Out on Steam on June 25th, The Colony: New Haven Chronicles sports SNES-style graphics and NES-style adventure as you explore an abandoned colony…
Described as “retro exploration-driven” the game has been developed by a solo creator, and is the debut title from Aurora Games Studio.
Pixel art in The Colony
With a narrative laced in backstory and lore, the game presents a hostile world of decay and danger… and discovery. It features a sprawling map, with hidden paths, and has been designed to appeal to classic action adventure game fans. Characters can be developed by boosting strength, endurance, and luck, with each influencing how the game unfolds and how you tackle the challenges.
Take a look at this trailer:
The synopsis reads:
Welcome to New Haven, an utopian social experiment where everyone was supposed to enjoy an idyllic existence and live in harmony. But under the planet’s strange, crimson moon, human nature gave way and utopia turned into its opposite. A prison was erected to contain those who broke with the idealistic vision and understand their condition, but that necessary evil only gave birth to further evils. Now you wake up in one of the cells, awoken by a mysterious voice in your head, amidst carnage and chaos…
The Colony is a top-down action adventure in the spirit of gaming classics, where danger lurks behind every corner, enemies abound, quests await completion, and entire regions lay open for exploration. Will you stay alive long enough, aided by weapons and sophisticated technologies, to find out the truth behind New Haven?
The game boasts the following features:
- 🌌 Explore the ruins of a fallen colony in a hostile, interconnected world
- 🛠️ Unlock new paths with gear that transforms how you traverse each zone
- ⚔️ Classic action combat fused with stat-based character development
- 🧩 Discover lore through atmospheric environments, not cutscenes
- 🤖 Travel with Iris, your AI companion—quiet, watchful, and deeply human
What do you think?
I’m in two minds about this one. On the one hand, it looks good, with a strong pixel art aesthetic. But some of the gameplay elements and the motion of the character feel very modern. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but it leaves me wondering if this is something I would genuinely enjoy.
This is a shame as I’ve enjoyed a few modern pixel art games in recent years. Beyond the Long Night is a perfect example — retro-style art, and an unfolding adventure.
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The use of “NES-style” in the promotional material feels a little inaccurate, too, with the graphics appearing far more SNES-like. With actual modern NES adventures like Echoes of the Undead in development, it’s a big shout to make. Maybe the lean into the retro feel is a bit too heavy from the PR people there.
Either way, The Colony: New Haven Chronicles is available to wishlist on Steam now.
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Christian Cawley is a writer and editor who covers consumer electronics, IT, and entertainment media. He has written for publications such as Computer Weekly, Linux Format, MakeUseOf.com, and Tech Radar.
He also produces podcasts, has a cigar box guitar, and of course, loves retro gaming.