Nanuka: Secret of the Shattering Moon – Everything We Know

Both action-packed and cute-looking, Nanuka: Secret of the Shattering Moon is a cinematic gaming journey through magic and pixel-art animation. It promises to be another outstanding creation from OutOfTheBit Ltd, the Indie studio behind Full Void.

It will be another year until the game launches, but we already have a fairly good idea of what to expect. Here is an overview of everything we know about Nanuka: Secret of the Shattering Moon.

What is Nanuka: Secret of the Shattering Moon?

Nanuka: Secret of the Shattering Moon is a pixel-art side-scrolling puzzle platformer currently under development by the creators of Full Void. However, it is quite a different take to Full Void, according to Ali Motisi, the Director of OutOfTheBit.

“At OutOfTheBit, we believe in the power of storytelling through games. While ‘Full Void’ explored the depths of isolation, with ‘Nanuka: Secret of the Shattering Moon,’ we have another story to tell. A story that revolves around the themes of multiculturalism, the strength found in diversity and the beauty of mixing cultures,” said Ali Motisi after the game’s announcement.

True to the director’s word, the game blends different cultures to develop a picturesque world. The charming architecture and community settings interestingly indicate that the game's world is based on the Sicilian landscape. The game’s world is 100% hand-animated and features simple yet stunning 2D pixel art. The colors are vibrant, the music is dynamic, and the cartoony animations are charming.

Story

The story behind Nanuka: Secret of the Shattering Moon is a bit vague, as the developers only shared the basic details. However, we know enough to make sense of what to expect.

The game is based on one girl’s adventure to uncover the moon’s and town’s secrets and avert a looming disaster. Apparently, the simple town the girl explores hides tales of magical abilities that are related to the moon’s looming destruction.

Understandably, the developers couldn’t give away the whole story, as it would be a spoiler. To this end, players must solve puzzles throughout the game to learn the whole story. However, one of the final lessons is based on diversity and multiculturalism, as the studio’s director emphasized during the game’s announcement.

Gameplay

Nanuka: Secret of the Shattering Moon promises an exciting gameplay style. There’s a lot going on behind the town’s calm serenity, including magic and a potentially world-ending disaster. It is up to you to uncover the secrets behind the moon’s looming disaster by exploring your environment, solving puzzles, and fighting the bad guys.

Most of the gameplay involves exploring your environment in an epic adventure. You must also solve environmental puzzles along the way, such as jumping between gaps or climbing up vertical objects. Notably, it is easy to get into accidents and fall once in a while, and the trailer appears to showcase the main character as being clumsy.

Combat is also common throughout the game. The main character has a Purple Belt in karate and martial arts, and the trailer showcases her smooth and powerful moves. You must fight and take down all enemies blocking your way. Moreover, some of the NPCs become allies that come to your aid as the secrets begin unraveling. Interestingly, the trailer seems to imply that you can improvise different objects as weapons, expanding the horizons of your fighting options.

Development

OutOfTheBit Ltd. is the developer and publisher behind Nanuka: Secret of the Shattering Moon. The game is still under development and will not be ready until 2025. Notably, the developing company is also behind the creation and release of Full Void, a popular game about taking humanity’s freedom back from oppressive AI technology.

Trailer

The official trailer for Nanuka: Secret of the Shattering Moon is quite entertaining and insightful. It showcases various aspects of the gameplay and gives away a bit of the story.

The trailer opens off with a scene of the game’s main character, a confident, if not corky, young girl. The character has a symbolic Purple Belt around her waist, indicating her prowess in karate and martial arts. Indeed, the scenes that follow showcase her fighting skills as she faces off against various enemies.

While the fighting scenes are brief, you can see the character use hand-to-hand combat and improvise with different objects as weapons. She can also leverage different environments to her advantage, such as leaping from an elevated point to build momentum and increase damage. To this end, the combat style promises to be versatile.

The environments across the different scenes are unique and distinct. They include paved roads lined with houses, rooftops, staircases, and interiors. Interestingly, one of the scenes involves the character fighting a pizza chef inside the kitchen, highlighting the Sicilian inspiration.

Release Date, Platforms & Editions

OutOfTheBit Ltd. has not set a precise release date for Nanuka: Secret of the Shattering Moon, only mentioning that it will be released sometime in 2025. However, we think that the game will launch sometime between March and April, based on the timing of their announcement. We expect the developers to be more particular about the exact release data over time and will keep you updated.

The game will run on multiple platforms. It will initially launch on PC and then release on ‘all major consoles’ soon after. By major consoles, we assume that the developers mean PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S.

Notably, the PC version will also include native Linux support, in addition to Windows and macOS. “We are big Linux fans here at the studio and we always make sure our games run natively on Linux,” says one of the developers. The game’s simple graphics make it compatible with ordinary PCs. The minimum requirements on all PC platforms include 2 GB of RAM and an Intel Core i3 processor.

So, what’s your take on this preview of Nanuka: Secret of the Shattering Moon? Do you know more about the game? We would love to hear from you! Let us know over on our socials here or down in the comments below.