Zorbie Preview

What’s the first thing any self-respecting reformed convict does upon getting out of jail?  Go bird-killing, of course!  In the upcoming iOS title, Zorbie, our eponymous hero is focused on doing exactly that in an attempt to slake his hunger (both literally and apparently for dead birds).  Luckily he has a giant axe, and you, to help in his birdocidal quest.

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Now with 100% more bloated bird corpses.

What’s the first thing any self-respecting reformed convict does upon getting out of jail?  Go bird-killing, of course!  In the upcoming iOS title, Zorbie, our eponymous hero is focused on doing exactly that in an attempt to slake his hunger (both literally and apparently for dead birds).  Luckily he has a giant axe, and you, to help in his birdocidal quest.

Zorbie

Zorbie is the latest in a line of games published by The Game Atelier that will help stack the odds of winning “weirdest game publisher ever” in their favor.  With Flying Hamster and Gauge under their belts, and Zorbie and Sela the Space Pirate coming out this year, there’s no shortage of bizarrely appealing titles emerging from their game-hole.  Of course, with developers Simon & Etienne PĂ©rin aiming to make “the silliest and craziest game ever,” Zorbie should be the publisher’s bizarro VIP.

As a mix of “the block breaker and shmup genres,” Zorbie will require players to toss their axe into the air in an attempt to kill seriously engorged (and sometimes mustachioed) birds.  Of course, you don’t want your axe—or other dangers, like police, witches, sorcerers, and asteroids—to fall on Zorbie’s face, so there will be aspects of the arcade dodging genre thrown in.  In case you were worried our ex-convict was released from prison with only an axe, never fear: Zorbie can unlock and utilize 21 power-ups and five additional weapons.

Zorbie

Not much else is known about Zorbie just yet, even by its creators.  They know there will be some number of achievements, and “no f*****ng micro-transactions!” which is a double win.  And to help achieve the goal of creating the silliest game ever, Zorbie has been inspired by “90s arcade games from Taito or Treasure…a kind of modern powered-up Game & Watch.”  With an exaggerated animation style reminiscent of David Feiss cartoons (Cow and Chicken, I Am Weasel) of the ’90s, I’d say they’re on point.

We’ll have more on Zorbie, his axe, and what bird bowties taste like after its release.

Jillian will play any game with cute characters or an isometric perspective, but her favorites are Fallout 3, Secret of Mana, and Harvest Moon. Her PC suffers from permanent cat-on-keyboard syndrome, which she blames for most deaths in Don’t Starve. She occasionally stops gaming long enough to eat waffles and rewatch Battlestar Galactica.