JoyMasher is back at it with Vengeful Guardian: Moonrider

Dishing out more retro action

JoyMasher isn’t slowing down on retro action games. Its latest release, Vengeful Guardian: Moonrider, is calling out to the Strider (and Hagane?) fans in the room. And with a fall release planned, it’s reassuring to know that this new throwback isn’t far off.

After the Contra-flavored Blazing Chrome, they’ve got my full attention.

This one’s another level-based side-scrolling action game, starring a newly-awakened ninja who’s rebelling against a futuristic totalitarian state. Slice ’em good.

“I dug deep into the territory of 16-bit games and even some early CD games, and tried to craft an authentic experience, just as if you just found in your basement an unreleased MegaDrive/Genesis game,” art director Danilo Dias said on the PlayStation Blog.

Yes, that’s a nod to H.R. Giger

“All the character designs in Vengeful Guardian Moonrider, and general art direction of the game, were heavily inspired by Japanese artist Keita Amemiya, the designer behind lots of video games, anime, and tokusatsu from that era. I also took a lot of inspiration from H.R. Giger, the artist behind the otherworldly visuals of the Alien series.”

If this looks like a distilled arcade-style experience without the modern-day fluff, that’s the idea — but there’s “a little bit of item hunting and exploration,” too.

Across the game’s eight stages, you’ll be able to find hidden chips that extend the vengeful guardian’s abilities. Dias cited a double-jump, longer-range weaponry, and health regeneration among “lots of other” unlocks to unearth. I’m expecting it to push back.

With games like Oniken, Odallus, and Blazing Chrome, this team is on a roll.

Vengeful Guardian: Moonrider is targeting a fall 2022 release on PC (through Steam), PlayStation 4, PS5, Nintendo Switch, and even the cloud-based Amazon Luna platform. I feel bad for JoyMasher’s Xbox fans who are feeling left out. Never say never.