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Shooter-platformer Rive heading to PS4, Xbox One, Wii U
When Two Tribes announced Rive in July, it revealed the 2D shooter for PC and unspecified consoles. The developer pulled the curtain back on Rive's destined systems today on Twitter, announcing its development for PS4, Xbox One and Wii U in addition to Steam. The "metal wrecking, robot hacking simulator" has players altering their enemies' behavior using hacks, leaping across levels and firing in 360 degrees. The game is the first from the studio since its January reboot, in which its staff was cut down to two, now three for the development of Rive. Two Tribes will handle the Rive's PC and Wii U development in-house and will work "closely with a porting partner for PS4 and Xbox One." The Toki Tori developer "did 90 percent of the PlayStation 4 technology late last year when we were porting Toki 2 to it," and will let its partner studio of choice "finish it." Rive is expected to launch in early 2015. [Image: Two Tribes]
Toki Tori devs ar-rive with new platforming shooter
Two Tribes announced its latest game today, a "metal wrecking, robot hacking shooter" called Rive. The game is a 2D shooter-meets-platformer with "old school gaming values," in which players blast robotic enemies and alter their enemies' behavior by gathering and installing hacks. Rive's announcement trailer shows the players' tank-like hero of sorts leaping across levels and firing in 360 degrees, emphasizing the game's blend of arcade-style shooting and platforming action. Rive is the first game from the Toki Tori developer following its reboot in January. At that time, Two Tribes cut its team down to just two (now three for the development of Rive), switching its focus to publishing as opposed to development. The developer did create a hi-res Wii U port of Awesomenauts developer Ronimo Games' first game, Swords and Soldiers, which launched in May. Rive will launch in early 2015 for PC and unspecified consoles. [Image: Two Tribes]
Swords and Soldiers carving up Wii U on May 22
Swords and Soldiers HD, Two Tribes' hi-res port of Awesomenauts developer Ronimo Games' first game, will launch on the Wii U eShop next Thursday, May 22. The game will arrive simultaneously in North America and Europe, and will cost $2.99 (2.99 euros). Two Tribes announced the HD port in March, years after the game's first arrival on Wii in North America in June 2009. Swords and Soldiers HD will retain the original game's levels while featuring both Wii Remote and Game Pad touch-screen controls, a multiplayer mode and higher-resolution visuals. The tower defense game has found a home on many platforms, including Steam in December 2010 and PSN in September 2010. [Image: Two Tribes]
Swords and Soldiers coming to Wii U in April
Swords and Soldiers, the tower defense game that first appeared on WiiWare in June 2009, will now see a release on the Wii U eShop in April. While the first game was created by Awesomenauts developer Ronimo Games, fellow Dutch studio and Toki Tori developer Two Tribes teamed up with Ronimo to upgrade the game and optimize it for Wii U. Swords and Soldiers will be playable using either Wii Remote on televisions or via the Wii U GamePad with a "custom touch scheme." Players can use both play styles in the game's multiplayer mode as well. Two Tribes boasted "high-res HD graphics" for the Wii U port, which will arrive at the end of April. Ronimo Games is currently developing a sequel to the game, Swords and Soldiers 2, which was announced in February. Two Tribes cut its development staff and effectively "rebooted" the studio in January. [Image: Ronimo Games]
Toki Tori creator Two Tribes loses development staff, continues publishing
Toki Tori developer Two Tribes announced that it is effectively rebooting, paring down its staff to two core team members as it refocuses on the publishing side of its business. Founders Martijn Reuvers and Collin van Ginkel remain with the company, but all previously-employed designers and programmers were laid off at the end of last year as a result of the restructuring. While the development arm of Two Tribes is no more, its parent Two Tribes Publishing is unaffected, and will continue to release new games in a partnership with a newly-formed daughter company. Two Tribes' founders cite an extended development period and low sales for Toki Tori 2 as the driving factors behind the company reboot. "We've decided to move away from creating custom technology and focus on what's readily available," the announcement reads. "As a result we'll be working with a much smaller team on our next game, a 2D side scrolling shooter, which will be re-using the existing Toki Tori 2+ engine." Responding to fan questions via Twitter, Two Tribes notes that it will consider Wii U and PC releases for its next project, which it describes as a mixture of the arcade classics Metal Slug and Gradius.
Two Tribes' retro platformer Edge rolls onto 3DS December 26
As promised, Two Tribes is bringing Edge, along with its "Extended" DLC, to the 3DS this month. Two Tribes' isometric retro platformer will be available for download through the 3DS eShop on December 26 for $1.99. In Edge, players roll a cube through an intricate 3D landscape spanning dozens of levels. While guiding the cube, players must hunt down scattered prisms and clear each level as quickly as possible. The 3DS port was made in collaboration with Cosmigo.
Toki Tori hatches on PS3 with exclusive content December 17
Two Tribes' puzzle platformer Toki Tori is waddling its way to PS3 on December 17. The PS3 port, which is a recreation of the original game by Playlogic, will include PlayStation Move compatibility, a new exclusive game mode with 16 levels, updated graphics and stereoscopic 3D support. Toki Tori has been quite successful for Two Tribes, the developer has announced in the press release past the break. Across its multitude of platforms, Toki Tori has been downloaded over 1.8 million times. In Toki Tori, players guide a newly-hatched chick named Toki Tori. A mysterious force has abducted the eggs of Toki Tori's unborn siblings and whisked them away to a strange castle, so Toki Tori sets out to rescue them – just like any good big brother would.
Two Tribes planning Rush to Wii U eShop on Dec. 12
Two Tribes is aiming to launch Rush on the Wii U eShop by December 12. The news comes from a tweet explaining the developer needs only submit certain pieces of content on time to meet the date. Rush is a 3D puzzle game, available currently on the PC, where players must guide colored cubes to their designated exits by using various means such as conveyor belts, warp points and more. For a better sense of the mechanics, see the Steam announcement trailer above.
Toki Tori 2 stomps on plans for iOS port
Two Tribes will not release Toki Tori 2 on iOS. In response to a fan question on Twitter, Two Tribes said there will be no iOS port, stating "the game would not work well enough with touch controls." The IOS port is something Two Tribes had initially planned since last year. Toki Tori 2, a charming platform-adventure game about a whistling, stomping chick of inescapable cuteness, is a sequel over a decade in the planning. In our review, we said that while "the occasional frustration may grate," Toki Tori 2 has a "charming simplicity that will always pull you back in." [Thanks, Wes]
Toki Tori planned for Halloween release on Wii U
Developer Two Tribes announced that a revised version of its avian-themed puzzle-platformer, Toki Tori, has passed Nintendo's certification process and is on track for a Wii U release in North America and Europe later this month. Premiering for the Game Boy Color all the way back in 2001, Toki Tori later saw an upgraded release for WiiWare, PC, and mobile platforms. The updated Wii U version of Toki Tori features touchscreen support, and is the first of three planned eShop games Two Tribes hopes to release by the end of the year. While Two Tribes has not yet received a release date confirmation from Nintendo, the team hopes to launch Toki Tori in the eShop on October 31.
Toki Tori 2+ Wii U level editor canned, developer offering Steam keys to say sorry
Back in February, Two Tribes planned to bring a level editor to the Wii U version of Toki Tori 2 in its free "plus" update. However, the developer recently announced the Wii U won't be receiving the game's level editor feature after all, citing poor sales for the game on the platform as the biggest reason for the change in plans. Two Tribes also noted technical issues and "missing features" in the console's Miiverse system, creating more challenges for developing the level editor it wanted for Toki Tori 2+. "We obviously wanted to use Miiverse for level sharing as everybody has access to it," the developer said. Among the problems with Miiverse, it said that "it wasn't possible to start the game from a level posted in Miiverse," though "something like this might be possible in the future." The developer considered using its own servers as well, but that solution wound up being "way out of scope." Additionally, Two Tribes said that while Steam integration on Wii U would at least allow Wii U players to play custom levels created by those on Steam, after talking with both Valve and Nintendo it found the idea to be a "dead end" as well. To make up for it, the developer said it will now give away free keys to the Steam version of the game to Wii U players. All players need to do is head to either of the related European or US-based Miiverse posts for Toki Tori 2+, post a message with their Steam ID and then email tokitori2@twotribes.com with their Steam ID and a link to the post. Two Tribes will manually message players with a Steam key, doing so "as long as we feel is necessary."
Two Tribes bringing Toki Tori, Edge, Rush to Wii U eShop
Developer Two Tribes announced that it is bringing three of its classic games to the Wii U eShop by the end of the year, including the predecessor to its Wii U side-scrolling puzzler Toki Tori 2. This month will see the release of a Wii U port of Toki Tori featuring optional touch controls, along with bonus Portal 2 ARG content introduced in the PC version of the game. Two Tribes will follow up with November's launch of the isometric platformer Edge, which also includes all levels from the expansion game Edge Extended. In December, Two Tribes will wrap up the trio with Rush, a PC-ported puzzler that offers GamePad-optimized touch controls. All games feature off-TV play, and are priced at $1.99 each.
Toki Tori 2+ delayed to July 11 on Steam
Toki Tori 2+ will launch on Steam on July 11, a week later than its original release date, Two Tribes recently announced on its blog. The expanded port will cost $14.99 and €14.99 in the US and Europe, respectively, while UK players will pay £12.99 for it. Two Tribes also noted that the game will be discounted on launch day, and that players that own one or more games by the developer on Steam will receive a loyalty coupon that further discounts the game.
Toki Tori 2 patch in submission, introduces more hints
Toki Tori 2, the feathered Wii U puzzler that got us chirping, is patching in more hints following critical and community feedback. While Two Tribes feels it provided enough of a helping hand the first time round, the developer says it "noticed a number of people completely missed those hints and got stuck."The patch, which is surfacing within two weeks' time by Two Tribes' watch, also introduces a new secret area, as well as a number of fixes and tweaks. Two Tribes also has a second, "more involving" patch in the works, but that'll take a while longer to leave the nest.
Toki Tori 2 review: Not for birdbrains
Despite the decade plus between the first and second Toki Tori games, Two Tribes's Wii U (and soon PC) evolution of the Game Boy Color game is striking. The 2001 puzzle-platformer was neat, charming, and challenging. Its compact levels and tool-contextual actions evoked Lemmings, albeit with the micromanagement filtered out. You controlled a dopey-looking bird in blocky 2D platform levels, making him manipulate his environment to open up paths to progress. This simplicity, however, was negated by some very specific solutions. It was, and still is, a likable little puzzler. What's clever about Toki Tori 2 is how it doesn't deviate from that ethos, and yet it feels like a completely different game. If anything, its evolution of the first game's principles is to make them simpler, yet the result is something much more complex. It's weird, because there's a pungent minimalism about Toki Tori 2, but it's this minimalism that branches out in so many ways through the environment, and the result is distinct and, more than anything, clever. The reason it all works is because Toki Tori 2, with all its environmental nuances, makes you want to be as intelligent as it is.%Gallery-181528%
Toki Tori 2 whistles at Wii U April 4
It's been a long and arduous journey, but developer Two Tribes has finally finished Toki Tori 2 and will launch it on Wii U next month, April 4.The Wii U version was originally planned for December 20, though Two Tribes instituted a last-minute delay to polish up the game. Since the developer is self-publishing, it wasn't required to meet the deadline without first meeting the studio's own internal quality threshold.PC and Mac versions of Toki Tori 2 are due on Steam this year, though Two Tribes had to focus a lot of its efforts on the Wii U version once the developer had settled on supporting that platform. We've contacted Two Tribes to find out if the developer has any idea on when Steam users should expect to be serenaded by Toki Tori 2.
Why Toki Tori 2 was delayed
Two Tribes co-founder Collin van Ginkel revealed the motivations behind the last-minute delay of Toki Tori 2 today, also showing off a bit of the results in the form of before-and-after graphics (above). The team realized that with no publisher to worry about, there was no external pressure to get the game out by Christmas."Now we only had to let the others know," van Ginkel said, "and inform Nintendo that one of their Christmas games would not meet its deadline. Nintendo was amazing and said: 'That's tough for you guys, let us know when it's good enough!'"The improvements Two Tribes identified include graphics, performance, more testing time, and most importantly, flow. The game was designed with an open level structure allowing players to choose their own course between levels. "Sounds great, and it certainly has its benefits," van Ginkel said, "but it turned out to be a design nightmare. We had to find a way to accommodate novice players, as well as experienced puzzle game players. In the end it resulted in many question marks above the heads of our testers." Amusingly, the structure remains open in the final version, "but we don't advertise it as much anymore."
Two Tribes: Toki Tori 2 taking its time
Ornithological puzzle platformer Toki Tori 2 will not be ready for its December 20 debut on Wii U, developer Two Tribes announced today in an apologetic statement. "Toki Tori 2's a personal project for us," the statement notes. "It's the first game we've made without being tied to a license or publisher, it's something we're putting a lot of love in, and it's something that's just not good enough to be released yet."The developer is working to "fix the game's current weak spots, in all categories ranging from gameplay to graphics to technology." The new release date was not yet specified, but Two Tribes expects to release Toki Tori 2 "early in the new year."
Toki Tori 2 hits Wii U eShop on December 20, Steam later
Toki Tori 2 will come to the Wii U eShop on December 20, Two Tribes announced today. This puts it clearly within the Wii U launch window, which extends from November 18, 2012 to March 2013.Toki Tori 2 was first announced for PC and Mac via Steam, but once Two Tribes got involved with Wii U development and realized it could be a launch title for the console, it focused production solely on Wii U. Two Tribes discusses this shift for the first time:"Since we're a relatively small indie studio, a lot is riding on the success of Toki Tori 2 for us. We have spent well over a year with everyone at Two Tribes on this single project, which means Toki Tori 2 will be the only source of income for a while to come. When Nintendo announced their plans for the Wii U, we decided early on that the game needed to be on that platform, but it wasn't until we noticed that our completion date and the Wii U launch date aligned that we made the call."After Toki Tori 2 launches on Wii U, Two Tribes plans to "work full force on the Steam version" for PC and Mac.%Gallery-170802%
Toki Tori 2's Wii U 'Tokidex' detailed
Toki Tori 2 was officially announced for Wii U today, and will be available on the console and Steam "soon-ish." Developer Two Tribes stated back in February that it planned to bring the chick-fil-adventure to the Wii U's eShop, but set its intentions in stone today on the company's site.Two Tribes also discussed the Tokidex feature for the Wii U version, which will allow players to use the WiiPad as a virtual camera with a viewfinder. "Any creatures photographed will be added to the Tokidex." Heel, Nintendo lawyers! Sit!
