Finnish developer Housemarque knows its audience. As the creative minds that dreamed up Resogun, the Super Stardust series and Dead Nation, the studio harbors a deep understanding of the addicting and intense nature of twin-stick shooters. And while it’s still unclear whether MatterFall, the all-new IP unveiled earlier this week, will retain that set-up, Housemarque has pulled back the curtain on an intense new gameplay clip for Alienation.
Coming by way of the same team that launched Dead Nation for PlayStation 3 – and its refined definitive edition for PS4 – Alienation is once again a top-down shooter that swaps out shuffling swathes of undead for acid-spewing extraterrestrials. Although the bullet Hell action is placed front and center, the footage also shines a light on the shooter’s three nominal classes: Bio-Specialist, Exoskeleton, and Saboteur.
Boasting the ability to link up with four players via co-op, Housemarque’s foray into sci-fi is currently available to pre-order via the PlayStation Store, though there’s no clear word of a release date at this time. Given that Alienation is further in development than MatterFall, we expect the former to make its bow on PlayStation 4 in the early stages of 2016, while MatterFall will offer a potent change of pace: “It follows an unexpected hero fighting for survival on a ravished sci-fi world infected by a mysterious and deadly alien material known only as “Smart Matter.”
While there’s no specific release date set in place, Housemarque hinted that Alienation will touch down on PlayStation 4 in March of 2016 – at least, that’s the current window that Sony is targeting. In the meantime, you can go up close and personal with the bullet Hell shooter via the gallery below.