Shenmue creator Yu Suzuki is making a new game for Apple Arcade and it’s a rail shooter entitled Air Twister. The new game will be coming to the iOS gaming service on June 24 of this year.
Developed by Suzuki’s studio YS Net, Air Twister is billed as an “endless shooter” starring a young woman named Princess Arch, who is fighting off a group of enemies invading her home planet.
It uses a swipe shooting mechanic to target and fire at enemies flying around the screen as Princess Arch soars through the skies of her planet, passing through fields of giant mushrooms or through archipelagos of floating islands.
One of the most striking things about the trailer for Air Twister is its music, which is done by Dutch New Age composer Valensia. The result in the trailer is something like what would happen if you crossed Nier Automata’s battle themes with a 70s rock opera, which is a fascinating choice for a rail shooter where everyone’s riding giant swans and giant flappy whales are dragging air balloons attached to…floating…houses? Sure!
Suzuki’s most recent work was Shenmue 3, which he unveiled in 2015, successfully Kickstartered, and released in 2019. Previously, he worked at Sega on franchises such as Virtua Fighter, OutRun, Outrigger, Virtua Cop, and of course, Shenmue. He also somewhat famously worked on Space Harrier, which Air Twister has clearly taken several cues from.
Alongside Air Twister, Apple Arcade also unveiled Cooking Mama: Cuisine! coming to Apple Arcade on June 17 from Office Create, and Frogger and the Rumbling Ruins launching June 3 from Konami.
Rebekah Valentine is a news reporter for IGN. You can find her on Twitter @duckvalentine.
