Fans of Crypt of the Necrodancer don’t have the biggest catalog of games that bear strong similarities, but Freaked Fleapit is a new title that appears interested in being that, and then some. Two weeks ago, the demo released for this title, and it seems like Freaked Fleapit might be onto something.
The premise of Freaked Fleapit is simple, at least for a video game. Andy just died and went to Hell. He wants his soul back, and has to fight through 9 circles of Hell to reclaim it. In the meantime, he can chat with the stylized anime girls who also happen to be there, and pick one to join him in his attempt to escape.
Fleapit aims to entice its players with procedurally generated levels and exploration that leads to the discovery of secret rooms, side quests, and mini games. Side quests lead to the opportunity to take the player’s preferred “Lady of the Fleapit” on a date. And then there’s the combat.
Freaked Fleapit has players tap to the beat, and developer Finch Bird Studio has consistently noted the game’s Multilayered Music System, which appears to function similarly to games like Crypt of the Necrodancer. The music also dynamically shifts based on the situation the player is in, such as the type of room and combat. There is rogue-ish progression similar to Enter the Gungeon and The Binding of Isaac, where players can customize a build based on upgrades they pick up each run, such as a skill that multiplies damage by x1.5 when health is at down to one, or another that unleashes AOE damage every hit you take.
The style of this game is hard to overlook, which can be attributed to the talented team of artists working on the game, such as the game’s lead artist, a popular digital artist known as Mr.Psina, flashy pixel art done by Todo Asano, and excellent music by Magnetude.
Additionally, Freaked Fleapit features a stacked cast in both English and Japanese. The English cast includes the likes of LilyPichu, as well as Chloe Eves, Sarah Ann Williams, Crystal Lee, Melissa Medina, Kelsey Jaffer and Steven Kelly. The Japanese cast has well known actors like Jun Fukuyama, Shiori Izawa, Ami Koshimizu, Sayaka Ohara, Yumi Hara, Rie Kugimiya, and Uesaka Sumire. Japanese-speaking players seem to be loving the localization, too.
Crowdfunding for Freaked Fleapit closed after an Indiegogo campaign raised €14,606 EUR, and while the exact release date is unknown, publisher Critical Reflex plans to release Freaked Fleapit on PC and Switch. A demo is available on Steam.
