Knuckles: Odyssey of the Guardians

(Game in Progress) Knuckles: Odyssey of the Guardians is an upcoming puzzle-platform video game released in the Playstation Network, Xbox Live Arcade and iPhone, created and by Winduct and developed and published by Sega and Winduct. The game is scheduled for a 2012 release.

Knuckles: Odyssey of the Guardians
Developer(s)	Winduct, Sega
Publisher(s)	Sega
Platform(s)	Playstation Network, Xbox Live Arcade and iPhone
Release Date(s)	TBA
Genre(s)	Action, Adventure, Mystery, Platformer, Puzzle
Composer(s)	Jun Senoue
Mode(s)	Single-player
Rating(s)	PEGI +7 (Violence)

Style

Knuckles: Odyssey of the Guardians follows a much more different style from previous 2D Sonic games. The game's design appears to be more "magical" and artistic, featuring different kinds of enviroment, each with its own atmosphere. It does not feature a significant plot, rather than very short inner cutscenes which reveal little about Knuckles' adventure.

Story

The game features no significant plot and minimal narrative. However, it features short cutscenes which reveal some plot. While guarding the Master Emerald in Angel Island, Knuckles begins to hear voices coming from the Master Emerald which assigns him on an unknown mission.

Gameplay

The game's gameplay and visual style is very similar to typical 2D platformer-puzzle games like Limbo, Rayman Origins and Braid. Knuckles is the main character in the game, aswell as the only character in the game. The player is able to control Knuckles in a 2D enviroment, moving him left, right, up or down, into small passages, climb walls, dig underground and glide. All models in the game, including Knuckles and enemies are 3D but appear as 2D. Knuckles has a very small number of attacks. He can only use his fists to attack, throw boulders or dig underground and charge from bellow. Throughout the stage, the player can collect items such as traps which he can keep and use later on. The gameplay sometimes briefly switches to 2.5D.

Throughout the stages, the player must solve multiple puzzles in order to continue such as move boulders to clear the path, throw stones to open switches, use ropes to go on, etc. The player must pick up certain items in order to continue such as weapons and information. The enviroment is mostly dark and mysterious, featuring diffrent types of enemies and obsticles such as Eggman's robots, creatures, animals etc.

At the end of the second act of a stage, the player comes across a boss fight which he must defeat and claim a certain part of that boss e.g. his armor. During some parts of the stage, where it is very difficult to get across or the atmosphere gets mysterious, the music fades out and eventually disappears.

Stages

Unlike most 2D Sonic games, Odyssey of the Guardians does not feature acts. Instead, the player controls Knuckles in one enviroment which changes throughout the game. For example, the stage changes from a city to a jungle while gameplay. Throughout the stages, the player encounters bosses he has to face.

• The City: The game begins in an unknown ancient mythical city in flames. There are burning trees falling, ancient stone buildings collapsing and wateffalls with debri. As the player continues, he exits the city and walks into a burning forest with debris.
• The Forest: A forest turned to ashes, with white trees, spiders an poisonous flowers. The player must solve several puzzles to get through contaminated rivers.
• The Cave: The story continues as Knuckles enters a giant fallen rotten tree log which becomes a massive cave. The player has to dig most of the stage and collect treasures. The stage becomes very dark at certain parts which causes the player to lose sight of the character. Therefore, Knuckles must use his treasure he has collected throughout the stage to help him along the way, such as a lighter. Near the end of the stage, Knuckles is pursued by a giant purple centipede, the size of a truck. The player must quickly make his way out of the cave as quickly as possible.
• The Mines: As soon as Knuckles exits the cave, he ends up in abandoned mines and oil factories. In this stage, the player must solve multiple puzzles, most of which involve using pumps to drain the oil, pressing switches to activate platforms or carrying weight to put on libras and open gates. There are several minecarts the player can use to make his way faster to the next level and avoid obsticles. Near the end of the stage, Knuckles must climb on a steel rope to reach the top of the abandoned factory. The action takes place during sunset which transforms the whole stage into orange. There are also many fumes coming from the factories and as a result, the player is only able to see Knuckles' shade.