Remember last fall when Microsoft flippantly and ignorantly canceled an almost-finished and genuinely good MMORPG being built by ZeniMax Online Studios, leading to mass layoffs and the frustrated departure of one of the actual big brains of the MMORPG genre? One of the only good things to come out of the whole Project Blackbird debacle was that a group of the laid-off devs had formed an indie studio called Sackbird, which, honestly, is hella funny. The thing is, we didn’t know what those devs were working on. Obviously, we hoped it would be some sort of indie MMO because that’s what they did, you know?
Well, today, I am baffled to tell you it’s actually a cutesy and gross multiplayer extraction-esque friendslop game (affectionate) called Hijinks High.
“Hijinks High is a co-op party game for you and up to five friends,” the studio says. “You’re students with exactly one goal: cause as much mayhem as humanly possible before the final bell, without getting caught. The whole school is your playground, and nothing in it is safe. Grab it, place it, hurl it. Lockers, dodgeballs, jetpacks. If it isn’t nailed down, it’s fair game. And when you run out of things to throw, well, your own body has a few contributions to make. (yes, exactly the ones you’re thinking of). Your teachers won’t be happy about any of this. In fact, they will do everything to stop you and haul you off.”
Why do I say it’s kind of an extraction game?
“When the bell rings, there’s only one way home: the bus. But by that point, you’ve probably got the entire school faculty out to get you. Grab your friends, make a run for it, and try to make it out in one piece.”
I mean, it’s original, but it does seem to be aimed at Roblox kids rather than MMO players. Go have a look.
