A new Samurai Jack game is coming in 2020, and short teaser was released on February 25th showcasing fifty seconds of action-packed gameplay. It has been a long time since players have seen Samurai Jack in a video game, however, the release trailer has already gotten the internet chattering.
Based on the hit Cartoon Network series, Samurai Jack: Battle Through Time is the first solo Samurai Jack game since 2004’s Samurai Jack: The Shadow of Aku and the first game to feature Samurai Jack since 2011’s Cartoon Network: Punch Time Explosion. The series aired on Cartoon Network between 2001 and 2004, with a returning final season which released in 2017 on Adult Swim. The return was received with critical praise and fanfare as it provided fans with a darker, yet still comedic, ending to Samurai Jack. Genndy Tartakovsky, the creator of the series, returned in 2017 and continued to work on Samurai Jack and quickly transitioned work on his following series, Primal, which aired in late 2019.
IGN released the short announcement trailer earlier today on YouTube, where it has already garnered up to 300,000 views. The game appears to be a hack n’ slash RPG similar to the 2004 title, Shadow of Aku. It sports equally-stylized graphics that mimic the series’ unique, flat appearance whilst providing a three-dimensional space for the players to execute their combos within. It also showcases both the original Jack design from the earlier series as well as the redesign first seen during the Samurai Jack revival in 2017. The bearded, bedraggled samurai can be seen bouncing between ruins and avoiding attacks from a stone golem. There is also an animated, 2D sequence interspersed with the gameplay. The beloved voice of Samurai Jack himself, Phil LaMarr, retweeted the trailer and confirmed the news, which is embedded below:
More information is to be revealed at the PAX East panel later on, with the game’s official page detailing the developer’s excitement at the reveal. However, players do already know that Samurai Jack: Battle Through Time is being published by Adult Swim Games, who have previously created a VR Rick and Morty title, among others. The game is coming out for the PS4, Xbox One, Switch, and PC, meaning that fans of the franchise can play it just about anywhere. Even the official Xbox account teased the upcoming game’s release with a .gif of Jack riding a horse in the sunset with the text, “Time for the samurai to embark on his journey once more.”
It’s worth noting that while The Shadow of Aku was a fully explorable RPG that was similar in aesthetic to this newly revealed title, the first Samurai Jack game was a lower-budget 2D game. While it doesn’t seem like Samurai Jack: Battle Through Time is taking much inspiration from Amulet of Time, it is clearly owing its aesthetic to The Shadow of Aku. In the reveal trailer, players can see Jack donning both his traditional robes and his post-apocalyptic, metallic garb. Alongside his robes and armor, he wields various weapons, from his signature katana to a mallet to even a trident, which could be hinting at a more RPG-style upgrade system than players have seen in the franchise previously. Fans don’t have much time to speculate, though, as the upcoming PAX East panel will surely answer these questions as well as many more.
Next: Samurai Jack Season 5: Story Recap & Ending Explained
Sources: IGN, Twitter
