An upcoming 3D platformer has us excited, and it’s not all that often you get to say that in 2023. Lightspeed Lina is a title in development that appears to promise a modern take on some old favorites, with a new coat of paint.

New footage emerged in the Screenshot Saturday hashtag which got our attention, namely some really striking footage of one of the upcoming areas known as Greygear Town, a clockwork landscape of whirring gears with an almost Cuphead-esque aesthetic, but rendered in the PBR glory of 3D graphics.

A Solo Spectacle

Lightspeed Lina looks lovely and we’d be impressed if a small studio came up with it. So the revelation floored us when we found out this was all the work of a single developer, who goes by CornflowerBlue. According to an interview with 80LV earlier this year, the dev is tackling the project solo, using open-source 3D software Blender, 3D sculpting program ZBrush, and the currently pretty controversial game engine Unity.

On that note, CornflowerBlue has clarified that the current Unity firestorm hasn’t halted Lightspeed Lina development after Twitter followers voiced their concerns about the future of the project.

Sonic With No Hedgehogs… Well, Maybe One

The gameplay itself looks pretty reminiscent of Sonic Adventure 1+2,, something plenty of players consider the peak of the 3D Sonic games.

You take the role of the titular Lina, whose boots can project holographic wheels to work like rollerblades, so it’s very 90s in more ways than one.

You skate through the levels, bouncing off jump pads and barrelling into enemies from the air. Just to rub in it, there’s even a hedgehog enemy to beat up. Think of it as revenge for Sonic 06.

Sound interesting? You can follow the development of Lightspeed Lina via CornflowerBlue’s Twitter account. A recent post hinted at a collab with Makeship, so looks like merch is on the way.

Interested in some more neat gaming news? Check out our piece on the Lies Of P DLC.