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Is new platformer Ayo the Clown super terrifying or super cute?

by: Eric - posted: 3/24/2021 10:42:00 AM
More On: Ayo the Clown

Ayo the Clown, a new platformer from developer Cloud M1, is coming to PC and Nintendo Switch in Spring 2021. I received an email about Ayo this morning, and the first image I saw was this key art:

My eyes immediately narrowed with suspicion. Was this a terrifying clown, or a genuinely cute one? Sure, this clown looks cute on the surface, but most clowns use their friendly exteriors to disguise the black hearts of evil that beat in their demonic chests. Closer inspection of the image brought even more questions. Why is that man with the pompadour haircut chasing Ayo? What dark spirits are making that little panda girl fly backwards? And what is going on with that kooky cat with the lunatic eyes? Is Ayo the Clown all just trickery to draw me in with surface cuteness, just to switch to some awful game where the evil clown bites the heads off of sparrows and paints the walls with bird blood?

Nah, it turns out that Ayo is actually super cute. After a visit to Cloud M1's website, I became convinced that the team there is actually committed to making an adorable 2.5D platformer staring a nice clown. It's a hell of a gamble, but take a look at some of these art concepts I found:

And this one, which is a little spooky, but still not overtly evil:
 
 
There is actually a ton of very cool making-of materials on Cloud M1's website, which is well worth a look. That team has been working hard on Ayo the Clown since at least 2016 (!), and is hoping to use the game as a springboard to continue on making cool semi-retro games. “It’s been a dream come true creating video games so we’re very excited to bring Ayo the Clown to PC and Switch this year. We wanted to create a game that harks back to the platformers of yesteryear but with a modern day twist and fun art style to boot,” said Xiu Liang, Cloud M1 Game Director. 

That trailer absolutely screams "high-end Wii platformer", doesn't it? My kids are gonna go nuts for Ayo the Clown, which seems chock full of fun animation and storybook environments. I'm sure the kids will take over my Switch for days when Ayo releases. Once I convince them that he isn't going to hang out in their closet at night eating their dreams, that is.
 
Folks interested in Ayo the Clown can wishlist the game on Steam here.