Alien Hominid's origins date back to 2002 when its original incarnation was first uploaded to Flash animation mecca Newgrounds. It was co-developed by the site's founder, Tom Fulp, and artist Dan Paladin, who together would soon form The Behemoth, a bona fide game development company born out of their oh-so-early-2000s Flash game experiment. Two years later, a bigger and better Alien Hominid was released for the PS2 and GameCube. Whereas the first, free version of the game contained just one level, the console re-release was expanded to 16 levels and included unlockable items and new music, in addition to plenty of other improvements.
Now, a fully grown adult's worth of years later, Alien Hominid is coming to the Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, and PC as Alien Hominid Invasion. This new version will be a "re-imagining" of the 2004 title, stretching even further the legacy of Fulp and Paladin's humble Flash game. A gameplay video just released online showcases some of the changes coming to the new edition.
Most immediately prominent in the trailer is the game's graphical overhaul. Gone are the titular alien's human-looking arms and legs—its redesigned look has small, perfunctory limbs that contrast to its large head. In essence, the alien got a lot cuter. A number of new appearance options for the player-controlled alien too have been added. Plus, the animation just looks smoother when compared to that of its predecessor.
Other features include co-op that supports up to four players, either on a shared console or online; randomly-generated levels; non-linear story progression; "mutations" for the alien that give it new powers and abilities; and full, animated cut scenes. The extent to which "re-imagining," as the game has been described by its developers, means either a souped-up remake or an entirely new game starring the same protagonist has yet to be made clear.
The Behemoth has yet to announce a release date for Alien Hominid Invasion, choosing instead to simply state that it will "eventually" be released on the Switch and Xbox, and on Steam. For now, attendees at PAX East will be able to try out the first publicly-playable version of the game.
Source: Nintendo Life