Hey everyone!

I'm the developer of Bolt & Whalington, a Chinese indie Metroidvania about a clever cat and a battle mech exploring a floating fortress. We’ve been overwhelmed by the love from the Metroidvania community—thank you!

https://store.steampowered.com/app/3535270/_/

In this first devlog, I wanted to share how this quirky idea came to life.
As a long-time cat lover (and Howl’s Moving Castle fan), I dreamed of making a Metroidvania with a cat and a flying city. But during early development, we ran into a challenge—solo cat gameplay made it hard to design rewarding exploration.
That’s when we introduced the mech.

Inspired by Gato Roboto and Blaster Master, our dual-form system adds depth and variety:

• Use the mech to resist wind or break obstacles
• Switch to the cat to glide or navigate tight spaces
• Combine both to uncover secrets and solve traversal puzzles

To manage animations on our small team, we designed a mechanical arm system for the mech—one core rig, many weapon types. Players can freely mix and match gear using a simple four-direction system. No combo stress—just clean, responsive action.

We’ll share more about the dual-character combat system in the next post!

📅 Closed Beta starts June 19 – Join our Discord to sign up
🎥 Watch the devlog video here