Celeste Developer Reveals New Game Earthblade

Though the developers of Celeste have teased a new indie project called Earthblade, there's no telling how long fans will have to wait for its release.

Extremely OK Games is well known for its brutally difficult platformer Celeste. From a small handful of people, Celeste started as a PICO-8 game in 2016 made just in four days, but eventually became the fully fleshed out, award-winning game many know today. Many critics praised Celeste for its gameplay, demanding level design, beautiful soundtrack, and impactful narrative. Madeline, the protagonist of the game, also received much attention, becoming an icon both for those struggling with mental illness as well as the trans community.

With such a strong reputation under its belt, Extremely OK Games has teased its next game, but an air of mystery surrounds the game itself as well as its release date. On Twitter, Extremely OK Games describes the teaser as a "vibe reveal," pointing out how there's no gameplay or cinematic content to show from its newest project other than a gorgeous underscore. Unlike with Celeste, the developers plan to keep Earthblade's general process a mystery from the public, at least, for now.

This is because Extremely OK isn't sure how long Earthblade will be in development. While triple-A titles often spend so many years in development because of how big and demanding they are, indie games are forced into extended production times as they're being created by just a few people. Extremely OK Games doesn't want to overhype its own game, it seems.

For the time being, what is known about the indie game Earthblade is that it will also be a 2D action-explorer in a pixel art world, similar to its older sibling Celeste. Additionally, when Earthblade's gameplay and story are finally revealed, Extremely OK hopes it will "blow your socks off."

2020 was quite the year for better or worse, but the gaming industry was able to rise to new heights, as many companies experienced record sales. Many big name titles were released last year, but there were just as many amazing indie games in 2020 that kept gamers happy. Over the years, many indie games have become superstar hits among gamers, like Minecraft, Undertale, or Cuphead. Games like these often provide players with a unique experience that they haven't been getting in more mainstream titles, which helps boost these games' popularity.

Plus, several of these games that independent developers are creating have been able to garner incredible recognition in the industry. Hades, which many gamers might consider the best indie game of 2020, was nominated for several different awards with different organizations. The title even won Game of the Year at The Gayming Awards and The New York Game Awards. Indie games have long been developed by studios on their own, but as the gaming industry grows, many indie developers have been able to partner with game publishers to help games reach brand new audiences. It may end up being indie games that help push gamers through 2021.

Gamers have become very familiar with hearing about delays over the last year or so. Delays might be nothing new, but it seems that a majority a game studios have been affected in some way due to the COVID-19 pandemic that expanded in 2020. As the days go by, more and more games that were originally supposed to come out this year look to be pushed back. While Nintendo fans will get news for the Breath of the Wild sequel later this year, there is a very real possibility that the game will not come out until 2022.