Austrian indie developer Broken Rules was relieved to finally be able to reveal that their latest game, Chasing Aurora, will be released first on the Wii U.  Although the 2D game has been in development and somewhat public for a while, its home on the Wii U was kept secret until now.  The game will use the Wii U GamePad and not the just-announced Pro Controller, which leaves open questions about how the GamePad will be put to use.  The only feature specific to the Wii U that the developers have revealed so far is that one of the game modes will be asynchronous multiplayer and take advantage of "the unique features of the Wii U GamePad."

If you haven't checked out Chasing Aurora yet, it is a 2D game that revolves around flight.  Despite being limited to a flat plane, it touts an "open world" in which you fly through single player missions, racing sessions, and multiplayer versus battles.  The game has an interesting origami style that contrasts well with its setting in the Alps and a soundtrack that fits the Alpine region. The trailer embedded at the end of this article will give you a good feel for the game.

Although the developer is pretty jazzed about Chasing Aurora being released first on the Wii U, their website also hints around that the game will eventually make it to other platforms.  This shouldn't be a big surprise since their last game - And Yet It Moves - was released on WiiWare as well as PC, Mac, Linus, and iPad.  We look forward to learning more about Chasing Aurora and its use of the Wii U's capabilities as we get closer to the release timeframe of "late 2012." 

Chasing Aurora to launch on Wii U™

VIENNA, Austria – May 31, 2012 – Broken Rules announced the Nintendo Wii U™ eShop as the official launch platform of their game Chasing Aurora today. This highly anticipated indie game is scheduled to be released in late 2012. Chasing Aurora is an aerial action game that is set in the thin air of the Alps. It is a 2D open world action game featuring physics-based flight and air combat. The game has been nominated at the A MAZE Indie Games Award 2012 and was first shown to the public at LunarCade Shanghai.

Confirmed key features of the game include:

- Unique physics-based flight inspired by the age-old dream of human aviation.

- A fresh and mysterious world to explore.

- Outstanding 2D vector- and pixel-based art style right in the middle between origami and pop-up book.

- Challenging creature AI and spectacular physics- and frame-based animation.

- Original soundtrack performed on Alpine instruments and composed by Christof Dienz.

- A story-based single player campaign told without words.

- At least 4 different multiplayer game modes, some of them asymmetricand specifically built around the unique features of the Wii U™ GamePad.

More features, other platforms and new killer content will be announced once they are developed far enough to talk about them. There is no ESRB rating yet. Stay up to date by following @BrokenRules and @Chasing_Aurora on Twitter.

About Broken Rules

Broken Rules is an independent game studio based in Vienna, Austria. Broken Rules makes downloadable games with refined game mechanics. The studio’s first release, And Yet It Moves, was a commercial and critical success. The title went on to win awards in game design competitions (Student Showcase winner at Independent Games Festival 2007, Nominee at IndieCade 2008) and garner industry-wide recognition, which led the team to expand the property to the Wii. The WiiWare release of the game currently ranks up 83% on Metacritic.

To learn more about Broken Rules, visit http://brokenrul.es/presskit

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