I didn't know it, but I've been missing something since I first played Flashback (opens in new tab) all those many years ago. There's been a hole in my heart for a cyberpunk-ish sci-fi game with exquisite pixel art and music, and pretty much nothing around to fill it. STEALER (opens in new tab) should do. Its developer Winged Doom has released a trailer showcasing the style and mood of the game; it's a mockup containing no actual gameplay, but offering a glimpse of what this stunning game should look like when it's done.
As for that gameplay, the Moddb page reveals that STEALER was originally going to be a Flashback clone, but "now it's something like Sokoban, but platformer, with focusing on atmosphere and exploration." It's clear that Winged Doom hasn't quite nailed down the interactive aspect of the game, but on his blog (opens in new tab) he reveals that he's more interested in creating "living worlds".
"The only thing I can be sure [of is] that I want to create a living world. If I fail with gameplay or [I do] not justify expectations of people who saw movie and say "wow!" I'm not too upset. My main goal [is to] extract this world from [my] head to virtual reality."
Which is fair enough. Some of my favourite games equate to living worlds, and STEALER's is certainly one of the more beautiful I've come across. There's no release date yet, but there's "a lot of work" left to do on the project, so it probably won't be any time soon. Winged Doom is also working on a similarly gorgeous Zelda-a-like called Journey to Hammerdale (opens in new tab) , which is currently being alpha-tested.
