[PAX East 14] Lovers in a Dangerous Spacetime Preview: Those Who Platform Together Stay Together

What is love? Developers Asteroid Base are hoping the simple platforming and cooperative spaceship piloting in Lovers in a Dangerous Space is the answer. If the demo being shown at PAX East is any indication, Asteroid Base is making it rather easy to commit.

Bathed in pastel and neon, Lovers in a Dangerous Spacetime follows the exploits of a couple adventuring through space in their collaborative spaceship. Players have to navigate the narrow halls of the spaceship, jumping or sliding down ladders to get to one of the many control modules that are scattered about the ship. These modules allow players to control different parts of the ship like a gun turret, shield or the ship’s engine. Working together, partners have to decide which aspects of the ship to have running at any given time. One player might need to be operating the engines to get the ship out of a sticky situation, while the other utilizes a turret to blaze a trail through asteroids and enemies.

In the demo shown on the show floor, players were taxed with saving several bunnies from the clutches of enemy combatants to open a portal into the next level. Rabbits scattered the stage in several forms of peril. One of the more interesting situations found players battling forces around a small planet. Players had to deal with the planet’s gravitational field pulling them towards it while also dealing with the forces attacking from the planet and those responding to the situation. Attendees were also able to play one of the games bosses, who was based off the star constellation URSA Major.

Gameplay is fast, but not impossible to pick up. After stumbling over each other and not communicating, my partner and I were able to pick up which modules we were best at piloting and talk about what needed to be done when a large group of enemies headed our way. The game certainly has a learning curve and it might take new players awhile to get a hang of what is going on, but we will have to wait and see on its release how it ramps up its difficulty.

Lovers in a Dangerous Spacetime is still a ways off, but the game will eventually find its way on to the PC with local co-op in tow.