First look at Playtonic’s Project Ukulele, Kickstarter launching May

Playtonic Games held a stage event for Project Ukulele, its rebirth of the 3D platformer, at EGX Rezzed in London today.

The team at Playtonic is formed of Rare veterans who worked on the original Banjo-Kazooie, Donkey Kong Country, and other platforming classics.

Playtonic provided the first screenshots of the game’s worlds:

According to the studio, the game will feature a “whole new universe of characters,” with each capable of having their own games in the future. The game itself will be a “huge celebration” of 3D platformers. There will be collectibles, such as “Pages,” and “lots” of secrets to discover. There will be “lots” of special moves for the heroes to learn. And there will be “beautiful-themed worlds.” The Pages you collect can be used to unlock future worlds and expand current ones.

Playtonic describes these worlds as giant navigational puzzles. They promise that long after the story is finished, there will still be secrets embedded into the game that take “will take months, maybe even years” for everyone to discover.

As for things the game won’t be, Playtonic says it won’t be free-to-play, it won’t have mico-transactions or in-game ads, and there won’t be whale-hunting. Because everyone hates that.

A Kickstarter for Project Ukulele is planned for launch in May. Playtonic wants to build a relationship with the fans and spread the word. A forum is also opening on Playtonic’s official website. They want to hear what fans want from the Kickstarter, whether it be things like Amiibos, simultaneous launch on multiple platforms, which platforms, etc. Whatever it is, they’ll look at it.