Beholgar 2 Promises To bring The Barbarian Back To His 8-Bit Roots
The sequel to the 2022 retro platformer Beholgar has been announced. Beholgar 2 features a new multi-weapon system, shapeshifting mechanics, and a return to the classic C64-style aesthetic.
The market for "retro-inspired" Metroidvanias is so saturated that one could pave a road from London to Leeds with discarded pixel-art platformers.
Yet, amidst the noise, 2022's Beholgar managed to carve out a respectable niche. It was a tight, albeit brief, homage to the Commodore 64 aesthetic: brown, chunky, and largely concerned with hitting skeletons until they exploded. Now, developer Serkan Bakar has announced a direct sequel, aiming to expand on that functional foundation.
Credit: Steam
Beholgar 2 picks up twenty years after the events of the original. The titular barbarian, presumably tired of retirement, is dragged back into the fray to deal with a resurrected evil god, Kython.
According to the newly minted Steam page, the sequel retains the "modern retro" philosophy of its predecessor. We are looking at updated pixel art animations and a soundtrack by Andrea Baroni, which should please those who enjoy chiptunes with their violence.
The most notable mechanical addition appears to be a new multi-weapon system. The developer claims players can combine weapon attributes to create specific effects, adding a layer of strategy that was arguably missing from the first game’s simple hack-and-slash loop. You will also be able to shapeshift, a mechanic that rarely works as well as developers hope it will, but we remain open to being surprised.
There is no firm release date just yet. For now, the game is listed as "Coming Soon," which in indie development terms could mean anything from "next month" to "after the next ice age."
You can wishlist the game and view the initial screenshots directly on Steam.
