FuturLab was, during the halcyon PS Vita days, one of PlayStation’s most dependable indie partners. The Brighton-based developer, which initially found fame through Sony’s short-lived PS Minis scheme, released some of the handheld’s best games – culminating in the outstanding arcade shooter, Velocity 2X. But having found unexpected success with PowerWash Simulator, it looks like the studio’s latest will skip PS5 – at least initially.

IKARO Will Not Die, announced for Xbox and PC earlier this week, is being billed as a spiritual successor to Velocity 2X – albeit “with the style and sophistication of the combat and traversal systems dialled up times 1,000”. In terms of gameplay, this looks wildly different to the 2D shmup shenanigans of its inspiration, but we can certainly see hints of the 2014 hit in this trailer.

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The press release expands: “This new arcade action title delivers an exhilarating blend of gravity surfing action and unique combat in a game built around momentum. Master the game’s gravity-defying systems to surf through science-fiction environments, engage in spectacular combat encounters by chaining abilities together, and employ a host of cool abilities in the latest title from FuturLab, the award-winning studio behind PowerWash Simulator and the Velocity series.”

Unfortunately, despite being such a close collaborator with PlayStation during those initial Velocity days, it looks like IKARO Will Not Die will skip Sony’s systems – for now, anyway. We’ll reach out to FuturLab and try and get some confirmation on its plans, but in the meantime, if you want to experience the spiritual successor to Velocity 2X, it looks like you’ll need to do so elsewhere.

[source youtube.com]