At the recent Genesis 9 event, an annual game tournament series focused mostly on platform fighters, developers Aether Studios dropped the trailer to reveal the character of Kragg for Rivals 2. Kragg is one of the original playable characters from the game’s predecessor, Rivals of Aether, so, he wasn’t. His inclusion is necessarily a surprise, but this is the first look fans get at work.
The trailer shows a short origin story for Kragg and his people, then shows several gameplay clips in the game’s new cel-shaded 3D mode. Kragg is seen making a lot of new choices that players will have in Rivals 2, unlike Rivals of Aether. You can see Kragg use a lot of grabs and throws for combos, and even kill with a back throw after successfully shielding an opponent’s attack. You can also see him using the new “Ledge Specials”.
Rivals 2 was first revealed in April 2022 Trailer ad, and while still an all-round fighter, she immediately showed that she would deviate greatly from the original. First, Aether Studios has opted for more modern 3D models rather than the original’s classic pixel art aesthetic. Furthermore, the game added shields, handles, and edges, three gameplay mechanics traditional for the genre, as they were introduced in the original platform fighter, Smash Bros., but were actually not in the first Rivals of Aether.
Lead developer Dan Fornace explained after the reveal that they added these mechanics to make Rivals 2 more familiar to fans of the genre and also easier to pick up for newcomers. This is particularly the case for Defense, as Rivals of Aether had a timing-based parry mechanic that wasn’t easy to implement without a lot of practice. Paris still returns in Rivals 2, but now it’s a high-risk, high-reward option as well as protection.
Rivals of Aether first launched on Steam in 2017. Despite its smaller scope in terms of its character roster and general content, it was a popular title, in part because it was one of the first games in the indie space to effectively emulate the platform fighter genre. He invented the Smash Bros., with many of his own creative twists.
The Ledge and Getup specials are another addition to Rivals 2’s gameplay formula, and possibly to the platform fighter genre as a whole. Just as you can perform normal attacks and specials when standing normally, you can now perform them when rising from a ledge or getting up after a knockdown. As shown in the Kragg trailer, they are usually stronger, have more range, or have some beneficial effect, but are often slower and easier to punish.
Rivals 2 is set to launch in the year 2024, platforms are currently unknown.
