Former Battlefield devs go indie, bring peace to space with a hybrid platformer

Dale North
Updated
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liftoff-1024x576

Shooter and racing vets shift to space platforming.

New Swedish studio Cosmic Picnic is made up of members formerly of EA DICE (the Battlefield: Bad Company, Battlefield 3, Mirrors Edge) and Ghost Games (Need for Speed: Rivals), and its first release is PlayStation 4 title Amazing Discoveries In Outer Space. The Stockholm-based independent developer is aiming for a Fall 2015 release for its 2D space exploration game.

Amazing Discoveries In Outer Space (ADIOS for short) is based on astrophysics, and is said to play like a mix of hardcore platformer Spleunky and space game Kerbal Space Program, with the developers calling it the “sweet spot” between space missions and Bubble Bobble.

The game features procedurally generated solar systems, each with planets and asteroids to explore. This lets players transition from spaceflight to platformer-style planet exploration. Its developers have included a full simulation of these solar systems, including gravity, temperature, and atmosphere generations. Unlike the first-person shooter Battlefield games, ADIOS features no weapons or killing, though the developer says that “horrible”accidents may occur.