Captain Kaon Conquers Steam Early Access
Captain Kaon, the retro twin-stick gravity shooter inspired by seminal Spectrum and Amiga games, has launched for PC on Steam Early Access. A salute to such 1980s classics as Thrust and Gravitar, Captain Kaon brings the vector graphics of old right ‘up-to-date’ with vibrant Amiga-style pixel art and a tight twin-stick control mechanic. As a much-loved but long neglected genre, gravity shooters have found their modern champion in indie developer James Buckle. He played the pants off these games as a child and is launching on Steam Early Access today to gather valuable community feedback and ensure that Captain Kaon is the perfect celebration of the genre.
James Buckle, founder and developer at Engage Pixel, spoke about the game, saying:
“I got an old second hand ZX Spectrum when I was a kid, which was when I first learned to code and make games. One of my favourites was Thrust; I loved having to manoeuvre your ship through the caves and pick off the bad guys. It was a style of game I adored which you just don’t see anymore and I realised there is a whole generation who hasn’t played these exceptional games. Captain Kaon takes the best bits from this classic genre and brings them into the 21st century.”
Captain Kaon is set to have a number of features, including:
- Enjoy classic sci-fi, tilt/thrust gravity-based gameplay
- Battle enemies with twin-stick or 360° mouse aim
- Explore vibrant Amiga-style pixel art environments
- Manage resources and carefully select missions in Campaign Mode
- Relive this ‘forgotten’ shmup sub-genre
Describing the setting of the game, Engage Pixel has said:
“Hotheaded and insubordinate, Captain Talia ‘Kaon’ faces a court martial as war breaks out in the Regulus sector. Hoping combat offers the chance for salvation, she instead finds herself left behind. With the Argus operating on a skeleton crew, she is assigned as its sole gunship pilot.”
You can find the game on Steam Early Access here.