I'm a sucker for pretty platformers. Give me a piano-led soundtrack and a heavy-handed shot of "behold my art," and I'm there—even though I'm not actually very good at platformers in the first place. Thus my interest in The King's Bird, "an artistic, momentum-based game that seamlessly combines precision-platforming with physics-based gliding."
The game is set in five unique, beautifully-rendered worlds inspired by Mayan, Southeast Asian, and Roman cultures. What it's actually about isn't clear: "Escape into a world kept secret by a tyrant, and discover the truth about your freedom" is all the Steam page has to say about it, and the Serenity Forge website isn't any more informative.
But that's okay. Story is nice but spectacle is the real attraction here, and The King's Bird looks to have plenty of that. Which isn't to downplay the value of an engaging and well-told tale—Serenity Forge describes it as a "text-less narrative told through visuals in motion"—but it's the atmosphere that's clearly the priority.
The King's Bird comes out on August 23, and will be priced at $20.
