When I first saw Eagle Island, it instantly caught my attention. With so many characters with companions that join them, we’ve never seen one involving an owl. It also helps when you have a very peaceful trailer that gets interrupted by a giant Eagle.
It was at that moment I knew I just had to learn more about the game, so we spoke with Nick Gregory, AKA PixelNicks, to learn a little more about Eagle Island.
Gaming Conviction: What are some of your inspirations for Eagle Island?
Nick Gregory: I was inspired from the classics from my childhood – Mario, Metroid, Yoshi’s Island. The beautiful simplicity of their mechanics. Mix that with the enhancements from modern games, such as procedural generation, and you get a game which truly satisfies the player!
NG: The player controls a boy, Quill. He’s exploring Eagle Island with his two brother owls, when one of them is suddenly snatched out of the sky by the monstrous Eagle, Armaura. Quill and his remaining owl, Koji must explore, grow stronger and defeat Armaura. The player never directly controls Koji the owl, but you can call him to Quill and then launch him as a weapon.
NG: The bosses are in a very early concept stage right now. They will be large monsters with attack patterns to dodge and require specific strategies to attack.
NG: The visuals have a light and fun atmosphere, but the game can get quite intense. When you’re down to 1HP, its proper edge-of-your-seat stuff. The main way to find health pick ups is to score combos, and this forces the player into risky situations. When in the hub world, there is a strong 3 act plot carrying the player through highs and lows and eventually releasing them with a bitter-sweet finale.
NG: Certainly on consoles! Personally, I think Eagle Island would be perfect for the Switch. It won’t be on mobile though, the gameplay does not lend itself to touch screens.
