Killer Queen (video game)
Killer Queen | |
---|---|
Developer(s) | BumbleBear Games |
Publisher(s) | BumbleBear Games |
Designer(s) | Joshua DeBonis & Nikita Mikros |
Engine | Unity |
Platform(s) | |
Release |
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Genre(s) | Real-time strategy, platform |
Mode(s) | Multiplayer |
Killer Queen is a real-time strategy platform video game for up to ten players, developed by Josh DeBonis and Nikita Mikros, the co-founders of BumbleBear Games. It premiered in 2013 at New York University's fourth annual "No Quarter" exhibition for indie arcade games.[1] A new game inspired by Killer Queen, called Killer Queen Black was released in 2019 on Microsoft Windows and Nintendo Switch, on February 22, 2021 for Xbox One and a month later on March 30, 2021 for Google Stadia.
The game is based on a physical game created by the same people.[1] The game is designed to be played arcade-style by ten players in two teams of five.[2] Two teams, each led by a powerful Queen, face off to be the first to bring the giant snail god home, fill their hive with berries, or execute a triple assassination of the enemy Queen.
Gameplay[]
Killer Queen is a team-based competitive game for up to ten players (eight players in the Black version). The two teams, Blue and Gold, consist of up to five (four in the Black version) players each, with one player playing as a Queen while the other players play as Drones. Drones can pick up berries found in the arena and take them to transformation gates. Gates start off unclaimed, but can be turned one team's color by a Queen. Depending on the gate, these transform a Drone into either a Speed Drone, who can move around faster, or a Warrior, who can fly and attack with a sword (or various other weapons in the Black version). Once transformed, however, Warriors lose abilities unique to Drones, such as picking up/carrying berries and riding the snail. Drones will respawn infinitely when killed, but each team's Queen only has three lives, represented by eggs in their hives.
The game features three victory conditions that teams must be cautious of: Military, Economic, and Snail. A Military Victory is achieved when the opposing team's Queen is killed three times by attacks from either the Queen or Warriors. An Economic Victory is achieved by using Drones to collect berries and place them in all the holes in their team's hive. Finally, a Snail Victory is achieved by using a Drone to ride a slow-moving snail into their team's goal. The snail will stop briefly to eat enemy Drones, but can move more quickly when ridden by a Speed Drone.
Killer Queen Black[]
A home release of the game, Killer Queen Black, was announced for Nintendo Switch and Microsoft Windows at E3 2018 on June 12, 2018. The game features eight players instead of ten, with a different art style and online multiplayer, along with additional weapons and movesets. The game was released on October 11, 2019,[3][4] and was released on Xbox One and Xbox Game Pass on February 22, 2021.[5] It was released on Google Stadia on March 30, 2021 and on Amazon Luna on June 17, 2021.
The game won the award for "Game, Original Sports" at the 2020 NAVGTR Awards.[6]
References[]
- ^ a b Blattberg, Eric (August 29, 2013). "Killer Queen: Half Joust, half StarCraft and one giant snail". Polygon. Retrieved June 16, 2014.
- ^ Plafke, James (February 18, 2014). "10-player arcade game Killer Queen conquers IndieCade 2014". Geek.com. Archived from the original on March 6, 2014. Retrieved June 16, 2014.
- ^ Sarkar, Samit (June 12, 2018). "Killer Queen Black announced for Nintendo Switch and PC". Polygon. Archived from the original on June 12, 2018. Retrieved June 12, 2018.
- ^ Romano, Sal (February 7, 2019). "Killer Queen Black delayed to Q3 2019". Gematsu. Retrieved February 8, 2019.
- ^ "Killer Queen Black Gets a Physical Release on Xbox One, Switch". Niche Gamer. May 28, 2019. Retrieved August 21, 2020.
- ^ "2019 Winners". National Academy of Video Game Trade Reviewers. February 24, 2020. Retrieved February 25, 2020.
Further reading[]
- Frushtick, Russ (October 10, 2014). "Dynamite With a Laser Beam". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331.
External links[]
- 2013 video games
- Indie video games
- Arcade video games
- MacOS games
- Real-time strategy video games
- Nintendo Switch games
- Windows games
- Platform games
- Video game remakes
- Video games developed in the United States
- Multiplayer video games
- Xbox Cloud Gaming games
- Xbox One games