Nintendo’s 2020 Indie World Showcase had interesting announcement for the company’s hybrid console, including theimmediate Switch release for Dodge Roll’sExit the Gungeon. One of the oddest games revealed coming to Nintendo’s hardware wasCyanide & Happiness: Freakpocalypse, a single-player adventure game based on the popular webcomic published by Explosm.
About five minutes into the showcase, viewers were greeted byCyanide & Happinesscreator Kris Wilson talking to a “hideous mutant freak” on a green screened news set. The mutant says that he is a featured character inFreakpocalypse, where players can “explore, solve puzzles, and attempt to survive in what’s left of our terrible world.” A splash screen at the end says the game, developed by Explosm and Serenity Forge, will be a timed exclusive for the Switch coming this summer.
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Later Nintendo released a gameplay-focused trailer for the title — which is the first part in a series — on Twitter, showing protagonist Cooper McCarthy having to “find a prom date in the apocalypse” by exploring a “dark” world full of “dozens of secrets and alternate costumes.” Stylistically it seems reminiscent of recentSouth Parkgames likeThe Fractured But Whole, in that players get to explore an entire world steeped in the unique art style of a popular franchise.
Cyanide & Happiness: Freakpocalypsebegan as a Kickstarter project, similar toindie hits likeShovel Knight, that launched in September 2017 and went on to make nearly $600,000 from 15,000 backers. The webcomic’s brand has funded other projects through the crowdfunding site, including a card game calledJoking Hazard.
The Twitter trailer says there will be more than 100 bizarre characters to meet throughout the world ofFreakpocalypse. Some of those characters will feature “special guest voice actors” like Arin “Egoraptor” Hanson, Adam Johnston of YourMovieSucks, and Jim Sterling according to the game’s Kickstarter page.
While other revealed titles likeHello Games’The Last Campfiremay have received more attention due to the developer’s previous notoriety in gaming circles,Freakpocalypsecertainly stood out for having a bizarre teaser reveal. It should be interesting to see what exactly theCyanide & Happinessteam have been working on for their first venture into the interactive medium.
Cyanide & Happiness: Freakpocalypsewill be available exclusively for the Nintendo Switch in summer 2020.
