I may be a bit late to the party, but a recent listing on the Steam store has piqued my interest.
A game titled “Over The Horizon,” boasting dazzling pixelated graphics, is in development by the indie team “Etriel Athanasia.” Originating as a semester project from students at South Korea’s Sogang University where it has been continually developed for over two years, it secured the grand prize at the 2024 NDM (Nexon Dream Members) contest, securing 3 million won in funding.
The Nexon Dream Members contest is a game development platform aimed at discovering and nurturing young Korean talent in the gaming industry. It has been running since 2017, with Nexon officially recognizing the true potential of projects from Seogang University’s Game Education Institute.
Additionally, the game was featured at the “PlayX4” event on May 23.
A demo version of “Over The Horizon” is available on the South Korean platform STOVE, and recently, a Steam store page was launched. This stylish 2D exploration-based action game, also known as a Metroidvania, captivates with its charming pixelated aesthetic, flashy effects, and focus on speed and aerial combat with combos.
The Steam store listing provides limited information, and the official developer Twitter account is similarly sparse. The trailers have garnered very few views. Considering that this is a university student project without external backing, it’s understandable that reaching a global audience on a commercial platform like Steam presents significant challenges.
Over The Horizon shows great potential and could play a significant role in revitalizing the gaming industry, especially as it faces challenges from mainstream AAA titles laden with progressive themes and ugly character designs.
What we truly need is a resurgence of passionate White and Asian developers creating games as passion projects, drawing inspiration from the game design methodologies of the 1990s and 2000s.
In “Over The Horizon,” you play as Ravi, embarking on a journey across the expansive world of Horizon, filled with secrets. Your mission is to find your missing parents and uncover the conspiracy threatening Horizon. Along the way, you’ll encounter friends and foes, engage in stylish combat, and defeat numerous bosses.
The game emphasizes motion-cancelling combo attacks. Your weapon, resembling an electrified whip, allows for dynamic combat, aided by a supportive shooting robot. Motion-cancellation enables Ravi to transition smoothly between regular attacks, dash attacks, and evasion moves, creating fluid combo sequences with simple button presses.
The game also features the ability to unlock new skills through points earned from defeated enemies. Throughout your journey, you will encounter supportive characters at set checkpoints. By speaking to them, you can upgrade your character to enhance mobility, attacks, and skills, such as double jumping and executing powerful special moves that consume energy.
As with all Metroidvania titles, you’ll primarily be dealing with generic mob enemies, progressing only after defeating all enemies in a room. Boss battles, however, require more strategy and planning. To avoid major attacks, you’ll need to memorize unique attack patterns, requiring quick reactions and the use of the games jumping and sliding mechanics to evade them, with the battle getting more intense as time moves on.
Currently, the game is only playable in Korean, with the Steam store listing indicating this as well. While it’s possible that the game may eventually release in other languages such as Japanese, Chinese, and English, this remains uncertain given that “Over The Horizon” is primarily a university project.
However, Steam games strictly in Korean are rare, so it’s reasonable to expect versions in other languages eventually. If you’re interested, you should definitely add the game to your Steam wishlist. This not only helps boost the appeal and potential funding opportunities for the developers but also keeps you informed and updated about the game.
Additionally, you can follow the game’s official website and the Twitter account of Etriel Athanasia to stay updated and help spread the word on social media because these students could really use a hand in terms of marketing and social outreach.
