Crashlands 2 crashes into the PC Gaming Show: 'It's very Crashlandsy,' says dev
It's been close to eight years since the release of Crashlands, a top-down action-exploration-crafting game about an interstellar truck driver who crash-lands on an alien planet, where she makes friends (and enemies), builds stuff, and sets things right in the world, all in a relentless quest to get back to work. That means the time is just about right for Crashlands 2, which is also a game about an interstellar truck driver who crash-lands on an alien planet and all the rest of it—the same trucker wrecking it on the same planet, in fact. Can you believe this could happen twice?
At first glance, Crashlands 2 looks quite a lot like its predecessor, tarted up with sharper, flashier graphics. But Sam Coster of developer Butterscotch Shenanigans said there's quite a lot more to it than might be immediately apparent. The biggest change is that the entire Crashlands 2 game world is «hand-built,» rather than relying on procedural systems, which Coster said is enabling the studio to deliver «a bigger experience with more exploration, more rewarding character relationships, and more surprising depth.»
Interactions with characters have also been expanded for the new game. Rather than serving as either quest-givers or cannon fodder, some NPCs in Crashlands 2 are just looking for a pal: You'll be able to make friends, hang out, invite them to stay over, and learn some handy crafting tips from them. Of course, crafting remains central to the game, and for those who aren't in the friend-making mindset, there's plenty of slapping to be done too.
«We think of sequels as opportunities to get closer to the spirit of a game, rather than just duplicate or extend the original design,» Coster said. «As such, I'd say that fans of the original
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