Like most of the internet – or at the very least, the nerdier half of the web – I’ve spent the last decade enamoured with Penny Arcade. Arguably the most celebrated webcomic of all time, the adventures of Gabe and Tycho have given me plenty of reasons to chuckle over the years. So when they started an episodic RPG series based on the franchise back in 2008, I was tickled pink. But the series has been slow going, and after two episodes, was scrapped entirely. But as it turns out, you can’t keep a good franchise down.
Like most of the internet – or at the very least, the nerdier half of the web – I’ve spent the last decade enamoured with Penny Arcade. Arguably the most celebrated webcomic of all time, the adventures of Gabe and Tycho have given me plenty of reasons to chuckle over the years. So when they started an episodic RPG series based on the franchise back in 2008, I was tickled pink. But the series has been slow going, and after two episodes, was scrapped entirely. But as it turns out, you can’t keep a good franchise down.
While developer Hothead Games may have stepped away from the project in 2010 (and has since gone on to focus on plenty of great mobile titles, including last year’s sublime Kard Combat), that doesn’t mean other developers weren’t eager to fill the void. So after a lengthy stretch since Episode 2, Penny Arcade’s On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness 3 is back on track, and it’s being helmed by Cthulhu Saves the World creator Zeboyd Games.
If you’ve had a chance to play their Cthulhu RPG, you already know how perfect a fit this is. Zeboyd Games have a great knack for humor, which is something the Penny Arcade franchise excels at. Likewise, they really know how to capture the essence of old school RPG fun. “”Zeboyd has essentially mastered the Throwback RPG as an art form,” said Penny Arcade’s Jerry Holkins. “This isn’t their first time to the rodeo. They are true rodeo enthusiasts. I forget what we were talking about.”
With a different team at the helm, the third installment has something of a different look – one that’s more in keeping with the SNES-style of Zeboyd’s previous offerings. Likewise, the game will be offered at a much lower price than the first installments. You can score a combo pack with episodes 1 & 2 on Steam for $11.99, while Zeboyd’s Episode 3 (and the forthcoming final chapter, Episode 4, arriving in 2013) will be priced at a lowly $2.99 each.
“With Penny Arcade’s On the Rainslick Precipice of Darkness 3, we’ve taken elements from various classic RPGs and fused them with our own ideas of how a fast-paced turn-based RPG should play,” said Zeboyd’s Robert Boyd. “Working with Penny Arcade and in the unique world of New Arcadia has been great and we hope everyone enjoys the game!”
Penny Arcade’s On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness 3 will be available on a wide variety of platforms, including PC, Mac, iPhone, iPad, and Android. Expect to see it sometime this summer.
