Description
Armed with Wings Rearmed is a redesigned version of Armed with Wings 1, featuring vastly improved artwork, streamlined gameplay, and additional levels. It showcases the same storyline as Armed with Wings 1, but with more in-depth cutscenes, such as in Armed with Wings 3. It is also the first game to have Daniel Sun's new model of Vandheer Lorde. Contrary to his previous design, the new Vandheer will have a longer cape (less cloak-like), a mostly-bare chest, a new sword, and a redone mask. Armed with Wings has a look much more similar to Lone Warrior from Culmination as well.
The game is currently in early access on Steam, and information can be found about it here or on the Armed with Wings website
Artwork
The screenshot above shows Rearmed from a graphics standpoint. Compared to the first game, most unnatural straight lines are made rougher, several background details are added, and also ingame gradients.
A forum post started a debate on the Sun-Studios site, where some players wished for highly detailed models, and others wanted the simple silhouettes. The detailed models won, although they will be toned down slightly. In newer models, the Lone Warrior looks similar to how he did in Culmination, but with his scarf being the only different color on his outfit.
Cutscenes
Armed with Wings Rearmed will feature cutscenes similar to Armed with Wings 3, although they will be slightly more refined. So far, there are only 2 scenes that actually cut from gameplay, but there are two others, seen when meeting Blackmist in the tutorial and when defeating the Minotaur. Beside is an image taken from a cutscene of the game. In the picture, Vandheer's new image can be seen as well.
Enemies
Two new enemies have been added at the time of this article being written, but another ninja-type enemy has been hinted by the developer. The new enemies include a plant-like skull that shoots bursts of light at the player, possibly a reference to the skulls seen in Armed with Wings 3. Also, a muscular enemy exists that will hurl exploding energy balls that bounce towards the player. Both the Soldier and Royal Guard enemies have been updated to cope with the improved abilities of the player. There is also a survival mode that utilizes the same map planned for Versus. All enemies have graphical updates.
The Minotaur boss has been made easier, in part by the new abilities of the player. He will not longer swing his weapon for as long, and also gives the player more time to act between his attacks. He only takes about five power strikes to kill, and it is easier with the limited power strike damage. There is also a health bar, which shows the player how much damage they're doing.
Abilities
New in the Armed with Wings series is the ability to dodge. This allows the Player Character to dash past enemies that he can't run by, or dodge enemy attacks. Although conventional jumping isn't available normally, dodging several times can take you into the air regardless. Daniel Sun has noted that this may modify certain puzzles.
There is also an extended combo (which can be increased further by abilities) that reflects Culmination's attack series. You can hold up or down to change the properties of the combo. Also, the score that the player earns will be put towards unlocking new weapons and perks for the player. These include increased power strike charge rate, faster movement speed, projectile attacks, and others. Weapons have different attributes: attack, defense, range, and speed, all of which are self-explanatory.
The much wanted jump has been implemented partially, used automatically when the Player Character runs off of a platform. The eagle also has been redone, having the look from Armed with Wings 3 and new items to handle. Lastly, Vandheer is a playable character in the game, with a new, unique moveset.
Similar to in Culmination, the Lone Warrior is able to attack in two different ways: normal attacks and power attacks. These can be used to chain together different combos and even different power slashes. This makes combat much more dynamic and allows for innovative playstyles for each player.
PAX Australia 2015
Armed with Wings Rearmed was showcased at PAX Australia 2015. For more on this event, see this blog post.