Back in April 2016, RePlay ran a profile detailing several indie arcade games that were in the works. Creative takes on classic games, such as Killer Queen, took the spotlight in that story, as well as a side-scrolling shoot ’em up called Skycurser. We’re happy to report that the latter of the two is now officially available for purchase as a dedicated cabinet or as a kit.
Griffin Aerotech’s Skycurser takes one or two players through a beautifully hand drawn world in which they must battle mutant hordes to save the planet. The designers initially conceptualized the game on iOS and mobile, but due to the nostalgic feel of their art they decided it needed an arcade cabinet.
“If we were building a game on iOS, we’d be another drop in an infinite bucket,” said Chris Cruz, the game’s video and audio designer, when we spoke with him last April. “But instead we can now contribute to the arcade industry, which is very exciting to us.”
Skycurser has a total of four missions, and a reward scoring system keeps things competitive. It runs on a platform called Airframe and its creators have also promised free game updates. A year ago, the Griffin Aerotech team expressed hopes that the open-source nature of Airframe would attract other indie designers to create games for arcade cabinets and controls. Meaning, down the road operators could potentially swap through several games on the same Airframe using only a USB stick (less clunky than those old NEO GEO cartridges).
There’s a Pro ($700) and Deluxe ($1,200) version of the kitted game, each coming with necessary software and hardware while the Deluxe has additional conversion art. The game is also available in a dedicated arcade cabinet ready to hit the floor ($3,499). Conversion kits are expected to ship by June 2017, for information on purchasing the game in a dedicated cabinet, click here.
Visit the Griffin Aerotech webpage for Skycurser here.
