There’s been a faux-80s resurgence in the past few years that’s spread into every form of media, including games. This trend continues with Rifter, an acrobatic platformer indie game with Synthwave aesthetics – think scanline sunsets and cars that all look like KITT from Knight Rider – that just got a release date trailer announcing the game’s availability on July 12.
Developed by a single man (as most good indie darlings usually are) Rifter has you running, swinging, smashing, and dashing at high speeds in a world drenched in neon, all to the backdrop of an 80s-inspired Synthwave soundtrack. Maximilian Csuk, also known as IMakeGames, cites Dust Force, Sonic, Bionic Commando, and Hotline Miami as influences on the project, which promises over 90 levels and 30 upgrades and skills to fine-tune your gameplay experience.
“After three years in development, I can’t quite believe that soon I’ll finally get to share Rifter with the world,” said Csuk. “The core game was finished a while ago, but as a gamer I really appreciate a high level of polish so for the last couple of months I’ve worked to give Rifter that extra shine and added extras like a ghost mode, online leaderboards, tons of little extra visual effects and some really cool hidden secrets that I hope players will enjoy.”
The release date trailer for Rifter dropped today, and it’s a chaotic and vibrant spectacle. Everything looks very polygonal, and there’s a multitude of striking neon colours. In the backdrop, there’s an ever-present retro wave sunset (the one where it’s segmented at the bottom to look cool) and everything has a scanline overlay to evoke that iconic faux-80s aesthetic. The soundtrack is fantastic too, with heavy synths and echoey hi-hats that wouldn’t sound out of place on a Lazerhawk album.
If Rifter seems up your alley, you can add it to your Steam wishlist in anticipation for its July 12 release.
