Rad music, eyeroll-inducing character design
Not long ago, Andrew “DarkFalzX” Bado ran a Kickstarter campaign for the pixel art Metroidvania Legend of Iya, which just barely reached its funding goal in the final hours of its run. Though he has been putting his time into that, he has also managed to collaborate with chiptune virtuoso Jake Kaufman to make a much smaller title. ULTIONUS: A Tale of Petty Revenge is meant as a sort of parody of early ’90s games, complete with sidescrolling gameplay and a ludicrously proportioned, skimpily armored female protagonist.
Even if it is meant as parody, it does seem strange to release something like this given the current social climate in games. From the trailer, it appears to celebrate the pandering rather than condemn it, though that is perhaps not the case in the full game. Still, ULTIONUS protagonist Serena S’s design is even more surprising considering the praise that Iya’s character design has received for its more down-to-earth, modest look.
The music in the trailer above was provided by A-Rival, but the soundtrack for ULTIONUS has been completely composed by Jake Kaufman. There is a livestream listening party on Noise Channel Radio going on right now, and the soundtrack will be available on Kaufman’s Bandcamp afterward. The game itself is available now on Windows, Linux, and OUYA.
