ByteRockers Games and btf have announced that their 2D hand-drawn metroidvania Constance is in development for Nintendo Switch.
The game deals with themes of mental health, creativity, art, passion and work culture, centring on its name-giving protagonist, Constance, who finds herself imprisoned by her inner demons within her subconscious one day.
You must help Constance to face her demons and fears, overcome her mental blocks along with increasing her acceptance and awareness, so that she can develop the strength and balance to leave her inner prison behind.
The developer has looked to create a unique visual style, through detailed hand-drawn environments and frame-by-frame character animations to “lend the game world a deep and lively atmosphere.”
The publisher has outlined the game’s key features, which include:
- Become Paint: Utilise paint-based mechanics to experience a constant state of flow – dive into the ground and walls, slice through the air and enemies!
- Wield Your Brush: Become stronger by unlocking new techniques with your brush that aid you in defeating threatening foes, overcoming platform challenges, solving complex puzzles and advancing your progress.
- Discover Yourself: Explore more than six unique biomes, countless secrets, multiple paths, characters, side quests and collectibles in Constance’s non-linear interconnected inner-world!
- Strive For Balance: Using your brush techniques will corrupt your paint. If you become fully corrupted, negative effects await you, so be wary!
- Get Inspired: Use inspirations that you find on your travels to sketch in your journal. Your sketches enhance and customise Constance’s capabilities. By gathering materials, you can upgrade your sketches into even stronger artworks.
- Choice In Death: Upon death, choose how to continue your journey. Do you want to persevere through the challenge, for a price? Or do you return to a safe point and explore other unbeaten paths?
- Rich Imagined World: The inner-world is strongly connected to Constance’s mental health journey, with each biome and its unique set of enemies and characters representing different aspects of her psyche and personal history.
- Interactive Backstory: Experience playable flashbacks about personal struggle, creativity, work-life balance, and inner purpose. Step into Constance’s socks to uncover her past!
Constance will be released digitally on the Nintendo eShop for Nintendo Switch worldwide in 2026.
