When we talk about epic 2D, many are quick to share their love for Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, myself included. Outside of the Nintendo DS and a few other well known Derek Yu games like the satirical shooter I'm OK and his last freeware release Freeloader 2: Eternal Daughter, the development of these kinds of games is far and few -- especially on the PC. Now together with a programmer Alec Holowka, the 2 man Bit Blot studio promises to bring us back to that era with what they're calling a non-linear side scroller in the deep sea. The lure of Aquaria is a reminder of the way that games used to be, a riveting action-packed game in massive two dimensional detailed words. The developer writes:

In order to make the experience as engaging as possible, we created an interface that lets the player easily control Naija with just a two-button mouse. The HUD is minimal (minimap). In place of textual dialogue that most games rely on we used voice acting to drive the story without interrupting the gameplay. Naija can sing songs and cast spells without going to a menu screen. With practice, these spells can be cast easily to interact with the environment, solve puzzles, or combine them for strategic effect during combat. Certain spells will allow you to change form, creating new ways of playing the game depending on the form chosen.

Games that aspire. Look at a preview video of the game and more screenshots after the jump! [Via Inverted Castle]

Using an intuitive and fluid mouse control system, Naija can deftly swim through and explore a massive, handcrafted world that is teeming with undersea life. Along the way, she will encounter literally hundreds of different types of plants and animals and explore many ingame miles of hidden caves, lost ruins, and other strange places ... this is a game with a very personal touch, from the characters and story to the creature interaction and expansive environments.

Look for the game next year in Spring. For more information check out www.AquariaGame.com