It’s hard to know exactly what I’m looking at when it comes to HEAVYDELIC. I don’t mind that so much because it’s enrapturing to look at, a banquet of hand drawn background and sprites that look like they’ve been ripped straight from the pages of a ’70s comic you’ve never heard of but was more influential than you could know. And as of today, it’s out in early access for the price of a cup of coffee.
Right, how about some concrete details? First up, it’s a platformer, a “Slavic Synthpunk,” one of those to be precise with roots in “psychedelia, comic art, VHS tapes, analog ruins & robots resurrected from Slavic mythology.” In this world, or rather this “transmission from an alternate timeline, where the future arrived late,” a toxic incident has divided up us humans into two groups: carriers, who don’t have a signal, and overload transmitters, “whose hyperintelligence burned their circuits from within.” If you couldn’t tell, HEAVYDELIC appears to go to the school of Hylics, in that even on its Steam page it refuses to explain its choice in language, outright avoiding exposition because it assumes you are a part of this world.
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The core loop appears to be gallivanting around on a 2D plane between these gorgeous, alternate future landscapes beating up robot baddies. There’s something about collecting up paintings, and the story being told through the environment too, which is where a lot of the emphasis appears to be placed. It doesn’t look like a game that’s riveting to play (there is a demo you can try out for yourself), the thing to be sold on here is the texture on display in its art.
You should also keep in mind that with this early access launch, there’s apparently only about five actual minutes of gameplay. I’m not sure if this is hyperbole, sarcasm, or otherwise, but the early access FAQ also notes that the current plan is that the full release won’t be coming until February, 2030. That’s a while away! That’s also because there’s plans for a total of 15 levels, all of which are hand drawn, and it’s just one person doing all of the work. The price will also go up with each batch of levels, so it’s possibly better to get in while it’s still quite cheap.
You can pick up HEAVYDELIC on Steam right now.
