ITTA

Overview

ITTA, coming in 2019 from indie developer Glass Revolver and published by Armor Games Studios, is a top-down action-adventure that takes inspiration from both classic and modern titles while still offering up its own unique flavor. Players control the titular heroine Itta as she journeys through a strange and beautiful but disturbing world with her ghostly cat to guide her, seeking out a large number of challenging bosses to do battle with bullet-hell style as she dodges and blasts back with her trusty gun. The game takes inspiration from the real world location The Gardens of Bomarzo in Italy, which the developer visited during creation of the game. ITTA intends to be a challenging but rewarding game that emphasizes player skill over a brutal difficulty curve.

Plot

As the game opens, Itta has a dream of falling, and awakens surrounded by the bodies of her family in a strange ruin. A glowing light appears before her and takes the shape of her beloved cat, and tells her she will need to venture forth if she wants to learn where she is and what happened to her family. As Itta exits the ruins, she finds she is in a surreal world filled with crumbling statues and the remains of some other civilization, ancient machinery and odd creatures.

As Itta journeys through the world, she encounters other cryptic characters who begin to provide clues as to what is happening, though she also encounters disturbing evidence of violence and massacres as she comes across bodies floating in otherwise beautiful pools, or heads mounted on poles in deserted villages. Guided by her floating ghostly cat companion, and mysterious runes, she discovers the world is also home to a host of hostile, powerful creatures she must hunt down and defeat in one-on-one combat if she wants to find out the truth.

Gameplay

Players move Itta using a keyboard or controller as they explore the overworld, searching for hidden secrets or helping NPCs. Itta begins the game with a basic gun, but can gain access to other weapons throughout if she finds the right items and meets certain conditions. The game itself is split between overworld exploration, which is relatively peaceful, and intense bullet-hell style combat sequences against bosses whenever Itta finds their lairs.

Most boss battles involve Itta dodging around the enemy and the multitude of unique bullet patterns it fills the screen with; she can maneuver between bullets, perform a dodge-roll through them, or even blast away certain projectiles with an attack. Itta's gun does not use ammo, so the player can focus on dodging and attacking. Some bosses may alter the playing field, warp around the screen, or otherwise use special abilities that will make them harder to contend with. While Itta can only sustain a few hits, the bosses tend to have very large health bars, making outlasting them a challenge of reflexes and skill.