The Swindle announced: 'Deus Ex meets Sonic the Hedgehog'

The developer of comic indie adventure games Ben There, Dan That! and Time Gentlemen, Please! has revealed its next game, a "steampunk cybercrime caper" curiously described as "Deus Ex meets Sonic the Hedgehog."

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Ben There, Dan That! and Time Gentlemen, Please! developer Size Five Games (formerly Zombie Cow) has announced its next game to Rock, Paper, Shotgun. Named The Swindle, it's described as "a steampunk cybercrime caper" and, curiously, "Deus Ex meets Sonic the Hedgehog."

The Swindle will give players a pair of snazzy steampunk gloves and send them off to infiltrate, hack and rob facilities, via the medium of platforming. The gloves can be upgraded to grant bonuses, such as to typing speed, weapons, double-jump boosters, and telekinesis. "And yes," creator Dan Marshall explained to RPS, "you shoot by putting your fingers together in a gun shape, playground style."

Marshall also offered the following splendid explanation of The Swindle, illustrating the different approaches one might take in one's thievery:

At its core, it's a platform game. Running, jumping, shooting, whipping up and down ladders, the usual Megadrive-era mechanics. Where it differs is in your approach to getting in-and-out of a building: you might use telekinesis to lift a rock off a manhole so you can break in through an underground tunnel and bypass all the security guards. Maybe you'll hack a terminal that takes down the security cameras, allowing you to plant explosives by a weak wall, and go in guns blazing. Maybe you'll hop into a guard tower and use the double jump ability to land on the facility's roof, where you can smash through a skylight. That sort of thing.

The Swindle will be released "when it's done." A PC edition is confirmed, and Size Five hopes to release an Xbox 360 version too, "assuming they can resist putting vaginas in it this time." The planned Xbox Live Indie Games version of sex education shooter Privates never saw light of day, due to its explicit content.

From The Chatty
  • reply
    July 19, 2011 9:15 AM

    Alice O'Connor posted a new article, The Swindle announced: 'Deus Ex meets Sonic the Hedgehog'.

    The developer of comic indie adventure games Ben There, Dan That! and Time Gentlemen, Please! has revealed its next game, a "steampunk cybercrime caper" curiously described as "Deus Ex meets Sonic the Hedgehog."

    • reply
      July 19, 2011 9:27 AM

      The actual description in the article sounds pretty cool. I'll have to keep an eye on this one.

    • reply
      July 19, 2011 9:28 AM

      Interesting, I haven't been pulled in by the prior releases, will keep an eye on this one though.

    • reply
      July 19, 2011 9:57 AM

      I think you missed a bit in the article - steampunk has since been trademarked by Gizmondo. So it should read...

      "The Swindle will give players a pair of snazzy steampunk(tm) gloves..."

      Minor - but the last thing you want is a gang of sweaty, over-weight 40 year olds in half-cocked outfits consisting of white suits and randomly placed brass adornment to knock on your door.

      • reply
        July 19, 2011 4:01 PM

        I will fight Gizmondo to the death and kick them square in the brass doorknobs.

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