I love an everything seasoning video game. You know, the kind of game where it’s five different genres at once, somehow, all of which builds into one cohesive vision? It’s not an easy thing to pull off, but Daniel Mullins seems to be quite good at it, as evidenced by Inscryption, and as suggested by the upcoming Pony Island 2: Panda Circus. Which, by the way, now has a playtest you can sign up for.
A new trailer for Pony Island 2: Panda Circus dropped during the latest Triple-i Initiative, showing off more of the game and its genre-bending ways in action. You can check that out below for a taste. The trailer’s main purpose was to inform you of that aforementioned playtest; signing up is easy, all you have to do is head to the puzzle horror’s Steam page and mark yourself as interested in the playtest. Not sure if there’s guaranteed entry for everyone that signs up, but hey ho, clicking a couple of buttons won’t harm you (I cannot be held responsible if clicking a couple of buttons does harm you).
If that doesn’t work, there’s some other good news: the original Pony Island is available to pick up on Steam completely for free! All you have to do is add it to your account before October 12th, and it’s yours forever. Certainly a clever way to get folks interested in a sequel to a game that’s over 10 years old (and a way to get people to play said game at all, too). The original Pony Island is certainly a bit simpler than its impending followup, but hey, old ain’t bad!
Panda Circus does look a touch more involved. There is some of that pony riding sidescrolling business going on, but there’s also some kind of 3D world to explore where you shoot a bow and arrow, a bullet heaven-esque looking element, some kind of borderline dungeon crawlery/Inscryptiony looking bit with bears asking if you slept at all, minigames including one where you have to make clowns stand up, a Pac-Man rip-off, FMV cutscenes, the list goes on! And if any of this is of interest, even if you don’t make it into the playtest, you don’t have too long to wait, as the game is due out April 27th, 2027.