A Hole New World

A Hole New World is a side-scrolling platform game set in a fantasy world and featuring pixel-art style. The game has been developed by the independent Spanish Mad Gear Games and is now available on PS4, SWITCH and etc.. The creators boast that their game does not include any tutorials or modes with facilitations – A Hole New World is a demanding game inspired by titles available for Nintendo Entertainment System, such as Mega Man and Castlevania.

The original version of A Hole New World has been created in 2014 during Ludum Dare 30, where the participants were tasked with developing a game within a limited timeframe. To finance the final version of the game, the developers decided to use the Kickstarter crowdfunding platform.

Plot

Long ago, the idyllic land of Versee has been possessed by evil. In order to defend its dwellers from suffering, the creator of Versee – a goddess named Yakshini – has divided the world into two parallel universes. The evil has been imprisoned in the dimension known as the Upside-down world.

This deed has weakened Yakshini. Previously, mere mortals were no match against the powerful goddess; now, however, nearly anyone could trap her and use her abilities. To secure herself from such possibility, Yakshini locked her power inside five gems interspersed across the parallel worlds – after that, she vanished.

The action of the PS4, SWITCH and etc. release of A Hole New World takes place after the evil Lord Baduk from the Upside-down world finds the Gem of Darkness that gave him the power to open a portal to Versee allowing him to invade the peaceful land. The only weapons able to stop the invaders are the potions brewed by the Potions Master, who serves the King of Versee. Aided by a small, yet powerful, fairy named Fäy, the main protagonist sets off to fight the forces of evil. On his journey, he gets to visit numerous locations including the dark regions right at the heart of the darkness – the Upside-down world.

Mechanics

The PS4, SWITCH and etc. release of A Hole New World is a 2D side-scrolling platform game, in which a player observes the action from the side-perspective and, going rightwards, has to jump over the obstacles, gather useful items, and fight multiple enemies.

The game described herein stands out from other platform games in terms of the ability to travel to a parallel universe called the Upside-down world, the holes in the ground. While in other platform games falling off the platforms ends with character’s death, in A Hole New World the main protagonist emerges from the mirror image of the in-game world – he goes to the Upside-down World and, thanks to the inverted gravity, can walk on the ceiling. Performing a jump in this world results in going down.

In both worlds, a player is bound to encounter multiple enemies. The developers have prepared over 30 types of foes to defeat, i.a. slow giants that can turn themselves into fast lightning balls, shield bearers invulnerable to frontal attacks, agile and jivey wolves, flying ghosts, and even such incredible adversaries as rain clouds bombarding the main protagonist with icicles. The elite among the forces of darkness are the powerful bosses – each one exhibiting unique attacks.

A player can use two types of weapons to defeat the enemies – the first one being the potions brewed by the main protagonist, while the other one in the form of Fäy’s powers. She can concentrate a magical nimbus around her and shoot forward like a bullet, dealing damage to the encountered enemies. The main protagonist carries countless potion vials, which can be thrown at the enemies in different directions. The basic type of a potion simply deals damage to the enemies, however, during one’s journey, a player gets access to additional potions with incredible powers. The Lightning Potion causes a thunderbolt to strike where the potion lands, the Potions of Ice and Fire turn into a magical ball that switches from ice to fire and back again with every hit, while the Blood Potion unlocks the double jump and Dash Attack.

Game modes

A Hole New World for PS4, SWITCH and etc. revolves around the story mode focusing on the adventures of the Potions Master and Fäy the fairy. During the campaign, a player gets to visit five distinctive regions, experience several available story endings, and test his skills in additional game modes such as Boss Rush Mode, Challenge Mode, and Game+.

Technical aspects

The PS4, SWITCH and etc. release of A Hole New World features a pixel-art style. Moreover, the developers decided to implement into their game an optional CRT mode allowing one to change the visuals to make it similar to the CRT screen. The audio layer of the game is very atmospheric and fits the visuals. The soundtrack has been written by Daniel Pellicer and is available in two versions – 8- and 16-bit.

Last updated on 27 July 2017