螺钉与浮城 Bolt & Whalington News

[p]Published by OKJOY, our Metroidvania adventure has officially opened its first test — if you haven't gotten your playtest key yet, join our Discord to claim yours! 🐱⚙️[/p][p]🔗 Steam page (wishlist us!):[/p][p][/p][p][dynamiclink][/dynamiclink][/p][p]🎥 This time, our dev shares how we approached the design of the dual protagonists — exploring their differences and how they interact in gameplay.[/p][p]Feel free to scroll down for a detailed breakdown, or jump straight to the video link ! [/p][p][/p][h3]Follow our community to get the latest information![/h3][p]💬Discord: https://discord.gg/rteuCHaZ5C[/p][p]🔗X: https://x.com/whalington25[/p][p]🔗Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/bolt-whalington.bsky.social[/p]

[p]Haven't grabbed your test key yet? Join our Discord to secure your spot and be part of the first wave of players! 🧪🐾[/p][p]🎮 Steam page: [/p][p][/p][p][dynamiclink][/dynamiclink][/p][p]Since we first revealed the game, many players have been curious about our combat system—especially the mech fights! So today, we're dropping a raw gameplay clip of the intense showdown against the big bad... Head Chef Stinky (Mad). 🍳🤖 Watch how the mech handles in battle and get a sneak peek at the weapon system![/p][p][/p][p]And hey—if watching us get clobbered raises your blood pressure, why not jump in and show us how it's done?[/p][p]Fill out the playtest form in Discord and dive into the action starting tomorrow! 💥 You play better anyway, right?[/p]

[p]Hey everyone! Our Metroidvania game Bolt & Whalington is kicking off its very first limited playtest soon! If you want to join, hop into our Discord server to claim your test key.[/p][p][/p][p]Also, don't forget to wishlist the game on Steam—it really helps us a lot![/p][p]Thank you for the support! 💖[/p][p]🛠️ Steam page: [/p][p][/p][p][dynamiclink][/dynamiclink][/p][p]One of Bolt & Whalington's standout features is the mysterious "Setting Machine" —a machine tucked away in corners of the moving fortress. Once Bolt the cat learns how to use it, you'll be able to bend the game's logic and rewrite the rules of exploration. It's a fresh twist on how Metroidvania progression works![/p][p][/p][p]🖥️ In this new Dev Log , we're giving you a quick sneak peek of the Rule Editor in action. Watch how Bolt turns a sneaky little Clip Rat into... himself?! 👀 Check out the dev video now, and let us know your thoughts in the comments![/p][p][/p][p]See you in the skies~ 😸🛠️[/p]

Hey everyone,
I'm the developer of Bolt & Whalington, a hand-drawn, cat-powered Metroidvania from China. If this sounds like your kind of game, don't forget to wishlist us on Steam!



📅 We'll be running our first limited playtest on June 19! Want in? Join our Discord to sign up
🛒 Steam Page:

https://store.steampowered.com/app/3535270/_/
When Dual Characters Meet Metroidvania... How Do You Keep It Balanced?
Adding a second playable character—a mech—brought a whole new layer of design challenges. Mainly: how do you make both characters feel equally valuable? If one overshadows the other, the system breaks. But if they're too similar, what's the point of having both?
Here's how we approached it:

Asymmetry in Strengths
From the start, we wanted each character to feel unique in battle.
●🐾 Bolt (the cat): Nimble, fast, low damage—better suited for agile enemies.
●🛠️ The Mech: Slow, tanky, high damage—great for tougher enemies.
As players progress, upgrades help bridge the gap—Bolt gains higher attack speed, and the mech gets better battery life for more sustained action.

Abilities Unlock at Different Times
To keep things fresh, abilities don't unlock simultaneously.
For example:
●Bolt starts with a short dash.
●The mech only gains that after defeating a boss.
Even when they reach similar mobility levels, it looks different:
●Bolt glides with a wing-suit.
●The mech hovers using rocket boots.
Same idea, different flavor—players get to enjoy both styles.

Separate Health Pools = Separate Experiences
We kept their HP systems separate to emphasize their individuality and make swapping between them more strategic.
●Bolt heals by collecting crystals dropped from enemies. We even designed a "cat feeder" mechanic—crystals (like cat food!) drop into the feeder and are consumed for healing.
●The mech uses a classic repair part system—like potions. These are limited, so you'll need to return to a workshop to refill.
To tie it together, the mech uses crystals to craft weapons, keeping resource management tight and meaningful for both.

That's all for now in this dev log!
🎥 Watch the devlog video here

In the next one, I'll dive deeper into how we built synergy between the two characters without making either redundant.Thanks so much for reading. If you're curious to try the game, remember:
●Add Bolt & Whalington to your Steam wishlist
●Join our Discord to get access to the June 19 playtest!
See you in the skies~ 😸🛠️

Hey everyone!

I'm the developer of Bolt & Whalington, a Chinese indie Metroidvania about a clever cat and a battle mech exploring a floating fortress. We’ve been overwhelmed by the love from the Metroidvania community—thank you!

https://store.steampowered.com/app/3535270/_/

In this first devlog, I wanted to share how this quirky idea came to life.
As a long-time cat lover (and Howl’s Moving Castle fan), I dreamed of making a Metroidvania with a cat and a flying city. But during early development, we ran into a challenge—solo cat gameplay made it hard to design rewarding exploration.
That’s when we introduced the mech.

Inspired by Gato Roboto and Blaster Master, our dual-form system adds depth and variety:

• Use the mech to resist wind or break obstacles
  
• Switch to the cat to glide or navigate tight spaces
  
• Combine both to uncover secrets and solve traversal puzzles
  

To manage animations on our small team, we designed a mechanical arm system for the mech—one core rig, many weapon types. Players can freely mix and match gear using a simple four-direction system. No combo stress—just clean, responsive action.

We’ll share more about the dual-character combat system in the next post!

📅 Closed Beta starts June 19 – Join our Discord to sign up
🎥 Watch the devlog video here