After over five years of waiting, fans of theFreedom Planetseries will finally get to see it continue this year, as developer GalaxyTrail has finally revealed when the next entry will launch. Taking place three years after the first game, the story will be a direct continuation.
Freedom Planetstarted life as aSonic the Hedgehogfangame before spinning out into its own series and universe, forming its own gameplay identity in the process. The mainline games are platformers with a focus on fast combat and even faster movement.
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Freedom Planet 2has been in the works for a long time. It was firstshown on Steam Greenlightin 2017 and quickly set a record for the fastest Greenlit project at the time, but the release date kept being pushed back as the game’s scope grew. After many years, patient fans were finally rewarded with the news thatFreedom Planet 2will launch for PC and other platforms on May 19, 2025.
The post from GalaxyTrail lays out the reason why release was pushed back from its earlier estimation of spring 2022, citing testing and certification for console ports and the lead developer unfortunately suffering a hand injury. The change in release date will leave more time to recover as the rest of the team continues finishing the project. TheoriginalFreedom Planetwas well-receivedaround its release in 2014, and since then it has amassed a dedicated fan following. As such,Freedom Planet 2has a lot to live up to, but the playable demo that is currently available shows a lot of potential.
To differentiate itself from its inspirations,Freedom Planet 2brings changes to character designs. The characters in the original game, while differentiated, are still somewhatSonic-like given its origins as a fangame. The sequel takes on its own style and uses higher-resolution sprites to create more detailed characters and separate itself from the heavilyGenesis-inspired style of its predecessor. The Unity engine allowing for new features like dynamic zoom give the game even more of its own style, cementingFreedom Planet 2as a modernized, improved take on the original’s concepts.
Thanks to the initial game’s success,Freedom Planetcharacters have shown up in other indie games as crossovers; lead character Sash Lilac has appeared in several gamesincludingA Hat in Time,Runbow, andIndie Pogo.Freedom Planetcharacters have managed to expand past their own games and may continue to do so in the future.
Freedom Planet 2will release on September 13 for PC and consoles.
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