A couple years ago Double Fine launched a metroidvania where you took control of different robots by swapping out heads titled Headlander. This led to several amusing predicaments, and while definitely not something many people would attempt to mimic, the overall design of a robot controlled by the head was intriguing. So when I saw a goldfish swimming in its bowl atop a robot body, I got a similar feeling – especially when I saw how the game played.

Playing a short alpha demo, I got a pretty good taste for the upcoming Feudal Alloy. Created by Attu Games, a two person team from the Czech Rebulic, the game not only plays well but looks beautiful. Much like the previously mentioned Headlander, this is a metroidvania. In addition to the art style, you can find what you’d expect from this type of game, including upgrades, equipment, abilities, and bosses. But it also has some unique things mechanics, such as the meter for overheating.

Looking at your fish’s robot, you may come to realize it’s not a well-tuned piece of machinery, so attacking too many times leads to the robot overheating and needing to rest. This means combat isn’t as easy as slashing and jumping exclusively – you’ll also need to learn how to block and dodge. Running in swinging against an enemy with more life than a couple slashes will mean your doom if you’re not careful. The demo provides new gear early on, showing off blocked doors that require certain equipment to move on, and also proves as good for the more difficult enemies.

There’s a lot to this game, but regrettably, the demo is lacking a lot of it. As the opening states in banners, the level design is lackluster, many of the assets are placeholders, several of the features are locked, bosses are non-existent, enemies don’t have a lot of variation, the game is absent of dialogue, available items are limited, and more. And while the game is missing so much, it still plays as good – if not better – than a lot of its competition that’s fully fleshed out.

If you’re a fan of the genre, I behoove you to watch out for this one. It’s a beautiful looking title with a lot of promise, and I can’t wait to give it a go when everything is how the developers intend. I’m intrigued to discover the lore behind fishes taking up robot bodies and their proposed purpose, and what they intend to do.

Feudal Alloy is being developed and published by Attu Games. It is set to be available in Q3 2018 on PC, X1, PS4 and NS. For more on Feudal Alloy, visit its official site.