About
A Crooked Heart
Lulu and Orion, the last of the Corgis, are fighting to protect their world from Seavus, The Dark One. During a battle with his horde of evil minions, Orion was captured leaving the heartbroken Lulu to fight the battle all alone. Unable to withstand the power of his army, Lulu was left behind and presumed dead. A spark within her heart jolted Lulu back to life. Mysteriously empowered, Lulu has one last opportunity to save her true love Orion and the world they have sworn to protect. As her tumultuous quest plunges forward, Lulu will take control of the many powerful magics(relics/totems/etc.) she discovers along the way. Utilizing her newfound abilities Lulu will seek the source of her powers, face the villainous Seavus, and prove the true meaning of love. Join Lulu on her perilous journey to save Orion and destroy the dreaded Seavus, once and for all!
More information about the game is towards the end. For now lets take a look at what you’ll experience during the game, both in this initial chapter and beyond.
A Crooked Heart is not a Metroidvania.
While there may be reasons Lulu will have to go to a previous room, the purpose of the story is not based on backtracking to get a power up or further the adventure. She’s moving forward to achieve her goal and I want it to feel that way. I want the player to feel like backtracking would give Seavus too much opportunity to drain Orion and grow too powerful for her to defeat. I want there to be a sense of urgency.
Powers
Lulu will start out with nothing during the first level. After that she’ll gain the ability to throw blue Blast energy balls. Five levels in and she’ll obtain the Dash power. About three quarters through the initial chapter, Lulu will upgrade from blue Blast to red, which will give her an upper paw for the remaining nine levels.
- Her powers can only affect organic material. That means, for now, she can not blast through crates or other non organic obstacles.
Health
Lulu is kept alive through a mutation of the Seavus called Rogue. Essentially this gives the player infinite lives between checkpoints. Health will only be provided by one creature that shows up in all the levels. Rogues ability to keep her alive is measured in a typical health bar in the upper left. Lulu needs to keep Rogue nourished as it’s health is always, slowly draining. I chose this as an obstacle but not one where it makes you want to rage quit. Checkpoints will not send you back several levels. They’ll always be within the current level but strategically placed so you want to avoid dying. We’ll learn how all of this is possible in the final release. For now, the Early Access version allows the player to respawn as many times as needed to defeat the level. There are no health drops yet.
Most of the levels are fast paced and filled with lots of enemies so expect to respawn a lot.
More into on her abilities now and moving forward are in the Steam Early Access section.
Why are Lulu and Orion important to Seavus?
Fusing with the world's primary sources of food, which is the very essence of a creature, gives Seavus his strength. When Seavus began to spread, he sought only the strongest hosts to infect and absorb. Soon he discovered that out of all the creatures he absorbed, the Corgi, though small in scale, was the tremendous source of essence he desired. Seavus’ greed has brought many creatures to the brink of extinction and although Lulu and Orion were able to escape the inevitable purge and go into hiding, Seavus’ minions finally captured Orion, leaving poor Lulu behind. Sadly, his most desired Corgis were nearly gone but Seavus will stop at nothing to infect the last that remain.
How did Lulu survive?
During the capture of Orion, a small piece of Seavus became lodged in Lulu’s heart as she tried to fight them off. As the infection began to take hold, the piece of Seavus became overwhelmed by her love for Orion. As the mutation spread throughout Lulu's body it became Rogue, a self-aware entity within her, which retained elements of Seavus' power. Rogue revitalized Lulu and has given her the ability to access upgrades and powers that will help her destroy Seavus and save Orion. But what will happen to Lulu and Rogue when Seavus is destroyed?
What happens when Seavus is destroyed?
Rogue and Lulu have merged, and their fate will depend on how deep their connection develops during the story. Will her connection with Rogue be severed? If so, what does that mean? However, the story plays out it will be handled with grace and care. Fundamentally, this is a story of love.
Art Style
Designing characters that pop is always important, especially during fast paced action. The contrast in A Crooked Heart delivers on this important goal while showcasing a stylized presentation not often seen in the mainstream media.
The juxtaposition between the B&W backgrounds and the colorful characters and effects allows for a freedom to design each independently while having the opportunity to play with the aspects that unite them. The backgrounds retain a high level of detail exploring exciting imagery throughout each level. Meanwhile the colorful character and effects look clean and sharp providing players the ability to focus on the action with clarity. So much effort has been put towards providing a beautiful and fun experience. I hope every player enjoys this unique experience and falls in love with Lulu on her grand adventure.