Rain Games has announced that its side-scrolling action platformer Knuckle Jet will launch for PC via Steam on September 1.
Created by the studio behind the Teslagrad series, Knuckle Jet combines high-speed platforming with jet-powered movement, precision action, and plenty of punching. The game is built around maintaining momentum as players blast through a variety of standalone levels filled with enemies, hazards, collectibles, and environmental challenges.
At the heart of Knuckle Jet is a movement system focused on speed and momentum. Players can use jet-powered punches and acrobatics to launch themselves through stages while smashing enemies and navigating obstacles.
The game’s movement is intentionally over-the-top, with Rain Games embracing the idea of scientifically inaccurate flight in favor of fast-paced arcade action. Players will need to maintain their momentum and use precise movements to remain in the flow of each stage.
The campaign is divided into standalone levels, with players able to explore their surroundings, interact with the environment, discover hidden rewards, and work toward completing each stage as efficiently as possible.
Knuckle Jet also features an equipment system that allows players to collect and upgrade a variety of gear. Equipment can significantly change how the game plays, giving players the opportunity to create different combinations depending on their preferred playstyle.
Players can focus on specialized builds designed for particular challenges or simply mix and match equipment to create their own approach. The system adds another layer of customization to the game’s fast-paced platforming, allowing players to experiment with different setups as they progress through Motorland.
The action takes place across Motorland, a world filled with high-rise clockwork cities, dark forests, industrial machinery, and other unusual environments.
Motorland has fallen under the control of the business partners of the power-hungry industrialist Baron Tychoon. Their plans have taken a particularly sinister turn, with an entire orphanage kidnapped and the children forced to work among the dangerous machinery operated by the villains.
Players will take on the role of Anastasia as she fights her way through Motorland, taking on the various villains responsible before eventually facing Baron Tychoon himself.
The combination of jet-powered movement, exaggerated characters, mechanical environments, and arcade-style combat gives Knuckle Jet a distinctly playful jetpunk aesthetic.
Knuckle Jet will also support multiplayer, allowing a second player to join the main campaign through local cooperative play. Players looking for some competition can instead take on their friends in the game’s Knuckleball mode, providing a separate way to put the game’s movement and combat mechanics to use against another player.
The Steam version also supports Steam Remote Play Together, giving players another option for enjoying its multiplayer features.
Rain Games’ latest project offers a colorful take on side-scrolling action platforming, combining high-speed jet-powered movement with arcade combat, equipment customization, exploration, and local multiplayer. With its emphasis on momentum and precision, Knuckle Jet could offer a particularly chaotic platforming experience when it arrives on PC next week.