A recurring problem with video games is that certain games tend to be revealed or announced way too early. Normally this is when the publisher and/or the developer makes an announcement for an upcoming game, whether it’s a new IP or a new entry in a series, and the game comes out 3-5 years after its initial reveal. Kingdom Hearts 3 is an example where it got announced 5 years ago, but it is expected to release this year (we’ll see). It’s a problem because these games tend to be announced way ahead of they’re development schedule and are in a work in progress. It forces an interested customer to wait for years for the final product or giving them doubts about the game coming out at all.

One game that was often ridiculed for possibly never coming out was Cuphead, which was revealed in an indie sizzle reel at Microsoft’s 2014 E3 conference. It grabbed everyone by surprise for basically looking like a playable 1930’s cartoon. Yes this game finally came out last year, but it made for a very painful wait for those who were incredibly eager about it. There is another indie game that was revealed way back in 2015, but I’m dreading it has a similar Cuphead problem of being revealed way too soon. Its called Freedom Planet 2, a sequel to the Kickstarter funded Freedom Planet that maintains the original’s sense of speed, 2D platforming and focus on combat that was revealed in 2015. Now since we’re in 2018, I’m still waiting for a full release of the sequel to one of my favorite indie games. I’m going to go in depth to compare the similarities I’ve noticed with Freedom Planet 2 and Cuphead’s too soon reveals as well as how both developers have updated their games before their release. Though let me make it clear that this comparison is between a pretty mainstream indie hit in Cuphead and a sequel to a cult indie hit that will likely develop a niche audience when it releases. There’s also some differences between the two games’ development cycles and cross promotions each game has in other titles that came/are coming out before Cuphead and FP2.

How both updated interested customers (Cuphead):

So as many of us remember Cuphead’s reveal, it was a rather unceremonious disclose for a game that had quite a distinct artstyle that hasn’t really been done in video games before. As I said earlier, Microsoft had a sizzle reel of all these indie games that were planned to arrive on the XBOX One. You saw some notable titles like Mighty No. 9 (back when people still cared for it), Superhot, Rivals of Aether and Inside. But it was Cuphead that caught everybody off guard from the montage. The reason was plain and simple, it appeared to be a playable max Fleischer cartoon set in a boss rush mode format, and it had people dying to play it. We wouldn’t here much about Cuphead until the next E3, where this time is was one of the indies that was pushed front and center as the Studio MDHR developers Chad and Jared Moldenhauer talked about their game. Then they showed a brand new trailer that revealed more footage of Cuphead fighting bosses as well as the game's plot, where both Cuphead and Mugman lose a bet to the devil and must collect the souls of the devil's debtors in order to be spared. Then it promised for a release date of 1936, which really meant it was planned for 2016 but they played with the 1930’s theme by saying it was coming out in ’36. Then we get to 2016 and many people were expecting to play Cuphead, but it never came out in 2016. At E3 2016, Cuphead was in its third Microsoft show but got similar treatment to its initial reveal where it was just included in an indie sizzle reel again. A little more footage was shown and it had a playable demo in 2016 (also in 2015) as well as learning it would have platforming levels. However, we didn’t get any confirmed date for 2016. Soon they announced a delay for 2017 and some people were relieved that the devs were taking their time to complete Cuphead. Others felt annoyed that despite seeing this game over and over at E3 that maybe it was never coming out. People feared that Cuphead was certainly a beautiful looking indie to showcase but maybe this turned into a Scalebound situation where development was too hectic and then somehow gets cancelled. People were even mocking Cuphead for being a constant E3 attendant as if its stuck at Microsoft’s E3 shows and never get a final release date.

Then at E3 2017, another Cuphead trailer was revealed. Already it was being mocked as a visually stunning game that would never get an official release by streamers who watched Microsoft’s conference live. Then at the end of the trailer, we finally got a release date of September 29, 2017. People were still hesitant if the game lived up to the promised date, but it did. Cuphead did come out on the XBOX One and Steam on 9/29/2017 and after all these years of being a showcase title at E3, it finally came out as a full fledged video game. Turned out the long wait was worth it as it got rave reviews across the board and won countless awards from different publications. Awards include best graphics, best indie game and best XBOX One game. It even sold over a million copies within 2 weeks, making it one of the biggest critical and financial success stories of 2017 video games. It was a game that probably shouldn’t have been revealed so early in 2014 as it got plenty of people to wait an incredibly long time for the official release. Perhaps the wait would have been less excruciating if its initial reveal was set in 2015. But despite the long pause, Cuphead lived up to the promise of being an artistically crafted game that replicates cartoons from a bygone era while also providing a tough and fun run and gun experience that’s similar in the vein of Contra.

Freedom Planet 2:

So what does Cuphead have to do with Freedom Planet 2? Well in terms of direct connections, not much. Both game are relatively different to one another. Cuphead is a hand drawn action side scroller that has countless bosses to fight as well as a few platforming levels in between the boss fights and it’s an original IP. Freedom Planet 2 is a sequel to Freedom Planet, which pays tribute to Sega Genesis classics like Sonic the Hedgehog, Gunstar Heroes and Ristar but uses those components to form its own identity. The first game is an incredible platformer that has very unique puzzles within the levels and plenty of its own tough and amusing boss fights. The sequel is looking to build on what the first game got right as well as correct any errors that rubbed some people the wrong way (long levels being shortened, boss life bars, etc.). But the parallel I find between the two games is that both have a very similar development cycle where they tend to update any interested customer with a substantial update on a designated time of the year and both have the problem of being announced way too early.

The first game came out on Steam (PC, Mac) in 2014 and then got a Wii U release a year later. While Freedom Planet was delivered to backers of the title and got a little bit of attention in 2014, it seemed like it had its lunch consumed by Shovel Knight, which that became the nostalgic tribute game that became a big hit that year. FP did get more publicity thanks to the Wii U launch and eventually specific Youtube channels gave it more exposure by having Let’s Plays of the game. Even though FP got a stronger fan following a year after its release, not many people were anticipating a sequel. But low and behold on Christmas Day of 2015, GalaxyTrail dropped a surprise announcement trailer that they were in fact making Freedom Planet 2. Even though the trailer was simply an anime styled animation describing the game’s story, there was lots of information released about FP2 afterwards. One of which is that the game has a drastically new art style than that of the first game, as the cast looks way different than their Sonic inspired counterparts in FP1:

Also there was all this information about some new gameplay components, such as being able to land parries on enemies, using items to give your characters buffs and having a revive system where when you lose a life, you can mash all the buttons to get back up to gain temporary invincibility and a sliver of life while finishing a level or a boss you almost beat. They even managed to get Christian Whitehead (from Sonic Mania) on board to work on the game’s physics. Also the game was originally targeting a mid-2017 release.

Ever since that first trailer, there weren’t any huge updates on FP2 until December 2016, where it launched the first of the character specific trailers starring the main protagonist of the series, Lilac the dragon lady. Basically this trailer showed off what you could do with Lilac while traversing through the levels and her abilities like using her dragon boost both on the ground and in the air. Then weeks after the Lilac trailer, we got trailers for other characters such as Carol (a motorcycle riding wildcat), Milla (Basset hound that can shoot green blocks as projectiles) and a new playable character Neera Li, who was a mid boss in FP1. Neera Li might be the most combat oriented as she has a variety of ice themed attacks, but is slower than Lilac and Carol. Then eventually Galaxy Trail announced that there is a sample version of the game that you can download on the game’s webpage for anyone to try (more on this later).

Afterwards unless you went on Galaxy Trail or Stephen Diduro’s (head of Galaxy Trail) twitter accounts for getting new sprite animations or dev log updates, not much was updated about FP2 between January 2017 (Neera Li Trailer) and Dec 2017. Then on December 19, 2017, there was a brand new trailer that showed off more levels, new attacks for the characters and a new game mode called the Battlesphere, which provide the player access to a variety of challenges. There’s a Ratchet and Clank-style arena mode where you fight off waves of enemies. One of them is a boss mode that can let you fight 2 or maybe more bosses at the same time. There’s a race challenge where you have to speed run through the level. Finally, there’s the Home Run mode, where you character literally rides on a giant baseball that’s hit by a humongous bat and the ball will destroy any targets to get a high score. Sadly no date was revealed for the game so now people like myself still have this anxious wait for FP2, but the game does look even more amazing with every new trailer we get.

So FP2 is similar to Cuphead in that both follow a pattern of choosing a specific time of the year for the developers to give any interested customers a new trailer to reveal new footage and promote the game. For Cuphead it was E3 that was its big time to shine as for 4 years, it was very prominent in Microsoft’s E3 shows. Galaxy Trail makes December its huge month for Freedom Planet 2 as for 3 straight Decembers; there has been at least 1 new trailer for the title. Also I don’t want to make this article seem like I’m begging for Galaxy Trail to finish FP2 as fast as possible and I want them to take their time in finishing FP2 in the best state. However, maybe they should have announced FP2 later so the wait wouldn’t be so long. Now has FP2 been ridiculed of never coming out? Well there have been a few people who've made snarky questions to the developers regarding the issue on twitter, but that's about it. Keep in mind that the Freedom Planet series is NOWHERE near as popular as Cuphead. The first game developed a niche fan following and the sequel should be successful enough to do the same, but don't expect FP2 to sell a million copies within two weeks (though I'd love for it to be a mega hit). Not to mention while the trailers won’t tell you the release date, Galaxy Trail’s website states that FP2 is planned for release in either Q1 or Q2 of 2019. Again, take your time to make sure the game is in a great shape and don’t rush development. However, it seems rather odd to post that on your webpage and not put that info in your most recent trailer. That way fans of FP1 can at least have a better idea on when this game is coming out. While Cuphead promised a date and then delayed it until 9/29/17, at least Studio MDHR seemed more vocal about when their game was going to release. Galaxy Trail stated that they targeted a 2017 release, but they never proclaimed 2017 as the official year of when FP2 comes out.

Differences in how both developers (and others) promoted their games:

Now when I’m drawing the parallels between both games’ development cycles and timing of announcements, the way both have handled the anticipation and promotion for their titles are vastly different. Cuphead had its game promoted in some rather bizarre ways before release. In the XBOX One version of THPS5, you could customize a skater by having heads of characters like Cuphead, Mugman and the Sunset Overdrive trailer guy. Yes weirdly enough, 2 years before Cuphead came out, this indie game got somewhat of a marketing push from a AAA game. You’d think maybe Studio MDHR was pumped that their characters’ heads showed up in a Tony Hawk game, even if THPS5 sucks. In Cook Serve Delicious, there was this Battle Kitchen DLC that promised 24 indie characters that you can feed at your restaurants, one of which was Cuphead himself. It was certainly nice for Studio MDHR to know that other games wanted to promote their game in some way by having Cuphead and Mugman show up for cameos in others games.

Though for Studio MDHR, the pressure was seriously on them to deliver on their game. With Cuphead being shown for 4 straight E3’s at Microsoft’s conference, it was being touted for the longest time as one of the great indie games you can play on the XBOX One. So I believe Microsoft probably did what they could to support Studio MDHR, but they certainly wanted that game out to improve digital sales. Not only that, but Jared and Chad Moldenhauer, had plenty of real life troubles that were tied to Cuphead’s development. Shortly after E3 2017, Chad and Jared revealed that after E3 2015, they were ready to fully commit to delivering on what they promised with Cuphead as well as take into account of some feedback, like requests for 2D levels. Sadly in order to achieve these goals, they had to quit their jobs and remortgaged their homes so they could expand on the team. They initially had a cut scope game planned with a 3 man development team that soon expanded into 20 people. They made a huge gamble in increasing the scope of their game to not only nail the 1903’s cartoon aesthetic, but create a quality video game. So before release, you’d think everyone at the development team was nervous about the games’ launch and whether it would get good reviews that would push sales. Thankfully as Cuphead sold 1 million copies within 2 weeks, the gamble paid off.

To my knowledge, nobody at Galaxy Trail is under any financial pressure where they quit some other jobs or remortgage their homes to focus solely on the development of FP2. There also isn’t any first party publisher that’s making FP2 a flagship indie that they can play on their console as the game is planned to release on Steam (PC, Mac and Linux) first and then consoles. Galaxy Trail tends to make these announcements on Youtube and their twitter accounts and they are certainly catering to their fanbase, but only a few major publications like Destructoid get word of a new FP2 trailer. Lastly, the only cross promotion I’ve seen for FP2 is that Lilac is a playable character in the upcoming Indie brawler, IndiePogo. She’s based on her FP1 design, but she will have her FP2 outfit as a skin. Though I don’t recall seeing Lilac or Milla's heads as customizable options in an AAA game. Galaxy Trail has had a rather different path in promoting their game than Studio MDHR and other developers did for Cuphead.

Now again back in 2017, Galaxy Trail did release a sample version of FP2 where you play only one level, but it lets you play as all 4 of the playable characters. You also have different difficulties to play the game as well as customize an item layout to implement your strategy to beating the level. You can either equip items that can aid you like using elemental shields or make it intentionally harder such as using brave stones that have negative attributes but you get rewarded with more crystals if you get past the level unscathed. Galaxy Trail has also updated the demo with new features from giving characters new attacks to including a photo mode where characters can do goofy poses. It’s an incredibly fun demo that establishes a good feel on what the final game should be: A fast-paced, combat focused platformer that improves on many components on the original with lots of content. Not to mention while Galaxy Trail has had this demo at PAX South shows, you get just get it online or on Steam for free, which is super nice. The only way for you to play a demo of Cuphead before release was at E3 or PAX, but no free demo was released to the public. If you have any interest in FP2 at all, I’d highly recommend picking up the sample version if you haven’t already.

Conclusion:

Yes the promotions and development cycles between Cuphead and Freedom Planet 2 have their differences. However, both do have a similar problem of maybe being announced too early and forcing anybody interested to wait years for the final product to come out. For Cuphead’s case, it was worth the wait as critics and the public were very happy with the final product and became one of the big hits of 2017. Even though we’re likely going to wait in 2019 to see FP2’s official release, there’s no doubt in my mind that it will be one of the best indie games of that year. It probably won’t be as big as Cuphead since that got a big E3 push for years and its art style helped sell the game. FP2 has a neat, 32 bit Sega Saturn sprite look, but it’s an art style that doesn’t stand out as much as looking like a 1930’s cartoon. Plus it hasn’t been shown at E3 shows to help its marketing. If anything, FP2 should be a huge improvement over an already great game that will develop a strong cult following. But man, the feeling I get for waiting on FP2 is a lot like those who waited on Cuphead, because having to wait between Christmas in 2015 to early 2019 is a hefty amount of time. It honestly would be a less painful wait had Galaxy Trail maybe announce this in 2016 and then show off those character specific trailers to hype up FP2's release. If anything Galaxy Trail, you teased the first FP to come to the Switch, so get a dang dev kit to port it over to hold us over!