How many times in your life have you received some bad news over text and fired back the reaction gif of a little dog sitting in a burning down building with the words 'This is Fine' over his head? Well, I can personally tell you that my number is in the thousands. I must get a lot of bad news, eh? One piece of news that is, in fact, good is that a new Metroidvania game based on this very meme is coming - This is Fine: Maximum Cope - and it's going to hit your Nintendo Switch as soon as March. Plus, if you have a PC, the demo is available to play right now via Steam's Next Fest. This is way better than fine, actually.
Indie developer Hero Concept has teamed up with KC Green, the original artist behind the iconic meme, to gameify his legendary contribution to Internet culture. There's no stealing involved to bring this to your consoles. The game draws on the anxieties of our canine friend, who's apparently called Question Hound, in order to find its worlds and antagonists. In the trailer, you can see an anthropomorphic burger, a computer wearing a corporate suit and tie, and a giant spider. We don't know what's going on in our doggy pal's life, but it sounds pretty relatable, to be honest, and as in real life, you can soothe Question Hound's anxieties with a cup of coffee.
In case you've forgotten your Metroidvanias from your roguelites and your soulslikes, a Metroidvania akin to this one will be similar to games like Hollow Knight or Ori and the Blind Forest, whereby a map is split up into different sections, requiring you to unlock certain mechanics, defeat enemies, or solve puzzles to progress onto the next area. You can expect difficult combat and mechanics interwoven with intricate level design to make you think outside the box, all while Question Hound sips his drink and sinks deeper into denial. As he should.
This is Fine utilises the surreal, and this style reminds me heavily of Cuphead, a fan-favorite 2D game that also takes inspiration from personifying inanimate objects, so I feel confident in saying that This is Fine is going to be a hit. Also, alongside the Switch, the game is coming to PC, PlayStation 4|5, and Xbox Series X|S, so gamers of all kinds can wait with bated breath for another trailer and more details. It's one to watch out for, especially given the success of the genre with the popularity of Silksong recently, with our own Kayleigh Partleton giving the game a 9/10 in her Hollow Knight: Silksong review.
To learn about other adventures heading your way, head to our upcoming Switch games guide. You can also discover some more gems with our best indie games guide. Plus, if you're hankering for more Switch content, you should consider looking at our list of the best Switch games of all time - who knows, maybe This is Fine: Maximum Cope has the chops to join it.