simple idea that it’s a huge relief to finally get it finished and launching on Steam.”
Known best for bringing games like Thomas Was Alone and The Swapper to PS4, Iron Fisticle continues the expansion of Curve Digital on the PC, where the company has published Stealth Bastard Deluxe, space shooter Velocity Ultra and exploration-adventure title, Stranded.
Jason Perkins, Managing Director at Curve Digital commented: “Dave and Dugan have been a vital part of the team here at Curve over many years, so it’s great to be able to offer them support to launch Iron Fisticle. With hundreds of indie games launching on Steam on a monthly basis, it’s more important than ever to get noticed. We’re happy to be able to use the knowledge and experience of Curve Digital to help people who have worked for us in the past.”
Review copies of Iron Fisticle will be available from early September, and can be requested by getting in touch with Curve Digital’s directly using the contact information below. Full details and screenshots of the game can be obtained via the games press kit available, here.
Iron Fisticle Features
•Classic twin-stick arcade gameplay meets modern accessibility, with controller support, achievements and collectables; Endless supply of quarters and blistered thumbs not required.
•Re-live multiplayer as it was designed to be, with simultaneous two player local co-op.
•Multiple stats upgrades and weapon pick-ups change the way you play and fight in each game, while roguelikes-style persistent character upgrades allow you to explore deeper after every death.
•Over 100 different pick-ups to collect, with more item tiers available to find on each consecutive play through.
•A scoring system that encourages fast paced risk taking while encouraging experimentation and discovery – like all the best classic arcade games.
•Retro-styled, hand-drawn pixel art graphics running at 60 FPS for a fluid action experience, complemented by excellent chip-tune inspired music and audio effects from Andy Lemon
www.curve-studios.com