The Scoop:

The studio that brought you last year’s platformer Max: The Curse of Brotherhood, Press Play, has revealed that their follow-up title will be a game that is tentatively called Project Totem.

They announced that you will be controlling two characters at the same time, which will obviously draw some comparisons to last year’s critically-acclaimed Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons. However, what makes this game different is that both characters are controlled simultaneously rather then each character being controlled by a specific control stick. What this means is that you will have to intentionally run into objects or hazards in order to make it through levels.

Now, one may think that a co-op mode would make for a more traditional platforming experience with each person controlling one of the two totems, but you would be mistaken! In Project Totem’s co-op mode each person will control two Totems each, which effectively makes the two player mode a quasi-4-player mode.

Project Totem is currently in the works for Xbox One, though no official release date has been revealed.

Condemn (OR) Condone:

I’m loving that more games are using old-fashioned gameplay styles, such as 2-d platformers, to incorporate some really interesting gaming mechanics. It makes me glad that, in the midst of an industry that is so focused on graphical power, there are still some that are focused on the most important aspect of the gaming experience: the gameplay. I’m liking what I’m hearing, therefore my judgment is (R).

[Note] For a breakdown of the judgments click here.