Developer Bippinbits has opened the first public playtest for Bandwagon, an upcoming bullet heaven “survivors-lite” built around music, friendship and a kingdom filled with disgruntled animals. The playtest launched on 21 July as part of the Games Made in Germany showcase and will remain available through Steam until 3 August. Bandwagon is currently in development for PC, with its full release also planned for Steam.
Players take control of Drumbo, a band leader tasked with restoring happiness to an animal kingdom suffering under its grumpy ruler. Rather than confronting the problem alone, Drumbo must travel across the game’s open world and recruit musically inclined animals to join the band. Each new member contributes an instrument and changes the group’s overall sound. Bandwagon uses procedural generation to create its music, meaning different combinations of characters and instruments will produce different songs during each run.
The game’s world includes forests, hills and villages containing potential recruits. Players will need to explore these locations, assemble their preferred group of performers and find the characters that best complement Drumbo’s signature sound. Alongside recruiting new band members, the playtest allows players to upgrade their abilities and explore a central hub world. The objective is to build a strong enough ensemble to perform for the kingdom’s residents and improve their moods through music.
