Rebel Galaxy Outlaw is a prequel with bigger emphasis on story, fun and accessible space combat
Double Damage, developer of the fantastic space action game Rebel Galaxy, has announced a prequel: Rebel Galaxy Outlaw.
Rebel Galaxy Outlaw will carry over the space trucker/roadhouse vibe of the original. The game is in development for PC, PS4, and Nintendo Switch, planned for release in Q1 2019 for $30.
The original Rebel Galaxy's main hook was its combat, which managed to translate Assassin's Creed 4: Black Flag's broadside boat combat to spaceships. As such, spaceships in the game were locked to the 2D plane in the same way a regular boat would.
From the Outlaw reveal screens, and the game's press release and trailer, it sounds like Double Damage is making changes to this setup, though the developer stopped short of explaining how. Outside of ship combat, Outlaw will also allow for other activities like billiards, and dice poker.
The story is set 34 years prior to the events of the first game. We play as Juno Markev, a smuggler who gets her ship destroyed in one encounter, and finds herself indebted to a casino owner who gives her a much less fancy ship to help her out.
Double Damage is promising bigger emphasis on story, place, and characters this time around. The announcement trailer sadly doesn't show any gameplay, but it's presented by one of the game's characters, and manages to dunk on Star Citizen in the process. There's also this well-animated cinematic trailer.
"This has got to be the most ambitious game I’ve ever worked on," said studio co-founder Travis Baldree.
"We took what worked from the last title, and then went a little crazy. It’s got a stronger focus on story and place, a huge jump in detail, and while it still works great for folks with a HOTAS at home, I think we’ve managed to make space combat accessible and fun for everybody else in a way that nobody has managed before."
Rebel Galaxy Outlaw looks and sounds promising, and it's shooting for release in the first quarter of 2019.