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[Wozman23]

release.info:

Platforms: PS4, PSVita, Wii U, Xbox One, PC, Mac, Steam, Switch
Release Date:

February 23rd, 2017: PS4 (EU), PSVita (EU), Wii U, PC, Mac
February 24th, 2017: Xbox One
February 28th, 2017: PS4 (NA), PSVita (NA)
August 24th, 2017: Switch​

Price: $14.99, €14.99, £11.99
Developer: MixedBag Games

forma.8 GO now available on iOS for $5.99​

A physical version for PS4 and PSVita will be available later though Limited Run Games.​

about.the.game:

forma.8 is a unique take on the proven Metroidvania action-adventure formula, with a striking visual style and a huge world to explore.

As the small exploration probe forma.8 you're stranded alone on the surface of an alien planet. Separated from your companions by accident you have a life or death mission to accomplish: find and recover a lost, powerful energy source before it's too late. Ancient civilisations, great perils and dystopian visions await you. And not everything is what it seems...

• Explore a huge, open world full of secrets
• Solve ancient mysteries
• Gain new power-ups to progress in your adventure
• Fight deadly enemies and face powerful bosses
• Delve into a deep and cryptic lore
• Beautifully hand-drawn vector graphics, presented in silky smooth 60fps

Are you ready to uncover the truth?​

links:

Launch Trailer
Steam Page​

screenshots:

 

[Wozman23]

I'd been looking forward to this, but I didn't know about the delay on PS4 literally until I was making this post. I was hoping to get though it before Horizon, but I guess it's going to have to wait.

 

[GAMEPROFF]

Really excited for this one and for impressions from you guys?

 

[Skyrise]

Thanks for the OT about our game! Really excited for the launch!

The game is currently available:
- PS4, PSVita in Eu
- Wii U both NA and EU
- Steam worldwide (PC / Mac)

Tomorrow we'll launch on Xbox One.

Sadly we had to delay a bit the NA PSN launch: it'll be out on the 28 on both PSVita and PS4.

 

[Weng]

Nice. I've been looking forward to this since the first trailer.

Thanks for the OT about our game! Really excited for the launch!

The game is currently available:
- PS4, PSVita in Eu
- Wii U both NA and EU
- Steam worldwide (PC / Mac)

Tomorrow we'll launch on Xbox One.

Sadly we had to delay a bit the NA PSN launch: it'll be out on the 28 on both PSVita and PS4.

Any chance for a Switch version in the future? What platforms (& regions) will get a physical release?

 

[Wozman23]

Thanks for the OT about our game! Really excited for the launch!

The game is currently available:
- PS4, PSVita in Eu
- Wii U both NA and EU
- Steam worldwide (PC / Mac)

Tomorrow we'll launch on Xbox One.

Sadly we had to delay a bit the NA PSN launch: it'll be out on the 28 on both PSVita and PS4.

Thanks for the clarification. I've updated the info. Congratulations on the release! I know it's been a long time coming. I've been looking forward to it since the debut trailer.

I was hoping to play through it on PS4 prior to Horizon, but now I've got some decisions to make.

 

[richard4481]

I noticed they posted a video preview today on their twitter that gives a really good look at the game.

Forma.8 Video Preview

 

[Skyrise]

Nice. I've been looking forward to this since the first trailer.


Any chance for a Switch version in the future? What platforms (& regions) will get a physical release?

We're super interested in doing a Switch version and we hope to have some news about it soon.

We're doing a physical release with Limited Run Games, for PS4 and PSVita.

 

[letmetrythisname]

Shit, this looks awesome. I remember there being another flying vector Metroidvania like this that was freeware and that one was interesting as well. I'll be sure to check this out on Xbox.

 

[Vertti]

Somebody said Metroidvania?

I'll check this later but looks pretty cool.

 

[FrozenCell]

might give it a go when it arrives on linux

 

[Weng]

We're super interested in doing a Switch version and we hope to have some news about it soon.

We're doing a physical release with Limited Run Games, for PS4 and PSVita.

Thank you for the response!

 

[More_Badass]

Some reviews

Videogamer - 8/10

he attention to detail and beautiful flat colour design really shine in this metroidvania about a brave probe exploring an alien planet. Though the difficulty curve can spike frustratingly, fans of Ori and the Blind Forest should enjoy Forma.8's travels

PSU - 7.5/10

Forma.8 isn’t the most original metroidvania-type in mechanical terms. It’s also a touch obtuse in its early hours, but the pulp sci-fi novel visuals, electronica soundtrack, and intriguingly drip-fed storytelling are reasons enough to warrant your attention.

Hardcore Gamer - 3.5/5

Yet despite the strict aesthetic choice, both within the environments themselves as well as some UI elements, Forma.8 is an interesting (if flawed) take on the concept of lone exploration in its most pure and absolute sense.

 

[SatoAilDarko]

I dug what I played of the Wii U demo so long ago.

I'll definitely pick it up for Wii U in the summer when I don't have stuff to buy like I do now.

 

[wouwie]

It's a bit of a mixed bag (sorry for that...) for me. On the positive side, i love the presentation. The visuals, sound effects and music are all very nice. I also like the atmosphere of isolation and mystery in a strange world. The setting is interesting.

However, gameplay wise, i guess i was expecting a totally different game. I was hoping for a slow relaxing game full of puzzles and discovery. Instead, most of the gameplay so far (i'm about 25% in) consists of trying to stay alive amongst a lot of enemies. That wouldn't be a problem if the combat mechanics were solid but i don't find them fun. Movement is very slow (the first upgrade helped a bit but it is still slow) and the bomb launching/aiming is problematic. Instead of aiming first and then releasing, you have to release the bomb, stay close to it, aim in the direction you want and then do a short range attack so the bomb launches into the desired direction. The thing is, you only have a few seconds to aim (before the bomb explodes) and the aiming is unprecise at best, resulting in a lot of bombs exploding to soon or missing the target. The other attack is the short range circular attack which only works for enemies close by. Also, a lot of the enemies have respawn points (meaning enemies keep appearing) until you detroy those points. This results in swarms of enemies following and attacking the player while you try to aim/launch one bomb at a time.

Also, i'm not a fan of the map. Since whole areas are just portrayed as rectangles, there's no connection between the world you play in (which ofcourse isn't rectangular) and the map. I might have visited that rectangular area before, but there is no way of telling which particular parts of that area i have visited before. In Ori and the Blind Forest, the map was a helpful tool to guide the player but this map system feels rather pointless.

All in all, not the game i expected gameplay wise. For me, it's a lot more combat/enemy focused than i had hoped and i don't like the combat. I feel it's a missed opportunity for either a proper slow paced puzzle/traversal game or a combat based game with proper combat mechanics. It tries to be a bit of both but fails to excel in either direction. It feels like a slow paced combat game with a bit of exploration.

 

[maxcriden]

Thanks for your impressions, wouwie. I'm looking forward to seeing if the game shapes up better as an experience for you as you continue with it. Also looking forward to reading more impressions in general! I've had my eye on the game for a while and am eager to check it out on Wii U or Switch.

 

[richard4481]

A few more reviews (ordered by score) for anyone looking to pick it up;

The Sixth Axis - 8/10

There’s a lot to like about Forma.8. While it does invoke the style of some other titles, it has enough charm and character to stand out. Its gameplay is unorthodox, yet mostly rewarding, and it doesn’t outstay its welcome. Sometimes the logic of the task at hand is not obvious and it took me a short few hours to get the Platinum Trophy on PS4, but while it lasts it’s an enjoyable romp.

God is a Geek - 8/10

Forma.8 is an utterly gorgeous and affecting take on the familiar 2D Metroidvania style game with some clever puzzles for your plucky little probe to navigate.

Push Square - 7/10

Forma.8 is an aesthetically pleasing, exploration title with a great variety of environments and enemies to discover. Its presentation is wonderfully abstract, with ambient noise and a sense of loneliness creating a mysteriously enjoyable game that we recommend.

Crash Landed - 3/5

Whilst suffering from a very shaky start, once you acquire a few powerups Forma.8 transforms into another great addition to the metroidvania genre, and whilst it doesn’t do anything entirely new or original - borrowing a lot from its contemporaries - it excels at thinking outside the box with boss fights, whilst showcasing an intriguing wordless story within its isolated yet beautiful world - oh and we can’t forget about the bountiful secrets hidden within either.

If you’re a fan of the metroidvania genre, or more obtuse games in general then should definitely look at picking up Forma.8.

 

[Agent X]

I got the game on PS4 and PS Vita a few days ago. So far, I like it a lot!

As wouwie pointed out, it's not a very fast-paced game. The game seems to be focused on exploration, with a very limited repertoire of actions. Your main weapons are a short-range circular explosion, and a bomb that can be either placed precisely or launched in a direction by moving and activating your short-range explosion afterward.

While you don't have a great arsenal of weapons at your disposal, you can use them to pull off some cool interactions with enemies and their forms of attack. You (or your enemies) can deflect and/or change the properties of some types of projectiles with certain actions. This turns out to be highly useful in defeating certain enemies, or solving puzzles so that you can unlock more areas to explore.

Observation is a key to success in forma.8. A few of the early situations serve to teach you techniques that you can use later to defeat powerful enemies or solve environmental puzzles. There are some enemies and areas that appear to be impassable at first glance, but you can quickly figure out what "works" effectively with your limited arsenal. Some of the boss fights themselves are puzzles in their own right, and finding the method of defeating the boss can be very satisfying.

Although you can get both the PS4 and Vita versions of forma.8 with a single purchase, there does not appear to be any cross-save capability, so you cannot transfer your progress between the two systems. I would love to see Mixed Bag add this feature to the game, if possible. Another suggestion would be to allow you to use the Vita as a second screen device for the PS4 game, so that you could use the Vita as a controller and have the map at your fingertips at all times.

 

[Wozman23]

Finally got around to playing this and I feel the same way as a few others. Going in I knew very little about the actual gameplay, but loved the art direction. It is definitely a very mixed bag, since many of the design decisions favor some aspects and hurt others.

The speed of the little guy is quite slow, even after gaining all the upgrades. On one hand it makes for a peaceful experience, but toward the end and during some backtracking I just wanted to put the ball to the wall.

There's also no hand holding and no real explanation of mechanics. This made exploration and some of the puzzle-like encounters/mini-bosses somewhat obtuse. Sometimes, I immediately knew what to do; other times I died a lot before figuring out the proper tactics. Once again, that straddled the fine line between being empowering and frustrating.

The map is also nebulous with no indicators for objectives or collectibles (other than once you reach the end and get a power up that turn rooms with remaining collectibles blue). At one point toward the end I entered a portal thinking it may take me somewhere new only to find it was a one way trip backwards so I had to retrace my steps. The positive of this was that it made me take notes, so that I could remember locations, and I enjoy anytime a game makes me whip out a pen and paper.

I did enjoy the mechanics, especially the later more puzzle-y ones like turbo, teleporting, and stealth. The orb lighting puzzles were fun. I think there's more worth exploring there, especially if it could be combined with the other mechanics, like teleporting, more. I too had difficulty aiming bombs and usually just favored the up close and personal shield blast as an offensive measure.

Overall, it's unique and enjoyable though. It's a somewhat simple, yet relaxing, take on the Metroidvania approach. It did a fine job providing some simple mini-bosses and puzzle based gameplay, and evolved the gameplay through power ups well, but I feel it could have done more.

Also, apparently one of the trophies is glitched for me

Spoiler

the lost forma one

but I'll probably just start a new game to get it and another hidden trophy for the platinum.

 

[jonno394]

Was contemplating making an OT for this seeing as it releases next week and im playing through a review code right now, but see you already made a good'un. Hopefully get more discussion going once it hits the Switch, especially from Gamers hungry for a Metroidvania like experience but don't have a 3DS!

Enjoying the visual and aural presentation so far!

 

[jonno394]

Just finished this, really nice game. No hand holding, good sense of exploring a strange and alien world.

Anyone else who has finished this able to answer my question?

Spoiler

How do I access the true ending? Is it by collecting the artifacts/power ups? I'm currently at 30 and don't think I want to go hunting them down

 

[The Hermit]

I am playing this on the switch as a warm-up for Metroid.

It's a bit rough on the edges, but it's fun and very creative.

I finished and now am trying to find all 50 bolts/artifacts.

Stuck at 41 and only found more 2. Any tips?

Btw, what does the 4th upgrade do?

 

[Vitor711]

Just wanted to chime in that this plays great on the Switch - really enjoying my time with it so far. They've done some super smart things with the controls when porting from mobile and it feels good to do basic actions like aiming in a way that other games tend to neglect.

Dark backgrounds can be an issue on the move though if you're sat on a train/plane with lots of glare (had the same problem with Gonner), but that's hardly their fault.

 

[The Hermit]

Updating this (rather dead) thread to mention that I 100% this, but was ultimately disappointed.

It has some nice ideas ( nice secrets, and the last stage), but it doesn't expand/explain what's going on and the 100% ending is a minor variance of the regular ending, when it felt like it would go for a real final boss.

In the next weeks/months we will have Metroid II, steamworld dig 2 and hopefully Hollow Knight. All more than enough to wash this rather underwhelming experience away.

 

[blu]

Really charming game. Just started it the other day, but it grabbed me right away.