Outland announced for XBLA and PSN. Platformer combines Ikaruga polarity with Prince of Persia acrobatics

Outland screenshot. Ikaruga meets Prince of Persia in beautiful, lush 2D
Outland has been announced by Ubisoft for Xbox Live Arcade and PlayStation Network as a downloadable title by developer Housemarque, who previously created the outstanding downloadable shooter Super Stardust HD (a PS3 PSN-exclusive).

That’s in addition to the highly anticipated upcoming Dead Nation zombie game the developer also has in the pipeline.

A side-scrolling action game, Outland offers a very unique mix of acrobatic movement ala Prince of Persia with the color-switching craziness of classic last-gen cult hit shoot ’em up Ikaruga from developer Treasure.

Players will have to strategically switch between a black form and a white form as they go about exploring the game’s lush environments. Enemies will, naturally, appear to hinder you and will shoot/attack with one of the two polarities. Just like Ikaruga, you will absorb attacks of the same polarity as you (so if you are black, black attacks won’t harm you) while being damaged by opposite polarity. Likewise, enemies can only be defeated while the opposite color as them. And it’s not just enemies, but environmental objects as well. For example lifts will go up when you are light but down when you are dark!

Outland XBLA PSN screenshot. Large bosses ftw!

All of this combined makes for some crazy “bullet hell” schmup-inspired moments but in a platforming action adventure! It helps that the graphics are absolutely gorgeous, lush and vibrant!

All of this combined makes for some crazy “bullet hell” schmup-inspired moments but in a platforming action adventure! It helps that the graphics are absolutely gorgeous, lush and vibrant, with a great deal of depth and detail in the side-scrolling backgrounds and animations.

As you progress through the game, defeating enemies and taking on giant bosses, you will unlock additional weapons, move and abilities. You start out with an energy sword and will eventually learn a slide and an uppercut. The levels meanwhile are large and full of secrets with hidden hearts to find and alternate paths to take.

Storywise, the plot will slowly unfold as you play, allowing you to discover more about the meaning of the world and the goal of the protagonist, who has been having mysterious visions that draw him to the jungle to solve a growing conflict.

The game will be released next year, and is playable at PAX 10 going on now.

Via IGN