It's fair to say that the world of gaming was pretty shaken up by the news that Tribute Games (Scott Pilgrim) and Dotemu (Streets of Rage 4) are teaming up to create Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder's Revenge, a spiritual successor to Konami's classic TMNT arcade machine and its sequel, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Turtles In Time.

We've now got news about another 1990s Konami arcade brawler getting an unofficial "update". Released in 1991, when Konami was licencing pretty much any animated property it could lay its hands on, Asterix took René Goscinny and Albert Uderzo's famous Gaul warriors and placed them in the same game engine as TMNT: The Arcade Game.

That meant lots of side-scrolling scrapping action with some gorgeous 2D visuals and great audio. It may not have reached the same heights as the TMNT outing – perhaps due to the fact that Asterix and his portly pal Obelix weren't as popular at the time as the all-conquering Turtles – it was still a good time, and any effort to resurrect the concept is certain to find favour here at Nintendo Life Towers.

And you know what? That's exactly what is happening, thanks to the efforts of publisher Microids and developer Mr Nutz Studio. Asterix and Obelix: Slap Them All is coming to Switch, PC, PS4 and Xbox One, in the fall of this year, and boasts some nice hand-drawn 2D artwork to go along with its "pretty straight forward" beat 'em up action.

Here's some PR:

Be prepared to prove your bravery! Asterix and Obelix: Slap them All! Is set in 50 B.C. Gaul is entirely occupied by the Romans and only one small village of indomitable Gauls still holds out against the invaders. Play as Asterix & Obelix and set sail to the most iconic places in the comic book series while battling Roman legionaries, pirates, brigands and even the dreaded Normans.

Mr Nutz Studio is in charge of developing Asterix and Obelix: Slap them All! and making this adventure as respectful to the original material as possible. The developers chose to go with an artistic direction very close to the comic book where the characters, the scenery and also the animations are hand drawn. A real tribute to the 2D animated classics and a style that will surely appeal to fans and retro gamers alike.

Unlike the magic potion, the gameplay recipe is pretty straight forward and holds no secrets. Think about the core mechanics defining the beat’em up genre and sprinkle with some local co-op! By Jupiter, by Teutates.. These Gauls are crazy!

Asterix has starred in a fair few videos games during his time – the most recent being Asterix And Obelix XXL 3 on Switch – and while they haven't always been as solid as Konami's coin-op effort, there's clearly a big audience for these characters. Let's hope that Slap Them All will be up to the standard these famous Gauls deserve.

[source microids.com, via destructoid.com]