At the Game Developers Conference earlier this year, Aggro Crab developer Nick Kaman told me that he thinks there’s a lot of meat left on the bone when it comes to co-op “friendslop” games, and that he wants to keep working in the space. Aggro Crab is still down to zig and not zag, though, and will be publishing and supporting a very different sort of game, the upcoming platformer Rebounder.
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It’s tough enough to stand out in the games market these days, let alone as a 2D platformer, so I’m always excited when one really breaks through and catches my eye. Rebounder is killing it on the art front, presenting everything in this color-limited, comic book, cel-shadey view that I really dig. It dovetails with the story and designs, a sort of blue collar, working class sci-fi reminiscent of Scavenger’s Reign, Alien, or Mouthwashing.
“On a remote lunar worksite, valuable resources from an ancient age flow underfoot, and shareholders demand extraction,” reads Rebounders’ synopsis on Steam. “Contract workers fly-in and fly-out; blue collar labourers from around the galaxy all trekking to the edges of civilization for the next gig.
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“A Rebounder runs lines. They pull up their boots each day and speed through hazardous terrain to deliver precious cargo from point A to point B by any means necessary. It’s the gnarliest trade in the universe.”
Rebounder looks to be no slouch on the gameplay front either: Its Steam page references kaizo games, hardcore, challenge run fangames/romhacks built out of classic 2D platformers (mostly Super Mario World). It’s a style of game I’ve always loved to watch, but it feels relatively unapproachable for the average Joe. Taking kaizo games’ lead as inspiration for a full game strikes me as a brilliant move.
“I think someone got really interested in mario shell jumps,” observed top commenter ChampionBob on Rebounder’s announcement trailer. Tricky jumps requiring deft manipulation and timing around defeated Koopa shells are a kaizo staple, and Rebounder seems to replicate that style of platforming with its grody little sci-fi bits and bobs.
So it looks rad, the story sounds neat, and it’s cribbing notes from a style of fangame that hasn’t seen a ton of imitation yet—I’m on board, let’s rock. Rebounder is targeting a general 2027 release window, and you can wishlist it on Steam.