Developer Pixelnicks, along with with publisher Screenwave media, announced the release date for their falconry-based platformer Eagle Island for July 11.
The game revolves around Quill and his trusty owl Koji, and their adventures in the titular world of Eagle Island. The game boasts a procedurally generated world with 16 types of environments, a little RPG-esque influence is also present in the game, as the player has the option to choose from 85 different perk abilities to customize their gameplay depending on the game mode they choose.
For those who either want to be immersed in the story or want to just warm up and test their skills, Eagle Island has three different game modes: Story, Roguelite and Speedrun modes.
The relationship between Quill and Koji is something that players must keep in mind. How you use Koji will be your bread and butter in beating the environment until you reach Armaura, the game’s antagonist. Playing the demo, it's easy go quickly grow attached to Koji (after throwing him a few times towards a wall, I decided to aim better).
The main attack in Eagle Island is to launch Koji towards enemies, and the eagle bounces back towards your character like a feathery boomerang. Catching Koji and attacking in succession is a key part of succeeding in this game, as performing combos is your main source of health points and Manaroc, the resource which allows Koji to take on different elemental powers that enhances attacks.
Visually, Eagle Island lives up to its Steam page description. The pixel art is a great homage to its vintage 16-bit roots and the Metroidvania genres from three to four decades ago. That said, we do still have a few questions. Will these worlds and environments still feel brand new after one playthrough? How about ten playthroughs? Another question that pops up is if the soundtrack will perfectly complement Eagle Island’s vast world? So far, the demo shows promise.
In a market saturated with quality products, Pixelnicks’ bet in Eagle Island looks like something that could fly over the competition.
Eagle Island releases on July 11 for Nintendo’s eShop and on PC via Steam.
