Paco Rabanne, the fashion brand and fragrance manufacturer appears to be getting into video games with a Phantom x Curved Spaced collaboration and we’re kind of confused.
Don’t throw away your Xbox shower gel quite yet, while shmup retro inspired adventure Curved Space is getting a crossover with Pacco Rabanne’s mysterious fragrance, this appears to be a purely in game event. Publisher Maximum Games and the aforementioned fashion icon have announced a crossover that will see luxury men’s fragrance Phantom venture out into the furthest reaches of outer space and help you take down alien hives, as a robot.
As is the idea of this crossover wasn’t unusual enough to begin with, the new event, which is online now, adds a custom in-game character that represents the fragrance’s collectible robot bottle. This chrome and black companion might resemble the real life container, but does a little more than keep characters fragranced in game. The new addition to your arsenal in Curved Space is freely available to pilots and acts as an extension of them with the ability to port around the map, stun spiders and assist in battle. The character is designed to be playful and fun, breaking the fourth wall at certain points with emotional animations, whilst showcasing the Phantom bottle by capturing light and reflections and moving in a dynamic, responsive, and realistic way.
The mix of a synthwave sci fi shmup and a high fashion brand is unexpected, to say the least, but it’s a nice change to seeing NFTs and gacha cash grabs added under the guise of collabs. There’s no denying it is advertising, but this is the first time a fragrance has featured in a game as a playable character and the whole scenario is at least an attempt at something different that enhances the end-user experience. If you haven’t picked up Curved Space then it is on sale over on the official Steam Store page at around 35% off the RRP. Fans of R-Type and Gradius, who might be looking for something new can check out more now or have a look at the trailer above and say hello to your new shiny chrome plated friend.