
Sumo Digital has announced Pass The Punch, a 2D beat ’em up coming to PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Switch, and PC in late 2019.
“Pass The Punch started off as my submission to a Sumo game jam,” said creator David Dino in a press release. “It calls back to some of my favorite beat ‘em ups, fighting games, and animated series. I’m thrilled that Sumo decided to make it into a full game!”
Sumo Digital managing director Gary Dunn added, “We have an enormous amount of creative talent in each of our seven studios and encourage every member of staff to take part in our game jams. David’s submission stood out for its ‘easy to learn, hard to master’ gameplay and follows in the footsteps of Snake Pass as a game jam concept that became a published product. It’s exciting and rewarding to see our teams’ imaginations deliver unique IP like this!”
Here is an overview of the game, via Sumo Digital:
Developed by Sumo’s Nottingham and Pune studios, the game is set in a world influenced by 80s and 90s Saturday morning cartoons. Pass The Punch follows the story of Rush, a resident of New Atlas, as she fights the dastardly villains King Crab and Red Velvet, who are hell-bent turning Rush’s favourite hangouts into lifeless, corporate franchises. It’s up to Rush and her three friends to claim back their city for the people!
The residents of New Atlas can transform into powerful beings with abilities based on their everyday lives. Rush is a gym owner who transforms into a lightspeed boxing champion and her buddy Claud is a LARPer whose foam sword grants the ability to turn into a badass berserker. Players can choose to fight as Rush, Claud, Beetle or Wizard to battle hyper-aggressive hot sauce bottles, disco-dancing mirror balls and over-affectionate ice-cream cones to name but a few of King Crab and Red Velvet’s minions.
Learn the moves and combos of each fighter, play solo with an AI sidekick, or in two-player local co-op. Find depth in the unique ways each character’s attacks compliment the others and “pass the punch” to create a unique ultimate attack, which changes based on which characters combine their powers. With so many punches to pass, high scores to hit, hoops to shoot, secrets to discover and extra content to unlock, Pass The Punch will keep players busy until they are TKO’d.
View the first screenshots at the gallery.