In 1996, a studio known as Neverhood, inc. released their cult classic point-and-click adventure game, also titled The Neverhood. The offbeat adventure game, made entirely in claymation, became a moderate hit, spawning both an authorized (Skullmonkeys, a cult hit in its own right) and unauthorized sequel (Klaymen Gun Hockey, a Japanese knockoff). While the studio was unable to produce another adventure game, in 2013 Mike Dietz and Ed Schofield two of the former developers (under the name Pencil Test Studios) and artist Doug TenNapel (of The Neverhood, Earthworm Jim, and comics like Gear and Ghostopolis) re-teamed for a new adventure game: Armikrog.
The game follows an astronaut named Tommynaut (voiced by MST3K and Rifftrax alum Mike Nelson) and his dog Beak-Beak (voiced by Rob Paulson) as they crash-land on a planet and are brought to a mysterious fortress known as Armikrog.
While the world design and the strange creatures in it are impressive, the most impressive thing about the game is that all of it is more or less handmade using plasticine and animated using stop-motion. As seen in the video below, apart from some backgrounds, Armikrog. is made using figures and models against backgrounds, with some green-screen and computer-animated effects here and there. It creates a new look, and something appreciably rougher and more organic than most of the polished environments out there these days. Definitely give the preview video a look, if nothing else, Armikrog. looks to be a unique game with a quirky visual style.
Armikrog. comes out later this year for the PC and WiiU.
