It’s not every day that we talk about a video game release that’s tied to an IP that had its heyday 46 years ago, but today’s that day. The Pinchcliffe Grand Prix (or Flaklypa in Norwegian) was a stop-motion animated feature film that came out of Norway way back in 1975. If you are not from Norway it’s pretty likely you’ve never heard of it, but it’s the most widely viewed Norwegian movie of all time, having sold more cinema seat tickets than the population of the country. Still, it’s quite a niche IP to pull from to create a new video game on Nintendo Switch in 2021!
Take a look at the trailer above; it’s like a brand new video game of the Wombles or Postman Pat was being released in the UK, with the plot of the Wacky Racers crossed with Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. If you’re a millennial, even those references are probably too retro. Maybe the best thing to compare it to would be if there were another Wallace and Gromit short film, where Wallace’s inventions led to a classic car derby. The plot is an eccentric inventor and his animal companions enter a Formula One race after finding out his former assistant stole some of his engine designs. Sounds ripe for a video game. Well sort of.
The video game takes the plot of the movie, almost neat, and is a combination of races, narrative, and minigames. The stop-motion animation has been lovingly recreated in the Unreal Engine, and it’s just about as charming as it gets. Those of you with good memories, and again probably if you live in Norway, will remember there was a 2010 DS game of the same name, and this new title is being billed as its spiritual successor.
We think it looks fantastic. Pinchcliffe Grand Prix is set to release on Nintendo Switch and Steam on 4th November 2021 – just a week away!
PS. If you are still interested in facts about the original lost classic – the movie inspired Christian von Koenigsegg to invent the Koenigsegg CC, the first of the ultra-high-end award-winning Norwegian supercars Koenigsegg.
