Trailmakers builds on the spirit of Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts

Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts was one of the more original and exciting Microsoft-published games on the Xbox 360. Developer Rare, which started the series on the Nintendo 64, had expanded on the franchise’s platformer roots with a vehicle-building mechanic. Even though many people consider Nuts & Bolts a classic, Microsoft and Rare have left Banjo-Kazooie in the past. That has enabled startup developer Flashbulb Games to release a spiritual successor to Nuts & Bolts called Trailmakers that fills in the gap.

Trailmakers launched into Steam’s Early Access program for unfinished games on April 1 for $20. Flashbulb has it up and running with a sandbox mode, multiplayer, and more. The idea is for the studio to give players a variety of worlds to explore and plenty of tools to build their own, unique vehicles in the process. The studio is also promising new updates every three weeks, which could help it build a loyal audience that keeps coming back to see what’s new.