Nidhogg studio "re-reveals" its new project. A stylish action-exploration where you race bikes and save the planet

In 2023, Nidhogg developer Messhof revealed its new game. A stylish racing game named Ghost Bike, it sets players on a quest for the last Ghost Bikes - "magical messengers who rode from the world of living to the world the dead." Ghost Bike, originally revealed in 2023, was re-revealed today at the Xbox showcase. It now has a new name, Wheel World, and a more distant release date. Instead of this year, as originally planned, it will be released in early 2025.

The new title reflects the shift in the narrative of the game, which has changed in order to accommodate "a variety of iterations" in terms of gameplay structure and since the first announcement.

"We came up with Ghost Bike as a name based on the storyline," Messhol's Makessen and KristyNorindr explained on Steam. It was a game where you die on a bicycle after being hit by a vehicle and end up in a cycling Valhalla.

While it wasn't based directly on ghost bikes in real life (those white bicycles that memorialize cyclists killed by motorists), there was enough of a similarity to feel as though the name was justified, and the associations would have been positive from both directions. As the gameplay changed (to make it fun to play) and the story (especially the tone), it became less and less fitting.

Wheel World is now "about the freedom and joy of living around bicycles," they said. "Whether it's to get around, explore a new route in a familiar area, or just to tinker with them and find your own happy middle between form and functionality."

You may find this less appealing than I do, but it's not my fault. Come on, "cycling Valhalla", that's a hook. Wheel World is still a weird game, but there are some interesting things going on. You will race, explore, customize your bike with "an endless array of parts," you will fulfill your destiny, and you will perform The Great Shift to save the entire world. This is not just about pedaling.

Messhof is known for its outstanding Nidhogg titles, both of whom we loved. But it's also notable that Wheel World was published by Annapurna Interactive which collapsed in September. Annapurna stated that it was "focused" on moving forward with its Interactive division and was still accepting pitches as it hired replacements. The situation has clearly stabilized, at least enough for Annapurna Interactive's to continue working on current deals.