While it's just in alpha, Danish developer Jonas Kærlev's game A Hat In Time still manages to look positively delightful. All one has to do is look at the many videos Kærlev has uploaded to get a sense of how charming this game is. Here's a couple, though the game's YouTube page features a good handful more.
According to the development blog, you play as the precious umbrella-toting Hat Kid. Hat Kid travels through time across five worlds. Who would oppose such a cute kid? Um, Moustache Girl, naturally.
The Nintendo influence is strong here—the visuals are very Wind Waker, sure, but there's also a whiff of Super Mario Sunshine in this level, isn't there? It probably doesn't help that one of the videos has The Mushroom Kingdom music playing in the background.
Speaking specifically of the influences, Jonas writes "The game is inspired by retro 3D collectathon adventure games like Banjo-Kazooie, Conker's Bad Fur Day, Donkey Kong 64 etc. As a result, environment, characters and platforming are key elements in this game!"
The developer hopes to release a demo sometime either this month or in January. If you want to see this game on Steam—and you should—you can go and vote for it here. Right now the full game is slated to drop for a single measly dollar.
Though Jonas notes that this pricepoint might change depending on how much of a cut Steam takes, it's probably not outlandish to expect the game to remain on the cheap end. Either way, A Hat In Time looks like a game to keep our eyes on.