Square Enix will launch a Balan Wonderworld demo at midnight on January 28.
Available forPS5,PS4,Switch,Xbox Series X/S,Xbox OneandSteam, it will enable players to sample two hours of the upcoming 3D action platformer ahead of its March 26 release date.
Directed byYuji Naka, the co-creator of Sonic the Hedgehog,Balan is a musical theatre-themed gamewhich sees players switching between costumes to utilise abilities such as freezing time and manipulating objects.
It is the first game from Square’s new Balan Company studio, a collection of veteran developers includingNaoto Ohshima, the artist who created the original designs for Sonic the Hedgehog.
Playable solo or in two-player local co-op mode, theBalan Wonderworlddemo will offer access to the game’s hub area and three of its 12 worlds, including The Girl and the Kitten, which is shown in the trailer below.
Naka recently toldIGNthat he had received permission fromSquare Enix’s president to make a full-scale platform game with the condition that it was his “one chance”.
“I think Square Enix has an RPG image, but I don’t think I’d be good at making RPGs,” he said.
The designer previously createdSegaclassic Phantasy Star and Phantasy Star Online, but said he feels most skilled in the platformer genre.
