Valve recently requested James Lambert, the creator of Portal 64, to halt development on the fan game. Instead, Lambert has decided to work on a new Nintendo 64 game that appears to draw inspiration from the popular co-op title developed by Arrowhead Game Studios, Helldivers.
Valve’s concern with Portal 64 was due to its use of proprietary Nintendo development libraries that had been leaked but never officially released to the public. Lambert has now transitioned to open source alternatives, as he explains in a video, but Valve seemed hesitant to support the porting of Portal 64 due to difficulties in tracking the project and the extensive work required to change its foundation.
Lambert is now developing a new N64 game that appears to be an action platformer centered around a wizard character. He describes the game as involving the learning of various runes that can be combined to create unique spells, including abilities like fireball, jumping, and flying.
While Lambert does not explicitly mention it, the concept of his new game resembles Magicka, a co-op game released in 2011 by Arrowhead, where players combine elements to create spells with different effects. The comparison has been noted by viewers in the YouTube comments.
Despite the setback with Portal 64, Lambert’s technical proficiency is evident, and many are eagerly anticipating the release of his new magical N64 game.
For a nostalgic trip back to the late ’90s, check out some of the best N64 games available.
