Lunark is a 2D cinematic platformer shown from a side view, set on a distant planet ruled by a totalitarian regime with a dystopian theme. The protagonist, Lunark , is Leo, a courier with a mysterious past who suffers from a disease that accelerates his ageing process. After a sudden turn of events he is hunted down and needs to delve deep to discover his past.
The game features 12 levels with environments consisting of fixed screens linked together. Locations include a dystopian megapolis, a laboratory, an alien forest, a night club on the moon, dark caves and more. The gameplay is slow and mostly revolves around solving puzzles, borrowing from classic cinematic platformers from the 90s, particularly Flashback: The Quest for Identity . Visually, the game uses a similar pixel art style with large pixels, resulting in fluent motions for running, swinging, daring jumps, hanging from ledges and rolling. However, the character is often 'locked' into an animation when it starts, meaning movement is more of a sequence of planned actions than instant control.
Each level introduces new puzzle mechanics, incorporating lasers, teleporters, switches and the strategic use of killing enemies in certain locations. There are often keys required to progress. Leo can fight back using his fists and a gun, which has infinite ammo but needs to be reloaded. Gradually, some permanent stat boosts are unlocked, for both the character and the gun. Evading enemies and using dodge rolls is often required to survive. Health can be restored by finding certain flowers. Leo also has access to a limited number of shields providing temporary protection.
Lunark is set to release on PlayStation 5 on April 1st, 2024, for fans of action and adventure games. 
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