Outland’s trailer begins with a voiceover that puts you in mind of a 1970s b-grade barbarian flick. After listening to gravel voiced clichés like “since the dawn of time, balance and chaos have been in conflict”, you’ll be forgiven for lowering your expectations.

More interesting than Outland’s promotion is its style of gameplay and art design. Developed by Housemarque, known for their acclaimed work on Super Stardust HD, Outland promises an attractive blend of 2D combat and platforming. The evocative shadowy art style is reminiscent of the God of War series or even the aptly named Insanely Twisted Shadow Planet.

Although the ability to “harness the power of both dark and light” is considered a core part of Outland’s gameplay, it’s not exactly clear how it will work. However, the developers have identified Treasure’s 2001 arcade shooter Ikaruga as a key inspiration. In that game, enemies can only be damaged with bullets of the opposing colour.

It’s early days, but it looks like slicing and dicing your way though the unusual world of Outland may well be worth a few hours of your time. Look for it on XBLA and PSN in early 2011.