Update []:
Crowdfunding has officially begun for BitBeamCannon's upcoming run 'n' gun game, Metal Mack, giving players the chance to back versions of the game across Steam, Sega Mega Drive / Genesis, and Neo Geo AES/MVS.
The game's campaign launched on the crowdfunding site last Friday and has already exceeded its $20,000 goal, with additional stretch goals listed for an extended soundtrack, an extra level, and bonus modes (New Game Plus, a boss mode, and a "Shmup Arcade" mode).
The cheapest version available to back right now is the Steam Digital edition, which costs $15, but there are also other, more expensive versions available for those who prefer a physical release. These include a $65 Mega Drive / Genesis edition and Neo Geo AES/MVS versions priced at over $300.
Per the devs, each version is apparently being "designed to put the best use to the strengths of each system", and will also include music from the legendary Commodore 64 & Amiga musician Chris Huelsbeck (Turrican), and veteran Commodore Amiga composer Allister Brimble (Alien Breed, The Lost Vikings, Project-X). Brimble previously collaborated with BitBeamCannon on the soundtrack for one of their previous games, DaemonClaw, while this will mark Huelsbeck's first collaboration with the team.
Here's what you can expect from the game's story:
The world of the future is in peril! Professor Photon, a super scientific genius who invented helper bots, has to fix the problem. Mack, the professor's most uniquely original and advanced android, has volunteered to be converted into a fighting robot!
You can back the project here. Though bear in mind, shipping and fulfillment of rewards isn't expected to start until 2027 at the earliest.
Original Story: BitBeamCannon, the developer of retro projects like DaemonClaw and Metro Siege, has revealed the next game it is working on, and it looks to be more than a little inspired by Capcom's Mega Man series.
Metal Mack, as the new game is called, was initially unveiled during a DaemonClaw update video posted last month on the company's YouTube channel and is the latest project from the BitBeamCannon co-founder Corey Annis. He will serve as the creative lead and artist on the project, while Chris Parent, the brother of his fellow BitBeamCannon co-founder Michael Parent, is working on the game as its lead programmer.
It is currently in development for the Neo Geo, Sega Mega Drive / Genesis, and modern systems, and is said to be about to land on Kickstarter soon, with this being the first crowdfunding campaign the developer is handling itself (Neofid Technology previously handled the studio's DaemonClaw Kickstarter).
Similar to the Mega Man games, it stars a tiny android who is equipped with a "Mega Buster"-style arm cannon, who finds themself having to run 'n' gun their way through a world where humanity's robots have gone rogue.
At the moment, only a minutes-worth of gameplay has been released from the game (ahead of a more in-depth reveal), but from this video, it's already clear that this is the company's take on a 16-bit style Mega Man game, with the character featuring a similar moveset to Mega Man and a similar name, while some of the enemies even share a resemblance to the Mets from the original NES Mega Man games.
In the latest video on the game, Annis said more footage will be on the way soon, and even teased a potential Commodore Amiga version of the game could be on the horizon too.