Hello, PlayStation.Blog readers! I’m delighted to announce Surge Deluxe for PS Vita!

Surge was originally released on PlayStation Mobile and was well received by press and gamers, who took to the leaderboards (and NeoGAF) to show off their skills.

Surge Deluxe is FuturLab’s response to feedback received from top players on those leaderboards (and from the NeoGAF community). They demonstrated a deep understanding and appreciation for Surge that was way beyond anything we could have anticipated!

If you’re new to Surge, check out this trailer for the original game. The simple, block-chaining and screen clearing mechanics gradually reveal their tactical depth as special blocks get added to the mix. Advanced players won’t just vent pressure to stay in the game, they’ll utilize the vents at critical times to multiply their scores and create massive clearance combos.

So what can you expect from Surge Deluxe?

New Combiner Block

Our research has shown that Multiplier blocks are the most sought after for achieving big scores, but they rarely dropped in the right color or at the right time. We’ve removed the color requirement on the Multiplier block now and added a new Combiner block that allows players to create their own Multipliers. If you’re quick and careful enough you can create 5x, 6x, 7x and higher multipliers for use in strategic play!

New Chain Linker Block

The Chain Linker block allows you to connect different colored chains together. Simply connect a chain of blocks to the Chain Linker, and then connect to any other colored block to create a bridge between colors!

The whole chain is converted to the same color so you can use as many of these blocks as you can find to create MASSIVE chains!

Surge Deluxe 100% Color Blind Friendly

I’m color blind and acutely aware of the frustration that comes from trying to discern and match colors in games like Surge. FuturLab received a whole host of requests for a color blind-friendly version of the game, and with Surge Deluxe we’ll deliver just that.

Now each color is represented by a shape, and we’ve made sure that you only have to glance at two blocks to know whether they are a match or not. I’ll have to find another excuse for being beaten on the leaderboards…

Scoring System Reworked

When Surge was created, a score of around 4 million points was the highest FuturLab had achieved internally. When released to the public, the 10 million mark was broken within days.

The posts on NeoGAF from players competing for the top spot changed from talk about tactics and maximizing scores, to discussing the restrictive scoring system. Their feedback was enormously helpful, and we’ve used it to improve gameplay. The scoring system in Surge Deluxe has been redesigned to reward better players, increase the score spread, and remove any grinding. So thanks NeoGAF, this one is for you!

PSN Trophies and Leaderboards

Of course!

We are aiming to launch Surge Deluxe in 2014. You can keep up to date with FuturLab by signing up to the website newsletter, or by following @FuturLab on Twitter.

Thanks!