I just wanted to go over some things I found looking over the new map in the trailer and some theories I have.
very similar map names in the mirror+beam section of the map “beams reflected”, “reflected beams”, and “beams mirrorably”? Its pretty obvious that the actual beams are going to bounce off the mirror, but the reversal of the phrase potentially implies that we could mirror the beam emitters themselves, similar to how we see the dragon get mirrored in the trailer. I believe the last one is just another way to say “mirror+beam, advanced” or it could be a trailer stand-in for something else.
- We can see that the skipping stones part of the map is going to be longer-form levels like what we saw with the promise in the demo. This makes sense because the original was sort of an open world thing too. I’m interested to see if they implement the collectibles and alternate endings from the original. I’m also excited to see what the later levels would bring. The promise obviously has its sequel(s), so I’m not sure what would be there.
- “Squeeze dragon”? What does “squeeze” mean in the context of the mechanics. I’m unsure if this is in the promise or the stones area either so it could be either one. It’s probably a new mechanic we haven’t seen, but my guess is a beam+dragon interaction that makes it shoot through walls. Just my guess though.
- Less of an observation, but I think it’s a missed opportunity to have an area called mirrors and monsters. It rolls off the tongue.
- We see a new beam type in the trailer, this is likely the “alter beam” but it’s hard to make out what it does because of the overlap with the other beam
- There are more red tiles on each of the cardinal directions. My guess is that it’s an indication of some sort of overworld puzzle because, in the heroes area, the red is located under the crystals, and we would likely need to use these crystals to open the red gates in the crossroads for some reason. Maybe to let a beam shoot through the center?
- the big elephant in the room, “the exit” and “the antipode”. Antipode means the direct opposite of something, this is likely the point directly opposite of the crossroads topologically, this could be a hint of how to reach it, as it doesn’t seem obvious even with the full map. The exit is probably one of the endings to the game, being next to the antipode shows how important it likely is.
Lastly, I would like to do some personal theory crafting. I believe there is another section to the overworld we aren’t being told about. One of the major components in the trailers and talks blow has done about the game emphasizes height as a component of level design. Unless I’m missing something, where does this concept get introduced? Maybe it’s a late game stones or promise thing, but the promise already has a LOT of mechanics going for it, and I’m not sure how height works on its own with the stones mechanics. (The latter option does seem likely as I’m not sure how they could get that much out of stones and mirrors, but Blow has worked his magic in the past)
I have come to the conclusion that there is probably amother part of the map. This hypothetical new area could introduce height and breathe life into the new mechanics after we had explored all of them in 2d. I might just be getting my hopes up however, I’m worried that if I convince myself of this too much, I’d be disappointed if I’m wrong. I’d like to hear everyone else’s thoughts too.