Balloon-powered roguelite Beyond the Long Night inflates April 13

Noisy Head Games’ indie-charmer Beyond the Long Night will be floating to PC on April 13, 2023.

Beyond the Long Night is a dual-stick side-scroller featuring rogue-lite elements and adventure puzzle-solving. If dual-stick side-scroller strikes you as a bit odd, the explanation is that you float around with a cluster of balloons. I still have a lot of balloon-related trauma stemming from Mario Kart and Balloon Kid, but even despite all the agonizing flashbacks, Beyond the Long Night looks like charming fun.

In Beyond the Long Night, you will explore the monster-filled Dark Mountain to discover the secrets of a corrupting force. Not unlike many roguelites, you find yourself stuck in a time-loop, but the game’s cast of colorful characters remember you throughout each one. The level is built of a randomized assortment of hand-crafted rooms, some containing puzzles.

I find the graphics to be charming in a Downwell or Cave Story sort of way. I’m not sure what it is about the gameplay, but watching through some of it was enough to put Beyond the Long Night firmly on my radar, even if I’m not necessarily a lover of roguelites.

Beyond the Long Night is coming to PC on April 13. If you’d like to get airborne before then, a demo is available on Steam.