Crossy Road put Australian independent studio Hipster Whale well and truly on the map.

An endless take on gaming classic Frogger, Crossy Road had a very special sauce that allowed it to break through the ever-increasing free-to-play market when released on mobile back in 2014.

When the fourth-generation Apple TV was announced back in 2016, Crossy Road was one of the first titles to come to the device, with an all new 2-player mode.

Fast forward to 2019, and Hipster Whale today announced a sequel is on the way – Crossy Road Castle.

My own Obi-Wan Kenobi of the games writing scene – Chris Stead – has gone hands-on with the upcoming Apple Arcade exclusive over at finder.com.au.

Hit the Continue button below for more.

 

Instead of seeking the answer to the age-old question, “Why did the chicken cross the road?” Crossy Road Castle poses an entirely new one, “Why did the chicken climb the tower?”

Watch the trailer below and you’ll see that Hipster Whale is going retro once again, but this time it’s more Mario than Frogger, with 2D platform gaming getting the Crossy Road treatment.

As revealed to Stead, four players will climb together through handcrafted levels, not randomly generated ones which is an interesting development, and one that speaks to the premium content of Apple Arcade, rather than the endless free-to-play nature of mobile titles outside of the Arcade walls.

Crossy Road Castle will feature both co-operative and competitive elements, with players helping each other to progress through levels, but still vying for loot against each other while doing so, although the competitive element was not shown to Stead at this stage.

Coins collected in-game will enable characters to be unlocked and dressed in a variety of hats. Don’t let this worry you though, as with all Apple Arcade titles, there are no in-app-purchases, so the coin collecting will be there purely to add to the gameplay, not the monetisation.

Hipster Whale’s founder Matt Hall told Stead that Crossy Road Castle will release in 2019, so we won’t have too long to wait before we can all get hands-on.

You can read Stead’s full story over at finder.com.au, in which Hall also reveals some of the benefits of releasing the title through Apple Arcade.

For a look at a whole load of other games that are on the way to Apple Arcade, check out this list of 30, of which 27 are yet to be released.

The trailer below gives you a really good idea of what to expect with Crossy Road Castle, showing off some very classic-looking 2D platforming:

If you’re new to The Apple TV Gaming Blog (ATVG), or just new to Apple TV gaming in general, or both, then the best place to get acquainted is our Best Apple TV Games of 2019 article. You’ll find a great collection of games to play, and a bunch of useful links to our previous site content. Welcome aboard. Enjoy the ride.