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Balan Wonderworld reveals a March 2021 release date and co-op gameplay

The latest Nintendo Direct Mini showed off a number of new details for Balan Wonderworld, including co-op gameplay and a March 2021 launch date.

TJ Denzer

September 17, 2020 11:47 AM

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Balan Wonderworld is looking interesting to say the least. A collaborative effort between Square Enix and the creative mind of former Sega veteran Yuji Naka, Balan Wonderworld brings players into a theatrical world of imagination and power. We got a new look at the game recently, and this time it showed off new details such as co-op gameplay. We also got an official release date in Spring 2021.

The latest reveal of Balan Wonderworld appeared during the Nintendo Direct Mini: Partner Showcase presentation on September 17, 2020. There was some retreading of things we’d seen when the game was first introduced during the Xbox Series X Games Showcase, such as the inclusion of 80 costumes with unique abilities attached to each one. But there was some interesting new details as well. For one, the game got a launch date of March 26, 2021 for Switch, PlayStation consoles, Xbox consoles, and PC. For two, we got the reveal of co-op gameplay that will us to team up with a friend and combine abilities across the game’s many levels.

Ever since we learned this was a product of former Sega programmer Yuji Naka, it has made perfect sense. Balan Wonderworld’s artistic design has a definite style about it that reminds of Nights into Dreams from the Sega Saturn, on which Naka played a major role as a programmer and producer. That combined with the talents of the devs at Square Enix has us believing Balan Wonderworld will be a wonderful and lighthearted platforming adventure. The inclusion of the many costumes and abilities attached them also sounds like it will make for some fun exploration.

With Balan Wonderworld set for a launch on March 26, 2021, it’s looking like a fun time ahead. Stay tuned for further details on co-op, costumes, abilities, and more as we get closer to the launch of the game next year.

TJ Denzer

Senior News Editor

TJ Denzer is a player and writer with a passion for games that has dominated a lifetime. He found his way to the Shacknews roster in late 2019 and has worked his way to Senior News Editor since. Between news coverage, he also aides notably in livestream projects like the indie game-focused Indie-licious, the Shacknews Stimulus Games, and the Shacknews Dump. You can reach him at tj.denzer@shacknews.com and also find him on Twitter @JohnnyChugs.