Rail Shooter 'Wild Blue Skies' Gets August 13 Release Date
A former Nintendo developer who worked on the original 'Star Fox' is leading a spiritual successor to the rail shooter genre, releasing just weeks after Nintendo's own new 'Star Fox' title.
Reporting from 3 sources: Automaton, Denfaminicogamer, Game Spark.
Publisher Balor Games announced on June 2 that Chuhai Labs' rail shooter 'Wild Blue Skies' will launch on August 13. The game will be available on Steam, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S, with full Japanese voice support. Players control Bowie Stray, a dog and leader of the Blue Bombers, as they fly through anime-style environments including oceans, deserts, and caves to battle the hostile force Grimm Law. The Blue Bombers crew includes Mejika Low White Tail, a strict fighter; Thorn Prickle, an overconfident rookie lizard; and Chuck Barbacoa, the oldest and fatherly bull. Chuhai Labs is a Kyoto-based independent studio founded by Giles Goddard, a former Nintendo programmer who worked on 'Star Fox' and 'Super Mario 64'. The game is described as a modern reconstruction of 90s rail shooters. Due to time zone differences, the release date falls on August 14 in Japan. The game features mission route branching and a scoring system to encourage replayability.
Chuhai Labs is a brand of VITEI Backroom, a Kyoto-based studio that previously released the 2D golf adventure "Cursed to Golf." Studio head Giles Goddard worked as a programmer on the Super Famicom titles "Star Fox" and "Super Mario 64." The official website calls the game a "modern reconstruction of 90s rail shooting," making it a project from a former member of the Star Fox team.
Nintendo is scheduled to release a new "Star Fox" game on June 25. The Automaton article notes this timing may be unexpected for Chuhai Labs but says both titles are expected to deliver different experiences. The same outlet tested a demo and found the controls simple in concept, involving multiple types of shooting, movement, and dodge rolls, but distinguishing between aiming and shooting was "unexpectedly difficult" and took time to get used to.
During missions, the Blue Bombers crew engage in lively banter and sometimes assist the player. The game features mission route branching and a scoring system to encourage replayability.
Synthesized by Yomimono from the 3 cited sources below, including Japanese-language reporting where cited, then editorially reviewed before publishing.