Wanderer Blends Genres into an Episodic Sci-fi Adventure

Wanderer by Red Cloak Games is a blend of multiple genres – platformer, action, puzzle, and RPG – and it’s bound together by a sci-fi plot in a post-apocalyptic world.

In Wanderer, the player controls Rook, who wakes up from a cold sleep after many years. The convict finds himself aboard an orbital space prison which crashed on Earth. The planet appears to be desolate, and dominated by cold fronts. Rook encounters Jin, a hacker, and the two band together with a small group or survivors. Together, they explore what remains of Earth and find nine parts of the prison,which scattered in unknown directions.

With up to two AI-controlled companions (one of them could be a dog, which can apparently phase out), Rook travels the cold wastes in 2D-style platforming. Progression by unlocking better movement options is mixed with light action elements, like using ranged or melee weapons. But when an opponent is engaged, the game switches to proper RPG combat. The parties face off in pseudo-turn based combat where the first strike matters quite a bit. Timing and recognizing patters also play as much of a role as tactical thinking due to on-screen prompts. Puzzles in point-and-click fashion and branching dialogue paths round out the combat aspects.

Red Cloak Games plans on developing five episodes for Wanderer. Their current Kickstarter campaign aims to fund all of them. Pledging at least $15 awards a key for the game. Currently, the creators don’t list any stretch goals, mainly hoping to meet the initial goal of $70,000 (though they mention the possibilities of extra content and ports to other platforms). The developers also started a Steam Greenlight campaign.

For more information about Wanderer, check out the game’s website and follow the Twitter and Facebook accounts to stay updated.