Kinetic Publishing and Fake Lobster have today announced that Shellbound, a parasitic metroidvania, is launching on PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and Nintendo Switch 2 in Summer 2028.
Revealed at the Kinetic Publishing Showcase, Shellbound sees players take on the role of a parasite travelling on the back of an enormous deific snail, exploring a living world where organs are labyrinths, and the snail’s very biology can reshape the paths available to them. The world reacts to the player’s actions – kill too many enemies of one species, and they will evolve into stronger forms with new abilities the next time you return.
However, in an everchanging biological landscape, a parasite can thrive. Using their parasitic powers, players can take control of enemies and NPCs. Each creature offers unique movement, combat, and traversal skills, and harnessing these abilities is the key to reaching hidden areas, unlocking new routes, and defeating powerful bosses.
There is a treasure trove of secrets to discover on the journey across the gigantic gastropod, with friendly NPCs to meet and quests to take on, all in a world that is very literally living and breathing.
“With Shellbound, we were inspired to create the sort of game that we love to play ourselves, full of secrets and exploration, and with our unique parasitic twist,” said Fake Lobster co-founder Eric Frantzen, in a press release.
“Shellbound has been a labour of love, and with the help of Kinetic Publishing, we have the support that we need to work on the game full-time and create what we’ve dreamt of making since we founded Fake Lobster,” said Fake Lobster co-founder Nils Klatt, in the same press release.
Shellbound features:
- Parasite Power: Control enemies, and even some NPCs, to use their abilities for platforming, puzzles and combat.
- Enemy Evolution: Kill a certain amount of an enemy type and it evolves into a stronger (and sometimes completely different) form, unlocking new parasite abilities in the process.
- Biome Transformation: The snail’s biology creates a living labyrinth that changes and evolves through your actions.
- A New Kind of Metroidvania: An evolution of the genre that allows players to circumvent traditional ability gating through clever use of enemy powers