Penny Arcade's On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness 3 preview

Following sluggish sales of Penny Arcade Adventures: On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness: Episode 2, the third entry (of four planned in total) was unceremoniously canned. Hothead Games went on to other projects, but Penny Arcade co-creator Jerry Holkins still had the ideas in his head, so he started posting written chapters online to continue the story.

Meanwhile, a couple of well-known Penny Arcade forum members formed Zeboyd Games and released underground indie RPG favorites Breath of Death VII and Cthulhu Saves the World. Some other members suggested they continue the Penny Arcade Adventures series, and Robert Khoo – PA's director of business operations – agreed and reached out. And so the series continues.

Unlike the two earlier entries, which feature adventure elements and 3D visuals, the lightly retitled Penny Arcade's On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness 3 sports a pixel-perfect 16-bit role-playing aesthetic, all the way down to the boxy menu screens and fuzzy text. Like Zeboyd's previous games, it's a loving tribute to that era, albeit one filled with a lot of comedic elements. And considering the license here, it's expectedly hilarious. We chuckled aloud multiple times during a quick demo based solely on the conversational text – a very good sign!

Unlike the previous entries, On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness 3 will not appear on Xbox Live Arcade or PlayStation Network. Instead, it'll be released on Xbox Live Indie Games, as well as PC, Mac, iOS, and Android.

Why release it through the Indie Games channel? Both of Zeboyd's previous games were released in that space and still achieved recognition, but Penny Arcade's senior sales manager, Jeff Kalles – who's acting as an in-house producer alongside the developer's two-man team – says it's more due to the fact that they want to offer a lower price point. Cthulhu Saves the World launched for just 240 Microsoft Points ($3), and the third Penny Arcade entry is slated to sell for a very similar amount.

Like many of the 16-bit RPGs it's patterned after, the third Penny Arcade game utilizes a turn-based combat model. Your team and the baddies you encounter while walking around are transported to a battle stage in which you'll swap opportunities to attack, cast spells, and use items. Magic points are accrued at a rate of one per turn, meaning you'll need to wait a few go-rounds to unleash bigger spells, though we did see one spell with a first-turn bonus effect.

Depending on where you roam, you may be affixed to a navigational grid or given some flexibility on where you walk. Initially, in the demo, we traversed from point to point on a fixed map, triggering some narrative bits along the way. But shortly thereafter, we were able to walk freely around a boardwalk setting, walking up to visible enemies to trigger fights.

Seattle-based studio TinkerHouse Games, which has published a couple iOS games of its own, is working closely with Zeboyd Games to optimize the iOS and Android versions for their respective touch screen devices. And like the other iterations of the third game, you can expect a bite-sized price for these apps.

Penny Arcade's On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness 3 is set to come out later this summer.