You're tasked with rebooting and modernizing Ice Climbers. What type of game do you make?

[Noog]

I've long thought about what a 3D Ice Climbers game would be like. Smash Melee was my introduction to most Nintendo franchises. Star Fox, Metroid, Zelda, and Fire Emblem all had games on the Gamecube, so I was surprised to find that Ice Climbers didn't. In fact, they've only ever had one game, and it's not great.

However, I believe that these characters have potential. Nana and Popo look cool. Their cotton candy-like colors are very appealing, especially contrasting with the dark blues and purples of the night sky and the white snow and ice that surrounds them. I think a cool and unique game could be made starring these characters, but what could it be?

You are assigned to come up with a concept pitch for a new Ice Climbers game made for the Nintendo Switch. It can be 2D, 2.5D, or 3D. It cannot be a remake of the NES game, it cannot feel completely out of left field compared to the rest of Nintendo's catalog (can't be a walking simulator, dating sim, etc.), and you can't snarkily say "I just wouldn't make a new game". Would you try an Ice Climbers 3D collectathon? Some kind of co-op adventure? A 2D side scroller? I'm excited to hear what you all think.

 

[whatsinaname]

Isn't this Fall Guys?

Edit: Maybe not. I don't remember if you could grief each other in co-op.

 

[The Unsent]

Post apocalypse, at the end the ice climber realizes he's alone all this time and the other one froze to death.

 

[JazzmanZ]

Remember Project Hammer? That but with ice climbers

 

[PlanetSmasher]

Ice Climbers: AAA Edition. This time, Popo and Nana aren't siblings, they're a sad dad and a little girl, and the game is really about Popo finding out that even though he's trying to teach Nana how to climb a mountain of ice, he's actually learning from her.

Seriously though, I would probably make it a puzzle game.

 

[Huntersknoll]

Souls like type game. dark and gritty

 

[LordHuffnPuff]

Catherine, but without the problematic elements.

In fact, they've only ever had one game, and it's not great.

Click to shrink...

You take that back! It's great!

 

[Shoichi]

Would probably be like a 2-d puzzle side scroller that relies on co-op and the AI to help with traversing the level

 

[gnexus]

A cel-shaded action/adventure game where you climb around Mount Neverest(TM) removing trash, graffiti, and frozen Nintendo video game characters from various parts of the mountain.

Ice Climbers: Tourists are Trouble

 

[Conjo]

Getting Over It but co-op

 

[Trrzs]

Dungeon Crawler Action RPG with Astral Chain gameplay elements when u control Popo and Nana at the same time, with platforming and climbing elements.

 

[purseowner]

Yoko Taro's Ice Climbers

 

[PlanetSmasher]

Yoko Taro's Ice Climbers

Click to shrink...

"No, see, the ice you're climbing is made of PEOPLE. And the camera is constantly looking at Nana's butt. Because metaphors or something."

 

[LumberPanda]

A Celeste-ish platformer for sure. Your dash is their UP-B from Smash.

 

[Deleted member 49438]

Get Kojima to make Death Stranding 2: Ice Climbers edition.

 

[Deleted member 42484]

I'm ready for a game that is designed to be played only in co-op.

Make it a co-op platformer/adventure. Design the entire game around requiring two people to work together. Have movesets that require both players.

Big colourful artstyle like Donkey Kong Jungle Beat. Orchestrated soundtrack.

Main adventure mode but some sort of time trial and survivor modes.

 

[Kuribo’s Shoe]

Vertical platforming/exploration game. Co-op climb massive mountains and discover artifacts and strange creatures.

 

[Kuribo’s Shoe]

I'm ready for a game that is designed to be played only in co-op.

Make it a co-op platformer/adventure. Design the entire game around requiring two people to work together. Have movesets that require both players.

Big colourful artstyle like Donkey Kong Jungle Beat. Orchestrated soundtrack.

Main adventure mode but some sort of time trial and survivor modes.

Click to shrink...

Yeah, this!

 

[EvilBoris]

Gritty reboot, Ice Climbers take on Everest. The Blue one, voiced by Nolan north assembles a team of Sherpas to rescue the pink one (voiced by Laura Bailey) who took an ill advised solo mission which has ended badly.
When they finally find her after a gruelling journey in terrible conditions (30-40 hours of small talk and slow walking) , all of the Sherpas have perished, she has frostbite in all of her limbs and her entire face is blacked with necrosis , limbless noiseless and blind. You have to put her out of her misery with a pick axe to the head.
Sobbing, Blue one then takes his own life with a vintage pistol your found buried earlier in the game. Fade to black

 

[AuthenticM]

A metroidvania. Set in the antartic or some other ice world. You gain new abilities between your two siblings. Etc. etc.

It's perfect.

 

[KillstealWolf]

Nana dies fairly early on and the rest of the game resolves around Popo's grief for losing her.

So, just like Smash Bros.

 

[Ubik]

Like a 10 hours long A Short Hike, but in a snowy setting. Chill exploration game with some light platforming and a few collectibles and a sweet little story with quirky NPC's all around.

 

[makonero]

Puzzle platformer, themed around global warming melting the ice caps.

 

[purseowner]

"No, see, the ice you're climbing is made of PEOPLE. And the camera is constantly looking at Nana's butt. Because metaphors or something."

Click to shrink...

You have to play through the game again as Popo after the Nana playthrough to get the full story. There's a joke route/ending where there is no mountain. The two of them endlessly spout nihilist yet somehow optimistic philosophy as they climb the mountain and the rousing score rages. There's a boss fight with twin topless polar bears in shades.

 

[GamerJM]

It would be a small downloadable title, in the 5-10$ range. Like a version of a autorunner that isn't actually auto, game autogenerates versions of 2D platforming challenges as you go on. 2D, looks visually similar to something like Kirby Star Allies. There are no microtransactions and a lot of different options to change up what you can do, but the core of the game is pretty simple.

 

[LycanXIII]

Steamworld Dig, except instead of digging down in dirt, you're climbing up in ice.

 

[Kneefoil]

A 3D puzzle platformer where you're climbing mountains. The mountains are basically world maps that are divided into several courses.

In my mind's eye, I see it as sort of similar to Captain Toad, except you have minor jumping and hammering capabilities, and the stages are generally more vertical. In terms of similarities, your movement speed would be pretty slow and the game's camera would operate quite similarly.

 

[Tavernade]

A Celeste-ish platformer for sure. Your dash is their UP-B from Smash.

Click to shrink...

I'm ready for a game that is designed to be played only in co-op.

Make it a co-op platformer/adventure. Design the entire game around requiring two people to work together. Have movesets that require both players.

Big colourful artstyle like Donkey Kong Jungle Beat. Orchestrated soundtrack.

Main adventure mode but some sort of time trial and survivor modes.

Click to shrink...

These feel like the best versions possible. "Celeste But Ice Climbers" is a perfect mix. I'm imaging the second one as a 3D game with collectathon elements like a new Banjo/DK64. But every level is vertical like Tall Tall Mountain from SM64.

 

[PlanetSmasher]

You have to play through the game again as Popo after the Nana playthrough to get the full story. There's a joke route/ending where there is no mountain. The two of them endlessly spout nihilist yet somehow optimistic philosophy as they climb the mountain and the rousing score rages. There's a boss fight with twin topless polar bears in shades.

Click to shrink...

And at the end of the game it not only insults you for playing it, but deletes your save data AND your Smash Bros. save file.

 

[Richietto]

A co-op exploration game. Some light combat, no death, some light puzzles and what not.

 

[Duck Sauce]

Something like dark souls with the same tone.

 

[FrakEarth]

2.5D version of the original premise - climbing up tiers of structure (mountains and other things) to retrieve things from the condor..

Viewpoint would be like a fancier Pandemonium style perspective, but there would be mechanics to ice pick and swing your way up the tiers

Single player campaign with boss battles at the top of levels - with optional co-op attacks when playing with a friend.

Multiplayer 2-60 player online, race to the top, trigger hazards and lay traps to stymie other players.

Maybe a couple of party games like Luigi's Mansion's screampark.

 

[lovecatt]

A 2d side scroller that visually looks kinda like modern Kirby & takes some notes from celeste

 

[Dyle]

Breakout/Arkanoid x Ice Climbers. You take the platforming of the original game, but better, and have Nana and Popo climb up the mountain while you steadily break the floor below them. You control the paddle with the triggers and there are a ton of powerups that alter the Breakout paddle, pause it, make the ice more durable, give you the ability to make new ice blocks, freeze enemies, etc.

 

[purseowner]

And at the end of the game it not only insults you for playing it, but deletes your save data AND your Smash Bros. save file.

Click to shrink...

Depending on which ending you get, either all characters are deleted from Smash apart from Nana and Popo or all characters are present except for Nana and Popo. But yes, you have to sacrifice your entire Smash Bros save file to see the true end, and you're not given advance warning.

 

[Ocarina_117]

God of War 2018 but with snow

 

[Sterok]

Survival game. Play alone or with a friend as you try to ascend various mountains. On the way you must collect and save your scarce resources in order to survive the frigid temperatures. Wait out blizzards in natural shelters until you can craft your own better coats and tents. Eat and drink whenever necessary, because climbing takes a lot of energy. You'll need your jumping prowess, hammer, and good old wits to survive killer birds, mountain polar bears, and sudden avalanches. Naturally more mountains and difficulty settings will be added over time, and maybe even new characters.

The Ice Climber, directed by Masahiro Sakurai.

 

[SiG]

Souls like type game. dark and gritty

Click to shrink...

Seriously though, the only way I could the franchise being revived is either

a) Masahiro Sakurai makes a "soft-reboot" like what he did with Kid Icarus and Uprising
or
b) Next-Level Games is somehow involved.

 

[Deleted member 42484]

These feel like the best versions possible. "Celeste But Ice Climbers" is a perfect mix. I'm imaging the second one as a 3D game with collectathon elements like a new Banjo/DK64. But every level is vertical like Tall Tall Mountain from SM64.

Click to shrink...

yeah, I imagined a camera like in Wario World so both players can be on the same screen, with a dynamic camera that goes wider for bigger scenes.

Amongst climbing levels I also figured there'd be sections to take on enemies, puzzles, sledding away from giant monsters, etc.

 

[SanTheSly]

 

[marthurstewart]

Spelunky, but with climbing mountains instead of exploring caves.

 

[cyrribrae]

Kinect

 

[Akira86]

Summer outfits for our Ice Climbing heroes.

Also a gritty real world retelling of the Ice Climber story.

 

[Grapezard]

Gritty. Open world. Crafting.

 

[PlanetSmasher]

Depending on which ending you get, either all characters are deleted from Smash apart from Nana and Popo or all characters are present except for Nana and Popo. But yes, you have to sacrifice your entire Smash Bros save file to see the true end, and you're not given advance warning.

Click to shrink...

And if you get the best possible ending, you get to keep all of your characters BUT the Ice Climbers are now permanently switched: You're stuck playing as the second Ice Climber and the AI controls the first one. If you pick the Ice Climbers, you can only watch fights, never participate in them ever again.

 

[Tavernade]

Click to shrink...

I beat and enjoyed this game despite constantly wishing it was better.

 

[SiG]

These feel like the best versions possible. "Celeste But Ice Climbers" is a perfect mix. I'm imaging the second one as a 3D game with collectathon elements like a new Banjo/DK64. But every level is vertical like Tall Tall Mountain from SM64.

Click to shrink...

Ice Climbers was all about the physics though (as bad as they were). Having Celeste-style controls would seem like the logical conclusion, but I feel the slower-pace would better suite it than a fast Super Meat Boy-style "perfect the jumps" style retry system.

Gritty. Open world. Crafting.

Click to shrink...

I don't want Ice Climbers to become Reboot Tomb Raider. No thank you.

 

[AnilP228]

SteamWorld Dig but you go upwards.

 

[Nocturnowl]

Get ready for excitement: Co-op focused platformer utilising climbing/stamina mechanics and both characters attached to each other leading to some ropery shenanigans somewhat like Unravel but less puzzle geared.
Shorter game, designed for e-shop, runs through various worlds that involve more than snowy/icy mountains, see highland cliffs, arid ridges, volcanoes.

Gritty. Open world. Crafting.

Click to shrink...

Wait, scrap my idea, we can get a SKILL TREE in this one.
Nana is now just an AI partner who you engage with via quips, climbing segments are just holding a direction across handholds

 

[Tan]

Getting Over It but co-op

Click to shrink...

Oh wow I need this now