Suda 51's Black Knight Sword hits XBLA December 12

Black Knight Sword's mix of puppetry and papercuts will unfold on Xbox Live Arcade on December 12. The Suda 51 production puts a unique spin on retro sidescroller-inspired exploits, with a traditional Japanese paper puppet show aesthetic and the punk developer's prerequisite buckets of blood.

Being a Black Knight, the protagonist is actually out to destroy the princess, though it sounds like she's evil enough herself to have it coming. Traversing the twisted fairy tale underworld will require combat and platforming skills, as well as some help from the sword fairy. Yes, the sword fairy.

It's actually the second collaboration between Suda's studio Grasshopper Manufacture and Hungarian developer Digital Reality, the first being “diesel-punk shoot em up” Sine Mora. No price has yet been listed for the Black Knight Sword, which will also hit PlayStation Network at an unspecified date.