The IndieBeat: Corona Black’s style comes from mech punches, space Westerns, and color blindness

Corona Black is relentlessly stylish. Indie studio Ota Imon has remixed and amped up the aesthetic of Japanese comic books (or manga). It stars larger-than-life characters — with names like Knife Leopard — who compete in mech battles in a world that shatters into comic book panels. It’s sleek and over-the-top, and it’s clear the developers are having a lot of fun making it. It’s slated tentatively for a 2020 release on PlayStation 4, though the team is eyeing other platforms like the Switch.

When I asked game design lead, writer, and art director Ota Imon (who founded the studio of the same name) why he decided to go for the stark black-and-white look, he laughed.