Nike Promotes an Air Jordan Release with Cosmic Climb

The team at Krool Toys is back at it using GB Studio to promote Nike’s Air Jordan 11 Low sneakers after the success of last year’s Grimace’s Birthday. This time, the team behind the game includes GB Studio Central’s own Emi Paternostro and ERIC MACK along with Salt & Pixel and The Fallen Crown developer Larson Kilstrom. Returning from Grimace’s Birthday are the producers from Krool Toys, Stef and Tia – who also star in the game, and catchy music maker Blezz Beats.

A screenshot of the Cosmic Climb title screen. — The laces animate as you scroll through the menu.

Production timelines were really tight on this game, with only four weeks to complete everything. With that, the team has put together a very quick and simple game with a more arcade style gameplay. Players are presented with a quick story of how the “power of the AJ 11 Low’s” are bestowed upon them to allow them to perform their “cosmic climb” up to defeat an invading force. The main game feels a little like Mega Man mixed with Bennet Foddy’s Getting Over It, as some of the platforms and enemies will cause the player to be knocked back and lose progress. The game tries to not be too punishing though, giving players a few “safety nets” in the level design preventing too much loss in progression.

A screenshot from Cosmic Climb, showing enemies in a platforming scene. — Some of the enemy robots blocking your way

The game also features collectables that unlock a Time Trial mode, a feature the devs hope will prompt players to try and outdo their friends by sharing their results online. While the gameplay is simple, there’s a lot going on under the hood of this game using some clever tricks to get the most out of the Game Boy Color. While GB Studio has a limit of 20 actors per scene, each of the playable scenes has more than 40, using triggers to reposition enemies as the players progress upwards. There is also a neat implementation of the timer that counts by the millisecond, updating every quarter second and showing the player that time on the results screen.

A screenshot from Cosmic Climb. The player in a jumping animation, showing off the iconic blue soles of the shoe. — The AJ 11’s distinctive blue sole on display

The player’s sprite animations are fluid and well implemented, and there’s some great artwork on display in both the cutscenes and the playable areas. While it’s short, the team behind the game is very proud of what they’ve produced. We’ve seen before how much excitement grew with Grimace’s Birthday, and we’re hoping more companies hire teams to make GB content like this.