Aeronautical steampunk fans who have a penchant for the wacky and have extreme patience when everyone else is playing the Gunner class, I am excited to share Muse’s update on their Guns of Icarus Adventure Mode written by Mr. Howard Tsao.

For those of you who backed the kickstarter some several moons ago, please join me in continuing to roll about in out mad loot because Muse hasn’t decided when they want to send us the next installment. Maybe they’re just worried we’ll never go outside again.

“A lot of people have asked us about release, and right now we’re not committing to a release date or schedule yet. -we need to get the game to a state where we can get more meaningful feedback…”

Well, from the look of things, new assets, gameplay, and story-building (for all you lore-junkies out there), are just a few of the key elements involved in bringing us strategic, vertical warfare, so let’s get into it, shall we?

Assets and art are always important, especially when flying drunk and grinding up against every other ship in a five mile radius. You really need to pay attention to the minute details including how much your ship looks like the Hindenburg right before going into battle, and those cute little potted plants dotting the deck which my friends and I have decided are illegal drugs.

Guns of Icarus has always looked comical and stylistic in appearance. It reminds me of a graphic novel (Muse, get on this) in the same way Borderlands or Tell Tale Games cell-shade their models, and in the spirit of maintaining a light-hearted attitude in the face of imminent death, I can only applaud their accentuations and extensions on graphic design. The character models could easily fit into a PG-13 cartoon, but I must note that each design reflects the established lore, and if GoI actually was a cartoon, each of the characters would establish that with the audacity of a Hollywood A-list.

Some minor updates to the hud as well as functionality have been implemented…

“spotting, mission objective HUD, ship speed and velocity, etc. – didn’t translate as well.” “-part of PvE development is also an audit of what we have in game and how well things fit with PvE.”

…so if you were having trouble grasping their layout before, maybe their new renditions will serve you well.

In the new installment, it appears that co-op gameplay is the sole proprietor of your efforts, however it sounds like you’ll spend more time brewing tea on the engine and enjoying a show because the AI are absolutely bonkers.

“-enemy planes would group suicide into the side of mountains and airships would spin around in circles.”

Ah yes, the old spin-to-win manoeuvre! It’s obvious, however, that those poor airplane pilots just really, really despise mountains. I jest, of course, at the prospects of perplexed AI.

“Enemy airships could perform some dogfighting maneuvers, and planes now feel much more threatening.” “The AI Director is now doing a better job measuring tension…”

Good! I needed an improvised psychiatrist! I’m excited now that I can play the role of a pigeon being bombarded by several semi-intelligent wasps. I just hope we have big enough guns to shit on their parade.

Next few things stressed by Mr. Tsao are the variations of gameplay they have so far. These are Defense, Retrieve, and Assault, all of which sound suspiciously similar to my public court hearing.

Defense is compared to a MOBA in some sense that the enemies drive lanes to attack your base, but if it’s anything like the MOBAs I’ve played, I’ll be flying with muted chat and several prescriptions to dull the pain.

Retrieve is when you accidentally knock a baseball through your neighbor’s window, but more importantly: some mercenary pirates have totally stolen some of your things and you need to get them back. Ugh! Not again!

Assault is punishable with a prison sentence, but also sounds like a beautiful amalgam of Starcraft and AoE in the sense that you’re scouting and rushing enemies in order to brutally massacre their base. Assault, it rhymes with “not my fault”.

I have no doubts that strategies will change when players first introduce themselves to the adventure challenges, but the meta game will most likely stay the same in the ways you operate as a crew and a team. If you haven’t checked out GoI Online, go do so! It’s a great game and gets even better when you play with a group of friends.

Keep an eye on Pixelpine’s website and twitter for the latest updates regarding Muse and GoI Adventure Mode, or follow the devs on their website and twitter.