Invade parody films in 2D platformer Epic Loon

Epic Loon is a seriously retro 2D platformer from French developer Macrales Studios. It features several playable characters, local co-op and battle modes, as well as over 350 levels, but its standout quality is its setting. 

You control a group of aliens who used to live in a long-forgotten artifact: a VHS cleaner tape. Disturbed by a cinephile named Joe, you invade Joe's sizable VHS collection, which includes such classics as Jurassik Land, Nosferacula, Alien: The Hitchhiker, and other tongue-in-cheek parodies. 

The sights and sounds of Epic Loon help sell its VHS campiness. The playable aliens are squishy little abominations who stand out against the stark, CRT-set levels, and the main characters in each movie satire sound well-voiced. You can get a sample of the casting below: 

Epic Loon is as much as a romp through '80s and '90s cinema as it is a game. But while it revels in its FMV quirkiness and black-and-white grunge, it also looks to be a proper platformer, complete with time trials and varied challenges. A recurring threat is Joe himself, who attacks you using his remote control—by fast-forwarding levels, for example.

Epic Loon is slated to release by the end of 2017. 

Austin Wood
Staff writer, GamesRadar

Austin freelanced for PC Gamer, Eurogamer, IGN, Sports Illustrated, and more while finishing his journalism degree, and has been a full-time writer at PC Gamer's sister publication GamesRadar+ since 2019. They've yet to realize that his position as a staff writer is just a cover-up for his career-spanning Destiny column, and he's kept the ruse going with a focus on news, the occasional feature, and as much Genshin Impact as he can get away with.