ATLANTA, GA — June 3, 2026 — MomoCon, the largest celebration of gaming and anime in the Southeast United States, has again broken its attendance records, welcoming 67,277 fans to the Georgia World Congress Center during May 21-24. MomoCon organizers will aim to set new records when the event returns to Atlanta from Thursday, May 27, to Saturday, May 30, 2027.
This year’s MomoCon included the North American debut of Wonder Festival, Japan’s most influential showcase of figure and model craftsmanship. More than 40 studio professionals, hobbyists, and figure designers set up shop in a dedicated area of MomoCon’s exhibit hall space, giving American fans a one-of-a-kind chance to experience Japan’s figure and collectible culture firsthand.
MomoCon 2026 also welcomed legendary Tekken director Katsuhiro Harada, who drew fans to a dedicated panel and signing. Harada-san has recently announced the foundation of VS Studio, which he will lead as director under long-time fighting game publisher SNK Corporation.
Members of the hit webseries Critical Role were featured guests at this year’s MomoCon, including co-founders Matthew Mercer, Ashley Johnson, Taliesen Jaffe, Travis Willingham, and Liam O’Brien, drawing hundreds of attendees to their exclusive panel and autograph sessions.
MomoCon 2026 raised a total of $10,000 for its charity partner Silence the Shame, a [501(c)(3)] non-profit organization dedicated to revolutionizing mental health in high stress communities.
“We spend all year organizing MomoCon to see the impact we have on people’s lives, be it smiles on 67,000 plus faces or raising money for worthy causes,” says Chris Stuckey, co-founder, MomoCon. “This year’s event was our most impactful yet, and we look forward to making an even more profound positive change in 2027!”
Membership for MomoCon 2027 is available now. Four day pass membership is available for $87.13. Single day membership for Thursday and Sunday costs $63.99. Friday only membership is available for $69.77, and Saturday for $81.34.
Founded in 2004 by Jessica Merriman and Chris Stuckey, then students at Georgia Tech, MomoCon has grown from a 700-person on-campus event to the largest event in the Southeast United States for fans of video games, animation, cosplay, comics, and tabletop games.
Discover, build, and leave your mark in a living, breathing galaxy
San Marcos, CA – June 3, 2026– Developer Playable Worlds is thrilled to announce that their highly anticipated science-fantasy MMORPG, Stars Reach, is launching via Steam Early Access this summer.
Created by Raph Koster, the designer of Ultima Online and Star Wars Galaxies, Stars Reach is a modern sandbox MMO about finding your place in the galaxy and then shaping it. Across a vast simulated universe, players explore new planets, build homes and settlements, gather resources, craft, trade, fight, govern, and leave a lasting mark on the worlds they discover. Across land and space, players battle hostile creatures and defend their homesteads, approaching encounters their way through Stars Reach‘s flexible, classless progression system.
In Stars Reach, every action has ripple effects. Players can plant seedlings or burn forests, carve rivers through terrain, harvest resources, build roads and farms, or transform the area around their home into a place worth living in. Ecosystems evolve through simulated climate, wildlife, and player behavior rather than pre-scripted events, creating a galaxy where the world itself becomes a record of what players have done.
Stars Reach is built around discovery and emergent moments. There are no fixed classes and no single correct way to play. Players can become explorers, builders, crafters, traders, fighters, leaders, or something entirely their own.
“This is a game I have been dreaming about building for thirty years,” Raph Koster said. “We want to bring together the best lessons from modern online games and the sense of freedom and community that were present in older MMOs. Stars Reach is a living galaxy that brings back that feeling of stepping into an alternate reality.”
Playable Worlds is led by co-founders Raph Koster and Eric Goldberg, and its cloud-native technology makes the reactive online world in Stars Reach possible. Built on a first-of-its-kind architecture running partly on the cloud, Stars Reach supports a global, persistent universe on a single server with no resets, so the galaxy evolves over time.
Stars Reach enters Early Access with players invited to come in early and help shape what the game becomes. At launch, the Early Access version will include exploration across multiple planets, resource gathering and harvesting, exciting combat, an in-depth crafting system, trading between players, and more. Additional features will be added progressively throughout development, including a planet-eating hive mind players must collectively defend against, factions and political structures, and PvP combat.
Players can choose from three paid Early Access tiers: the Firstlight Pack ($29.99), the Voyager Pack ($49.99), and the Cosmonaut Pack ($79.99), each offering increasing rewards and cosmetics.
Key Features:
A living, breathing galaxy shaped by players’ actions: Worlds react dynamically to what players do. Forests grow, spread, and burn. Creatures migrate. Rivers flow naturally and can be redirected and dammed. Nothing is scripted or reset, as the universe evolves organically over time.
Planets with unique ecosystems and socio-political structures: Every world features its own climates, seasons, resources, and environment conditions. As players settle planets, they can establish governments, and impose taxes, allowing each location to form its own identity.
Fast-paced combat across land and space: Engage in combat both on planets and among the stars, using customizable weapons and loadouts for tactical MMO-inspired encounters to high-energy space encounters.
A classless leveling system for ultimate freedom: Players can climb up the skill ladder of multiple professions and specialties. Supporting multiple playstyles, Stars Reach’s open-ended leveling system adapts to how you want to play.
A fully player-driven economy: Gather resources, craft equipment and structures, build cities with others and trade across the galaxy. As economies grow, untamed planets transform into bustling communities and industrial hubs.
Stars Reach launches into Early Access on PC via Steam this summer.
About Playable Worlds
Playable Worlds, Inc. is a game studio building vast, living online worlds where players connect, explore, and make their mark. Founded in 2018 by online gaming veterans Raph Koster and Eric Goldberg, the San Marcos, CA-based studio combines proprietary cloud-native technology with deep expertise in game design, community building, and live service operations. For more information, please visit playableworlds.com.
With Miyamoto Musashi appearing to have only just been given his gauntlet, the unwilling samurai battles through numerous Genma forces in refined combat until we take on a boss to bring an end to Capcom’s Onimusha: Way of the Sword demo.
Onimusha: Way of the Sword – DEMO – Gameplay
Onimusha: Way of the Sword marks the triumphant return of Capcom’s legendary samurai action series, delivering brutal sword combat, supernatural enemies, and a dark reimagining of feudal Japan. Players step into the role of a lone swordsman chosen by fate to wield the Oni Gauntlet, a mystical artifact capable of absorbing the souls of fallen foes. As demonic forces known as the Genma spread chaos across the land, you must carve a bloody path through war-torn villages, ancient castles, and cursed battlefields to uncover the truth behind the growing darkness.
Built with modern technology while remaining faithful to the spirit of the original games, Way of the Sword blends cinematic storytelling with intense action combat focused on precision, timing, and devastating counterattacks. Players will master powerful sword techniques, unlock supernatural abilities through collected souls, and battle terrifying bosses inspired by Japanese folklore. With stunning visuals, atmospheric environments, and satisfying hack-and-slash gameplay, Onimusha: Way of the Sword brings the beloved franchise into a new generation while honoring its iconic legacy.
Onimusha: Way of the Sword Developer: CAPCOM Co., Ltd. Publisher: CAPCOM Co., Ltd. Platform: Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 5, PC/Steam Release: 25th September, 2026 Price: $69.99 USD
SOFIA, Bulgaria – June 3, 2026 – What happens when a tiny, female-led indie team from Eastern Europe rejects “safe” modern shooters? You get a global viral anomaly.
Just five days after its world premiere at the prestigious Insider Gaming Showcase – where it was handpicked as one of only 12 games worldwide by a committee led by Tom Henderson – Everything is Gun! has done the impossible: it has organically conquered the most competitive gaming markets on Earth.
In a stunning cross-cultural twist, Japan has emerged as the game’s #1 audience, driving nearly 30% of all Steam wishlists, closely followed by the United States at 23%. The remaining momentum is tearing through other massive, highly distinct gaming strongholds, including China, Russia, the UK, Germany, France, and Spain — demonstrating a rare, universal appeal across completely different global markets.
What makes this surge extraordinary is the scale of production: the gameplay shown in the viral, high-praise trailer was built by just three people in a little over three months of development.
Developed by Incineration Productions, Everything is Gun! fuses game-breaking The Binding of Isaac synergies with raw, unapologetic 90s speed (100+ mph) and an innovative Asynchronous Revenge system where players’ best runs invade other games as Ghost Bosses.
THE VISION: WHY THEY ARE MAKING THIS GAME
“We looked at the current gaming landscape and felt that modern shooters have become far too ‘safe,’ trading raw mechanical depth for cinematic hand-holding. We missed the unapologetic, high-stakes speed of the 90s – an era where your movement was your only shield and every kill felt earned, not gifted. We knew it was time to bring back a game that actually respects the player’s skill.
At the same time, we wanted to fuse that speed with the sheer entropy of The Binding of Isaac – chasing that specific high you get from game-breaking item synergies that shouldn’t legally exist.
Everything is Gun! is the result. We aren’t here to tell a bedtime story; we are here to provide a character controller that feels like butter, a modular gun engine that invites chaos, and a world that will chew you up the second you hesitate.”
Gergana Popova, Co-Founder at Incineration Productions
ABOUT THE GAME: YOUR SURVIVAL IS THE SPECTACLE
Imagine the most brutal, high-stakes reality show in the galaxy, where you are the unwilling star. Everything is Gun!takes place on A1-KTRZ – a crumbling prison planet where your consciousness is uploaded into an Uplift battle suit for the twisted entertainment of billions.
You are dropped into industrial hellscapes with shifting geometry. Because the maps reorganize every time you die, you can never rely on memory – only on your raw reflexes, perfect air control, and bunny hopping. You aren’t just playing a level; you are surviving a choreographed chaos designed to keep the ratings high and your life expectancy low.
To ensure the tension never breaks, the prison’s defense networks actively monitor your performance. If you begin clearing rooms too fast, the environment adapts instantly – coordinating lethal flanks and deploying aggressive hunter units to cut you off, while the music ramps up the BPM to match the escalating carnage.
On A1-KTRZ, the environment is alive, the audience is bloodthirsty, and the only way out is through a masterpiece of your own destruction.What will be left of your soul?
KEY FEATURES:
ISAAC-STYLE SYNERGIES: We don’t just do +5% damage tweaks – we do weapon-breaking mutations. Every augment you collect fuses directly into your raw limb, layering on top of the last to unlock unforeseen lethal capabilities. Strategically stack and architect apocalyptic weapon systems unique only to your run – turn a basic pea-shooter into a sweeping wall of ricocheting flak, fire acid-tipped slugs that dissolve armor, or detonate every single casualty into a map-shattering explosion. But who cares if you level the map? You never play the same layout twice.
100+MPH, NO HAND-HOLDING, UNCAPPED MOMENTUM: This is pure skill expression. No sprint buttons, no cover mechanics, and zero aim-assist – your agility is your only armor.Navigate a chaotic bullet hell with razor-sharp precision, chaining bunny hops, lightning-fast dashes, and pixel-perfect flick shots to outpace the carnage.Paint the walls with your enemies – because in this world, if you stop moving, you die.
ASYNCHRONOUS MULTIPLAYER REVENGE:You don’t just climb a static leaderboard – you become a living, breathing threat. The moment you complete a run with an unstoppable god-build, the network immortalizes your exact execution, weapon synergies, and movement patterns – uploading your playstyle into the grid as a legendary Ghost Boss. You will bridge into other players’ sessions globally, hunting down your friends and rivals with the very weapons you perfected, triggering a ruthless cycle of global rivalries, and humiliating anyone who dares to challenge your legacy.
ENGINEERED FOR THE STREAMING ERA: Much like the televised carnage of your in-game bloodbaths, your real-world stream is a live arena where the audience holds the trigger. Built from the ground up for Twitch, viewers transform from silent spectators into active executioners or vital allies. Take control of the battlefield in real-time – vote on chaotic reality-bending modifiers, deploy lethal traps to troll your favorite streamer, or throw a crucial lifeline to save their run.
CLAIM YOUR SPOT ON THE JOURNEY No cinematic CGI trailers, no fake marketing hype – just raw, early development footage. What you see right now are the core building blocks of a game that will only get faster, louder, and deadlier. The Incineration Productions team is gearing up for a Q4 2027 launch, and they want the hardcore community on the front lines with them from the very start as they bring this vision to life. Be part of the foundation. Wishlist now on Steam!
Partnership aims to help indie developers validate earlier through a publishing approach that has generated more than 3,000,000 wishlists total for titles before full production investment
TORONTO, Canada – June 3, 2026 – Blue Ocean Games, the early-stage venture fund backed by KRAFTON, Inc., today announced a new partnership with Polden Publishing, an emerging indie game publisher taking a data-driven approach to validating and scaling new game concepts on Steam. Under the partnership, Blue Ocean Games and Polden Publishing will co-invest in future indie game titles identified through Polden’s rapid market-validation methodology that tests audience demand and wishlist momentum before significant production investment is committed.
Polden’s recent publishing tests with Cartel Pilots Wanted generated more than 400,000 Steam wishlists and more than 450,000 Steam wishlists for Totally Secure Airport, using a marketing-validation process centered around gameplay-first trailers, vertical video campaigns, and creator-driven discovery. Across its marketing validation campaigns, Polden has now generated more than 1 million Steam wishlists prior to full production investment decisions, with more than 3 million total wishlists accumulated across its broader portfolio.
The companies say the partnership reflects a broader shift underway in the games industry toward earlier audience validation, community-driven publishing strategies, and more efficient funding models for independent developers.
Damian Lee, Founder and Managing Partner of Blue Ocean Games: “What stood out to us about Polden was not just the results they were generating, but the philosophy behind their approach: testing ideas quickly, understanding audience demand early, and giving promising developers a clearer path toward building successful games.”
Polden’s process focuses on defining a game’s positioning and audience, creating marketing-ready Steam assets and gameplay trailers, and then running coordinated creator campaigns across platforms like TikTok, YouTube Shorts, Instagram Reels and Twitch to measure real-world wishlist demand. The publisher primarily focuses on co-op games, survival titles, simulators, and socially-driven multiplayer experiences designed to spread organically through creator communities and short-form video platforms. To date, Polden has released 10 games and sold more than 600,000 copies globally.
Kirill Oreshkin, Co-Founder and CEO of Polden Publishing, said: “We believe the future of indie publishing is becoming more transparent, more measurable, and more collaborative with developers. For too long, developers have had to rely on opaque greenlight processes or spend years building games without meaningful market feedback. Our goal in working with Blue Ocean Games is to help studios validate demand earlier and make smarter decisions before full-scale production.”
The partnership will also create new opportunities for indie developers worldwide to submit concepts for evaluation and testing through the combined expertise and resources of Blue Ocean Games and Polden Publishing.
About Blue Ocean Games Blue Ocean Games is an early-stage venture fund dedicated to supporting the next generation of indie game developers. Backed by KRAFTON, Inc., BOG invests in innovative game concepts that traditional publishers and investors often overlook. Through its unique SAIL investment model, BOG funds creators at the concept stage while helping them retain IP ownership. The fund also provides practical support, including incorporation assistance, bookkeeping, and mentorship from industry veterans. Blue Ocean Games was founded by former KRAFTON investment head Damian Lee and is headquartered in Toronto.
About Polden Publishing Polden Publishing is an indie game publisher focused on validating and scaling new game concepts through data-driven audience testing, creator-led discovery, and community-first publishing strategies. Based in Cyprus, the company has gained attention for its transparent approach to indie game marketing and Steam wishlist validation.
MY.GAMES announces that War Robots, tactical PvP mobile shooter by in-house studio Pixonic, is expanding to consoles, continuing its gradual rollout across major gaming platforms. War Robots is available today on PlayStation®4 and PlayStation®5, with Xbox versions to follow shortly.
The console version of War Robots delivers the same core gameplay experience that mobile and PC players know, bringing tactical mech combat, team-based battles, and progression systems to a new audience of console players.
War Robots’ tactical gameplay is particularly well suited for console play. Battles focus on positioning, teamwork, and strategic decision-making, creating an experience where players can compete on equal footing. The game already supports Steam Deck and gamepad play on PC, helping ensure a smooth transition to consoles for both new and existing players.
“With the expansion to consoles, we want to create more opportunities for players around the world to join the fascinating universe of War Robots,” said Boris Burangulov, Executive Producer of War Robots. “Our goal is to bring our unique tactical robot combat experience to wherever players want to try it.”
Today, War Robots has more than 325 million installs across many different platforms and stores. War Robots remains one of the elite few members in the “Billion Dollar Club” — a milestone achieved by only a handful of mobile titles in history. The title is available globally across mobile, PC, and consoles.
About War Robots
War Robots is a third-person mobile shooter developed by MY.GAMES’ in-house studio Pixonic. Released in 2014, the game keeps growing. It has 325+ million registered users, hundreds of thousands active players daily and a huge community of fans. The War Robots Universe expanded with the release of War Robots: Frontiers, a high-end third-person shooter for Windows PC, PlayStation 4|5, and Xbox One and Series X|S developed with Unreal Engine 5.
About MY.GAMES
MY.GAMES is a leading international publisher and developer with offices in Europe and beyond, and over one billion registered users worldwide. The company develops games for mobile, PC and console platforms. War Robots, Hustle Castle, Rush Royale, Left to Survive, and many other games are produced by MY.GAMES. The company unites over a dozen development studios, and a strong team of specialists working together from across the globe. For more information, please visit https://my.games/.
Jagex brings the iconic franchise to console for the first time in its 25-year history, opening the world of RuneScape to millions of new players globally
Wednesday 3rd June, 2026, Cambridge, UK – RuneScape: Dragonwilds, the breakout open-world survival crafting game from Jagex: The RuneScape Company, will launch on PlayStation 5 later this year and be available to PlayStation Plus Extra and Premium subscribers at launch. The release marks the first time in the franchise’s 25-year history that a RuneScape title has launched on console, a landmark moment in Jagex’s strategy to expand the franchise to new platforms, new audiences and new markets around the world.
Currently available in Steam Early Access, where it has already sold more than one million copies, RuneScape: Dragonwilds continues to build momentum as one of Jagex’s fastest-growing new releases and a major new chapter in the future of the RuneScape franchise.
Announced as part of yesterday’s PlayStation’s State of Play showcase, RuneScape: Dragonwilds marks the debut of Jagex’s iconic medieval fantasy brand on console. Completely separate from the beloved RuneScape MMORPG, which celebrates its 25th anniversary this year, Dragonwilds sees players team up to explore Ashenfall’s many varied and wondrous regions, complete grand quests, grind skills, slay dragons, and survive through sorcery.
Key Features:
RuneScape at its core!: Embark on quests, level skills while exploring a beautiful, hand-crafted world. This all-new adventure blends high-fantasy and iconic RuneScape lore on an undiscovered continent. Battle legendary RuneScape creatures like Zogres, challenge Black Knights and the entirely new and fearsome Garou, all set to a sweeping soundtrack of reorchestrated RuneScape classics and hours of brand-new music.
Grind Skills, Slay Dragons: Locate them, throw down the gauntlet, and carve a path to the Dragon Queen herself. Follow the trail of destruction and uncover the mysteries of the continent to learn not just how to confront the dragons, but how to overcome them.
Survival Through Sorcery: Summon a spectral axe to fell trees in an instant! Blink away from danger in a cloud of magic. Turn bones into… peaches? The Anima-rich landscape of Ashenfall offers a power unlike any other. Conjure a tornado of fish from a lake! Explode ore veins with a snap of your fingers! Journey through the vibrant regions of Ashenfall, discover why wild magic spills from the fractured lands and harness that power to survive!
Community Driven, Player Centric: Like all RuneScape games, community is at the heart of RuneScape: Dragonwilds. Whether players are adventuring with friends or going it alone, every opinion matters, and it’s up to the community to help shape the future of our game.
Jesse America, Executive Producer, RuneScape: Dragonwilds, said: “The world of RuneScape continues to go from strength to strength after 25 years of being an icon of the MMORPG space. Bringing Dragonwilds and its mix of crafting, survival, and quintessential RuneScape-ness to new platforms like PlayStation 5 is key to unleashing its magic to more players around the gaming globe.”
“We’re incredibly proud to have RuneScape: Dragonwilds launch on PlayStation Plus later this year. This means even more gamers can effortlessly team up and explore Ashenfall, go questing across its dangerous regions, battle dragons, skill up on more and more abilities, and ultimately survive its thrall.”
RuneScape: Dragonwilds is available now on Steam Early Access and can be wishlisted on the PlayStation store here.
About Jagex
Headquartered in Cambridge, United Kingdom, Jagex: The RuneScape Company, is a leader in creating deep and engaging forever games that empower communities across PC and mobile. Our MMORPG franchise, RuneScape, is played around the world and has welcomed over 300 million player accounts.
As RuneScape enters its 25th year in 2026, we are accelerating our strategy to expand RuneScape into a broader ecosystem of forever games and connected experiences, grounded in a renewed commitment to integrity and fair play. This includes the reduction of monetisation mechanics, as well as the launch of RuneScape: Dragonwilds into Steam Early Access in 2025, representing a major step in building a multi-genre future for the RuneScape universe. Jagex: The RuneScape Company remains focused on building enduring worlds, empowering player-led innovation, and laying the foundations for the boldest era in RuneScape’s history.
Haunted in his dreams by a nightmare that he can’t quite discover the source of, Alex takes on a dangerous form of therapy that may leave him catatonic. However upon doing so, we manage to discover the trauma plaguing him in our complete playthrough of Sometimes You and Graven Visual Novels’ Scarlet Wolf.
Scarlet Wolf – Full Play Through
Scarlet Wolf is a dark fantasy visual novel that blends supernatural mystery, romance, and psychological drama into a choice-driven narrative. Players step into a world where ancient secrets, hidden agendas, and dangerous relationships intertwine, guiding the story through meaningful decisions that shape both character bonds and the ultimate outcome. As tensions rise and the truth behind the mysterious Scarlet Wolf begins to emerge, every choice carries weight, leading to multiple paths and endings.
Featuring beautifully illustrated character artwork, atmospheric storytelling, and branching dialogue, Scarlet Wolf focuses on character development and emotional storytelling as much as its mystery. Whether pursuing romance, uncovering hidden lore, or navigating difficult moral decisions, players will find a narrative filled with intrigue, suspense, and unexpected twists that reward multiple playthroughs.
Scarlet Wolf Developer: Graven Visual Novels Publisher: Graven Visual Novels, Sometimes You Platform: PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Switch, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PC Release 31st July 2026 Price: $9.99 USD
Recommended – “Scarlet Wolf has an engaging concept and tone, but its barely hour‑long runtime makes the narrative feel compressed and incomplete for the cost.”
London (June 3, 2026) – In PlayStation’s State of Play broadcast, Capcom revealed Onimusha: Way of the Sword™ releases on September 25, 2026 for PlayStation®5 (PS5®), Xbox Series X|S, and PC via Steam, the Epic Games Store, and Windows. A free demo for the highly anticipated swordplay action game is also available starting today alongside pre-orders.
Watch the Onimusha: Way of the Sword Release Date Announcement Trailer below.
The latest footage explores Mount Oe, a new location outside Kyoto, where a colossal Genma claiming to be the legendary Shuten Doji makes his stronghold. As protagonist Miyamoto Musashi carves his way through the Genma garrison, he wields his supernatural speed and strength to traverse the fortress’ defences. In its closing moments, the trailer provides a glimpse of Musashi harnessing every ounce of his powers to transform and fully awaken as an Oni Warrior.
The Onimusha: Way of the Sword Demo is available beginning today on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC* via Steam and the Epic Games Store. In the demo, players can experience the game’s satisfying action at home for the first time, explore the historic Kiyomizu-dera Temple, and test their skills in a heated battle against Musashi’s fated rival, Sasaki Ganryu. Demo players will also receive a special bonus, the “Kubi Akari” charm, when the full game releases on September 25.
Pre-orders for Onimusha: Way of the Sword begin today. Players who reserve their copy early will receive the “Sealed Curse” sword skin and “Lion Dog” charm as bonuses. Additionally, pre-orders of the Deluxe Edition and Premium Deluxe Edition will include extra bonus rewards.
The Standard Edition will be available both physically and digitally, while the Deluxe Edition and Premium Deluxe Edition are available via digital stores. The Deluxe Edition includes the base game, plus cosmetics and charms for Musashi. In addition to this, the Premium Deluxe Edition packs in additional cosmetics for Musashi, outfits for his allies, and an in-game digital soundtrack.
Onimusha: Way of the Sword is the latest instalment in Capcom’s classic Onimusha™ series. The first entry in 20 years, the all-new action game returns to a dark fantasy Japan where samurai clash with the supernatural. The story fuses history and myth, following the journey of Miyamoto Musashi, a samurai armed with a mystical Oni Gauntlet, as he battles demons invading Edo-period Kyoto. Onimusha: Way of the Sword features intense action that combines the series’ signature Issen and Soul Absorption mechanics with exhilarating swordplay that takes combat to new heights.
ABOUT CAPCOM
Capcom is a leading worldwide developer, publisher, and distributor of interactive entertainment for game consoles, PCs, handheld, and wireless devices. Founded in 1983, the company has created hundreds of games, including groundbreaking franchises Resident Evil™, Monster Hunter™, Street Fighter™, Mega Man™, Devil May Cry™, and Ace Attorney™. Capcom maintains operations in the U.S., U.K., Germany, France, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Tokyo, with corporate headquarters located in Osaka, Japan. More information about Capcom and its products can be found at www.capcom.com or news.capcomusa.com.
Visual novels come in all different shapes and sizes and can be some of the most unique stories a player can experience. Some are simply static, meant to tell a straight story with no changes, while others offer different routes and endings. This simple set-up has allowed for plenty of interesting stories to be told spanning all kinds of genres, be it romance, horror, science fiction, and so much more while also defying expectations at the same time. Ultimately though, sometimes a game just wants to keep things rather basic and deal with trauma and a dark storyline in a fairly straightforward manner. Such is the case with Scarlet Wolf from Graven Visual Novels and Sometimes You, a bite sized visual novel that tells an interesting tale but not quite worth the price tag.
Story
For months now Alex has been suffering from the same nightmare, wandering a labyrinth of halls and hearing a girl calling out for help. Every time he feels like he is close, the girl slips away and he awakens, unable to sleep again for the night. After exhausting all options and reaching the point of exhaustion himself Alex approaches a psychologist named Dr. Amanda Silk who has discovered a new, but dangerous, form of therapy.
After losing her daughter’s own mind in trials, Dr. Silk is reluctant to help but gives in under Alex’s persistence, using her “Anchor” and hypnosis technique to sink his consciousness into his dreams. Now, finally able to interact and have free will within the dream itself, alongside a childhood companion in the form of his, now talking, plushie Gingerro, and Silk’s own presence assisting, it will be up to Alex to find out just who that girl in his dreams is and why she haunts his mind every night.
Scarlet Wolf tells a surprisingly short and somewhat simple storyline but one that is dark no matter what route players take. This is a story about tragedy, trauma, and loss, all repressed within a mind that simply couldn’t handle the events as they unfolded before Alex. While we won’t spoil them here, it is worth noting that the game does have two routes that diverge depending on the choices that players make throughout the barely hour long story. One hinges heavily on an extremely dark and twisted topic that slowly is revealed in the latter half of the story, through the player’s encounter with the “monster” and the ending, while the other is a bit odder. Not only does it revolve around a disease that literally needed to be looked up to find out it is real, but something that could have been handled far better, even if it does help lend a little credence to why the design of one monster ended up being the way it was.
That’s not to say that the story itself is bad, as it does a satisfying enough job providing the set-up and interactions to make players care about the Alex and the characters while traveling through Alex’s mental-space, but it also doesn’t have the legs to actually go anywhere at the same time due to its short length. Even the therapist comments at how abruptly everything seems to wrap up, while the epilogue itself sets up the intention for possibly more development or revelations that go unsaid. This will likely feel players a bit disappointed, especially those looking for an ending with a bit more closure, but between the title’s short length and the premise itself, the end result is the best players could have hoped for.
Gameplay
As far as gameplay goes, Scarlet Wolf comes with the base plate of visual novel controls. This includes the bare minimum of having auto-text, a text log to read back previous dialogue, and a skip dialogue feature. Oddly enough, there is no option to turn on “skip only read” dialogue, but players will immediately recognize what scenes are different depending on the choices they have made throughout the story as only a few have actual implications. There is no “hide window” option to get a better view at the scenes and a very simple save and load system.
One thing that is a bit nice, but also something that is expected in a visual novel, is that the game does have a CG gallery that unlocks as players see different backgrounds and CGs throughout the game and see each ending, with each CG often having variants that are viewable in the same slide. It is interesting or rather odd to note, that achievements in the game do not unlock if the player is having text “auto” play. Whether this is a glitch or something intentional to make sure players are paying attention is unknown.
Audio & Visuals
It must be said that a solid amount of work has gone into making an impressive looking visual novel despite the limited number of characters to work with. Alex’s own design is rather simplistic and so is Dr. Silk’s but the real highlight comes from the imaginary friends, secondary character that we won’t spoil, and the numerous monsters that players encounter throughout the game. The monster designs are quite gruesome in nature and visceral, even if their movements are still as the game lacks any Live2D assets. Instead there are over twenty different CGs to show off the various scenes and events that play out throughout the game.
There is no voice work of any kind throughout Scarlet Wolf other than some generic sound effects used here and there, such as a character sighing or growling from beasts. Thankfully the game makes up for it by having some rather solid background music that is mixed throughout the dramatic reveals and calmer situations.
Overall
Scarlet Wolf tells an intriguing tale that spans across a character’s trauma and the way their past still haunts them, locked away and now haunting their every dream with the only way to confront it being a life-risking endeavor. The concept is interesting and the storyline is fairly well executed, but unfortunately Scarlet Wolf tries punching a bit too high with its short length, even on repeat to see the other route, bringing it to barely over an hour long. This limited length prevents players from feeling like they’ve received a proper conclusion and, especially for the console release price of $9.99, is a bit pricey for such a limited experience.
Capsule Computers review guidelines can be found here.
