The past is alive again with Steel Assault
A new trend I’m a big fan of is when smaller indie developers start helping publish games from other small developers. It’s a great way to get some market share and keep their name in fan’s heads. Recently a good example is 2Awesome Studio, who made the creative Dimension Drive, and then went on to publish games like Lumini, Lost Wing and The Bug Butcher. Well, today the indie studio continuing that trend is none other than Tribute Games. They’re the wonderful team behind the recently released Panzer Paladin, and I’ve been a fan of theirs for quite some time.
The first game they’re helping publish is by a developer named Zenovia. The title is called Steel Assault, and it’s an action platformer that struck me as the love child of Bionic Commando, Contra, Ninja Gaiden and much more. Had I not known that Tribute Games was only helping publish it, I easily would have believed it was one of their own adventures.
Tribute Games has been around for almost a decade now, but this is the first time they’ve publishing. Below is a great quote by their president – “After close to 10 years of self-publishing and 6 games under our belt, we felt it was time to share our knowledge and expertise that we have built and fostered”, announces Jean-François Major, president of Tribute Games. “We plan on teaming up with developers that share our passion and love for pixel art games. We’re proud to be starting this new venture with the Zenovia team and their highly awaited title Steel Assault.”
As for Steel Assault itself, it’s been in the works for several years, and it shows. I love throwbacks to retro games, and Steel Assault has all the hallmarks of quality I look for. In this Steam adventure you make your way through post-apocalyptic America (I can’t imagine what that’s like), as they fight a dictator who has wrought so much devastation (no comment). In any case, it looks like Tribute Games has found a winner for their first publishing deal. Please check out the trailer below to see why I’m so excited!