Double Fine to publish cutesy hand-painted adventure game Knights and Bikes

Knights and Bikes bills itself as a "co-op adventure about childhood" and was successfully Kickstarted earlier this year. It's conceived by the creative minds of Rex Crowle and Moo Yu—whose collective experience boasts the likes of console hits Tearaway, LittleBigPlanet and Ratchet & Clank—and has now snagged Double Fine as its publisher. 

Set in the late 1980s on a fictional British island, heroes Nessa and Demelza are tasked with cycling around the archipelago "pedalling into danger with frisbees, water balloons, and improvising in the way that only kids can." Developer Foam Sword cites The Goonies and '90s JRPGs as influences, however there's also a distinct Costume Quest vibe about Knights and Bikes too.  

Here's the latest trailer: 

Similar to the way in which Devolver Digital games are instantly identifiable, Knights and Bikes looks like a game Double Fine might be interested in. "Wait, first tell me what they said about us,” said Double Fine's Tim Schafer of the partnership. "Was it nice? Or just kind of okay? Because if I say something nice and then they don’t mention us, I’ll look really desperate. 

"I’ll just say I love Knights, Bikes, Moo, and Rex, and that Double Fine is super happy to be presenting their amazing game, unless their quote was meh—in that case just make my quote the shrug emoticon."

Moo Yu, on the other hand, said: "I’ve spent so many hours plunging myself into the imaginative worlds that Double Fine has conjured, getting to know their intriguing characters inside and out. In Knights and Bikes, I want players to feel that same connection and curiosity as they meet our cast of misfits and delve into the mysteries of the island of Penfurzy." 

No release date just yet, however the game's Kickstarter page estimates an April 2017 launch.