Headlander just might be the most appropriately named game in recent memory. Players play as a floating head-in-a-helmet in a 70s sci-fi inspired dystopia where all of humanity has transferred their minds into robotic bodies.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, Headlander is about landing your head in various places, specifically landing it on the robotic bodies of others in order to solve puzzles and defeat enemies. Taking over the bodies of others grants new abilities and allows the player to access new areas of the game in what developer Double Fine has described as a 2D side-scrolling action adventure game. From robotic dogs to increasingly dangerous robotic enemies, players will have to use and abuse them all in order to progress. Expect plenty of puzzle solving, combat and jokes. Lots and lots of jokes.
It's a colorful game that is an obvious throwback to dystopian sci-fi films like Logan's Run. In that film, people only live to the age of 30 in order for the government to control the population and resources. The film follows one former enforcer of this lifestyle as he refuses to forfeit his life upon his 30th birthday.
We don't know exactly what is going on in Headlander's world, and the player-character doesn't know, either. He's been a disembodied head for as long as he can remember. Because he doesn't have lungs, he cannot speak, and so it is up to players to uncover what exactly happened to humanity in this space utopia gone wrong.
If that sounds completely bizzare, that's because it is. Gamers should expect nothing less from Double Fine, a developer that has made a name for itself over the years with quirky and hilarious titles like Psychonauts, Brutal Legend and Broken Age. You can check out the trailer below.
We don't yet know what platforms Headlander will be coming too, but the game's announcement trailer teases a 2016 release date. If you want to know more about the kind of games Double Fine makes, check out our "Reboot This" feature for Double Fine's hilarious Psychonauts.
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