by A new entry in the long-running platforming series N is coming to PC and consoles, including Switch 2, next year.
Announced at Day of the Devs as part of Summer Game Fest, N Plus Infinity Times Two has a focus on party play across a variety of scenarios.
Expect five multiplayer modes, including Races - essentially a 2D version of Fall Guys, developer Metanet says - Team Tag, and One-Up, where players are eliminated if they fail to complete levels faster than their rivals. Here's the full rundown from the press release:
- Trials and Co-op: N PLUS INFINITY TIMES TWO will still have the staples of the N franchise with the return of Trials, a reworking of the solo & hardcore modes of previous N games, and Co-op, along with a remixed version of Racing (lovingly referred to as Rocket Murder Time) as well as two other brand-new competitive game modes that will test friendships in some of the platforming’s most pulse-pounding action: One-Up and Team Tag.
- Races in N PLUS INFINITY TIMES TWO keep up the blazing fast action fans will remember from past games, pushing up to four players to reach the exit of a level as quickly as possible, collecting gold along the way to boost their score, with one distinctive change. It's not unlike a faster, sleeker version of Fall Guys, except when you reach the finish line you can blast a bazooka to blow your opponents back to the starting line.
- One-Up, N PLUS INFINITY TIMES TWO’s first new game mode, pushes players to constantly perform better in fast-paced push-your-luck elimination contests. Get the most gold and reach the exit faster than someone else, and you’ll stay in the game. One trip up spells the end though, leaving you waiting for the next round.
- Team Tag introduces the crown jewel of N PLUS INFINITY TIMES TWO as teams of two think cooperatively and coordinate strategically to hunt each other down. Ninjas must evade Hunters while collecting gold to raise their score, with each team switching roles between rounds to see who can earn the most and survive the longest. A deceptively simple concept, Team Tag quickly becomes a fast-paced game of chess as each team tries to outmaneuver the other.
Everything can be played locally, or through online multiplayer with other platforms through cross-platform play.
Single player challenges will also be available, as well as the return of a built-in level editor (with online sharing) and a vast electronic soundtrack spanning 50 artists, this time focused on UK garage and its subgenres.
The first N was a Flash game in 2004, with the series making the jump to consoles through Xbox Live Arcade in 2008 with N+. The most recent entry, 2015’s N++, eventually made its way to Nintendo Switch, securing a 8/10 in Nintendo Life's review thanks to “bags of levels and increasing difficulty” that keeps things “refreshing for hours and days on end”.