Nine Parchments is a new co-op shooter from Trine devs Frozenbyte

Following the promising, but ultimately slightly disappointing, stealth adventure Shadwen earlier this year, Frozenbyte—the Finnish studio responsible for the Trine series—has revealed its next project: a co-operative “blast ’em up” named Nine Parchments.

The plot centres around a squad of wizard apprentices who, in lieu of study and hard work, “skip their training for a quick path to the Nine Parchments.” This in turn sees them mishandle all sorts of powerful sorcery and spells, and sets the stage for some chaotic co-operative fare. Which looks something like this:

“As the wannabe wizards rapidly discover powerful new spells and ignore all safety aspects, it's only natural that their hasty progress results in lots of unwanted deaths,” reads the game’s official site which, judging from the above, seems about spot on. You’ll also notice the vibrant colour scheme looks more in-line with the likes of Trine, as opposed to the studio’s most recent work.

Nine Parchments isn't due until some point in 2017, so says its Steam page, however will support up to four players in online and local co-op when it does. It'll also mirror a roguelike in structural terms, and will pit players against randomly generated baddies as they rely on a mix of melee attacks; as well as fire, ice, life, death, and electric magic.

Frozenbyte is also showcasing a playable demo at Gamescom this week—if you’re able to make it along, be sure to report back and let us know how you got on.