Developer Oniric Games, creators of the clever little stealth action game Silent Swords [$2.99], are throwing their hat into the "metroidvania" style platforming ring with their upcoming Elemental Rage. In case you aren't familiar with the term, metroidvania refers to action platforming games with a large focus on exploration and acquiring items to unlock additional areas as you progress, and was coined following the popularity of games like Super Metroid and Castlevania Symphony of the Night which used the style to great effect.

Elemental Rage involves an evil sorcerer named Devan who has stolen all of the Elemental Spirits of a faraway planet, turning its inhabitants into dark enemies and threatening to kill off the planet entirely. You play as a character named Huna who must regain the Elemental Spirits and defeat Devan, thus restoring peace to the planet.

In true metroidvania fashion, the game will feature "one big level" with areas that are initially blocked off, but become accessible through exploring and discovering new items and abilities. The game will take place in the expansive castle of the planet's Spirit Guides, which has been taken over by Devan. Huna will team up with Talis, the Spirit Guide of Water, who will act as the leader in an effort to get back the Elemental Spirits and regain control of the castle.

One neat idea is that your special abilities will be upgraded based on the elements that you collect. So for example, collecting enough wind spirits will upgrade your regular jump into a double jump, and collecting enough water spirits allows you to breath underwater for a greater length of time. It sounds pretty interesting and I like how the ability upgrades tie into the elemental theme of the game.

The iPad version of Elemental Rage is currently in review with Apple, and is expected to release sometime this week barring any complications. The iPhone and iPod touch version needed a bit more work, but should follow about a week or so after. Both versions feature high resolution graphics and fully customizable virtual controls. The early impressions from beta testers in our forums have been really positive, and as a huge fan of metroidvania style games I'm really looking forward to checking out Elemental Rage hopefully sometime this week.