Nuclear Throne

Did You Know?

• In January 2016, Vlambeer teamed with IndieBox for a physical release that included a themed USB drive, soundtrack, instruction manual, Steam key, and collectibles.
• The prototype Wasteland Kings was made available for public download after the early access release.

Plot

In a post-apocalyptic wasteland, mutants band together to journey across the world, their goal being the Nuclear Throne. The game’s story is sparse, with most confirmed details emerging from developer livestreams. Fans have pieced together theories by studying the environment and loading screen hints. According to the developers, each playthrough may represent a fresh alternate universe where all mutants are alive and the challenger has yet to be chosen.

Development

Vlambeer's Jan Willem Nijman and Rami Ismail served as designer and producer, sharing development work. Paul Veer, who animated Super Crate Box, contributed art, and promotional art was drawn by Justin Chan, an art student hired for his fan art. Music was composed by Jukio Kallio, with sound effects by Joonas Turner. Nijman and Ismail were invited by Notch to a 48-hour charity game jam called Mojam Humble in 2013, where they created Wasteland Kings, the prototype for Nuclear Throne.

The game was initially made in Game Maker 7 before transitioning to Game Maker Studio, a decision later found cumbersome. Development took 2.5 years, beginning in February 2013 and releasing into Steam Early Access that same year. At PAX Prime 2013, the prototype was shown with five playable characters. The name change from Wasteland Kings was due to a trademark issue with InXile Entertainment.

The team livestreamed development, a process they called Performative Game Development, which allowed direct community interaction. Sales spiked when streamer Northernlion played the game. PlayStation 4 and Vita releases were announced at the December 2015 PlayStation Experience keynote.

Reception

Nuclear Throne received positive reviews, with the PS4 version scoring 82/100 on Metacritic and the Windows version 89/100. Alexander Chatziioannou of Hardcore Gamer gave it 4 out of 5, praising its presentation and variety. Jordan Devore from Destructoid rated it 8/10, calling it one of the hardest and most rewarding games he had played, though too demanding. IGN awarded it 9.0 out of 10, describing it as an enjoyably tough run-and-gun with energy and variety.