That Which Hath No Fury: ’99 Levels To Hell’ In Development

Someone once said that it’s Hell trying to get to Heaven. I don’t know who it was, so I’ll just assume it was The Undertaker in the lead-up to his Wrestlemania XXV showdown with Shawn Michaels.

Anyway, Zaxis Games have taken this little pearl of wisdom to heart during the design process for their latest game, 99 Levels To Hell. It’s a side-scrolling 2D platformer/dungeon crawler, set for release on the PC, in which your only means of escaping from an underground prison is by burrowing through the fiery depths of Hell.

Despite what’s inferred in the title, the game will sport over 100 randomly-spawning levels ten different environments and over 50 power-ups, weapons and monsters. Same-screen 2-player action is promised, but we’re yet to hear whether this will come in the form of co-operative or competitive play. You’ll also get your fix of shops, portals and boss battles, bringing 99 Levels of Hell into the revered territory of the dungeon crawler genre.

Although the game is still in the early stages of development, Zaxis have released its first piece of footage, showing off some of the basic shooting and platforming mechanics we can expect to see in the final product. While the action may not seem to be anything groundbreaking at first glance, the in-game lighting scheme really catches the eye. Just check out the superb contrasts between light and dark and you’ll see what I mean.

Visit the game’s official site to find out more. There’s a playable alpha build freely available for download if you’d like to give it a whirl right now.