

Music-based 2D shooter and platformer LavaLoop has received a brand development trailer alongside its announcement. Gematsu reports that developer Louis Rigaud has announced the title for PC and that it will launch next year, in 2026.
Lavaloop is set in a hand-drawn retrofuturistic steampunk world, where the planet is being destroyed by a giant technologically driven Drill. Players will assume the role of three fighter musicians, taking the fight back.
In a Developer Diary, LavaLoop creator Louis Rigaud explains the inspiration behind the game and some of its mechanics“…the player moves column by column in a universe(Steam Punk) with a very arcade style. The jerky movement quickly brought me to the idea of rhythm and dance and I gradually added mechanics inspired by rhythm games, for example if the player moves to the beat, he shoots a musical beam on the beat’s highlights the music. A player who jumps at the right time shoots five beams and becomes more powerful by continuing to play to the beat without stopping, his power gauge increases and we see him change color like under the spotlights of a dance floor. Playing to rhythm is never detrimental to the goal is to draw the player into a musical and visual improvisation that will be both creative and destructive.”
Weapons in Lavaloop are fashioned as musical instruments and amps used to create synergies. Enemies move along to a procedural track and can be counter-attacked.
Developer Louis Rigaud aims to deliver a tale that explores technology’s impact on nature and its effect on our lives. Rigaud has implemented inspiration from French novelist Jules Vernes and has also cited Hayao Miyazaki as a major source of the game’s artistic direction. We will know if his implementation of rhythm mechanics into an action title will have paid off next year.
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