Devs behind beloved color-matching puzzler Grindstone and top-down soulslike Below reveal the spiritual successor to their beloved 15-year-old Nintendo DS game
Jun. 8, 2024Battle Vision Network has all the color-matching combos you might expect
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Capybara Games has long been one of my favorite indie studios, but I didn’t expect the team’s next game to be throwing it back to a 15-year-old Nintendo DS cult classic.
Capybara stole my heart with the time-rewinding shooter Super Time Force, the suffocatingly oppressive top-down soulslike Below, and the color-matching puzzler Grindstone, which became an instant hit on Apple Arcade thanks to its moreish loop and high-octane animation. The studio is now turning its gaze to Battle Vision Network, a spiritual successor to Might & Magic: Clash of Heroes, a game that first came out on the DS in 2009 before migrating to other platforms.
Echoing Grindstone’s match-thirty-three energy, Battle Vision Network pits two players against each other in turn-based combat, as you both aim to deal damage using color-matched formations. Matching units vertically will attack, while horizontal formations will defend, and new unlockable units might open up further possibilities.
Capybara is also experimenting with telling a live service story this time around. Battle Vision Network is set inside an ongoing, televised space sports show. Players choose between different teams before a battle, each with their own unique traits and home planets. At the end of an in-game season, Capy will supposedly tally up each team’s results to decide what happens next in the narrative. Think Helldivers 2’s galactic war, but competitive.
While we wait, check outeverything that was announced at Summer Game Fest.
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Kaan freelances for various websites including Rock Paper Shotgun, Eurogamer, and this one, Gamesradar. He particularly enjoys writing about spooky indies, throwback RPGs, and anything that’s vaguely silly. Also has an English Literature and Film Studies degree that he’ll soon forget.
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