BLACKTAIL – Eerie New Trailer at Opening Night Live Announces Release Window and Opens Pre-orders on Steam
PARIS — Aug. 23, 2022 — Focus Entertainment and THE PARASIGHT are thrilled to announce the upcoming release of BLACKTAIL, a surreal first-person action adventure game where the story of Baba Yaga comes to life. Explore an original take on Slavic folklore and forge your own legend. Become either the guardian of the woods, or the terror nightmares are made of. Coming this winter on PC, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S, BLACKTAIL is already available to pre-order on Steam. Catch a glimpse of its grim storytelling in today’s trailer, following its premiere during Gamescom’s Opening Night Live 2022!
Become the guardian of the woods or the terror nightmares are made of…
You play as Yaga, a 16-year-old girl accused of witchcraft and expelled from an early medieval Slavic settlement. When living memories of her past return as foul, walking spirits, Yaga is faced with no other option than to hunt them down in hopes of unraveling her own mystery.
Bringing a one-of-a-kind blend of intense archery combat, magic and dark storytelling set in a vibrant fairy tale world, the game takes you on the defining journey of an ambiguous folk figure. Will you be a good witch and protect the forest? Or will you be the evil that haunts children’s nightmares? Only you can decide.
BLACKTAIL will release this winter on PC, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S. The game is now available to pre-order on Steam. For more information, visit www.focus-entmt.com.
Industry Veterans From Bethesda Game Studios and Obsidian Entertainment Form New Game Studio, Something Wicked Games, and Announce Wyrdsong, a New Preternatural Open World AAA RPG
Something Wicked Games’ seed funding exceeds $13mm for its flagship AAA RPG and includes industry talent from the world’s most successful RPG franchises
Cologne, Germany (Aug. 23, 2022) – Something Wicked Games, a brand-new studio from 15-year Bethesda Game Studios veteran Jeff Gardiner was just revealed at Gamescom’s Opening Night Live. With initial seed funding of $13.2mm from NetEase, Something Wicked Games is a new, globally dispersed AAA games studio with creative and leadership talent from The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, Fallout: New Vegas, Fallout 4, The Outer Worlds and more. Their first game, an open world AAA preternatural RPG, Wyrdsong, is currently in development.
Today’s announcement is coupled by an animatic teaser trailer for the studio’s first game, Wyrdsong. Wyrdsong is an occult historical fantasy RPG set in a fictionalized Portugal in the middle ages. Players will be challenged to question both their reality and the choices they make as Wyrdsong is set to expand, question, and re-define aspects of what makes up the current Role Playing Game genre.
Gardiner’s career in games boasts some of the most well known franchises in the RPG space. Gardiner served as lead producer and project lead across several of Bethesda’s flagship titles in the Fallout and The Elder Scrolls franchises. Before making the difficult choice to leave Bethesda Game Studios following a 15-year career, Gardiner’s efforts on Fallout 76 saw its transformation into one of the most successful, robust examples of the games-as-a-service model.
The studio’s talent roster also includes Co-Founder & Design Director Charles Staples (Obsidian Entertainment). Staples’ 15-year tenure at Obsidian was highlighted with his Design Director role on The Outer Worlds, as well as his work as Lead Level Designer on Fallout: New Vegas.
“Our goal with Something Wicked Games is to utilize our independence and creative autonomy to create the next evolution of open world RPGs,” said Something Wicked Games CEO and Founder Jeff Gardiner. “Our first project, Wyrdsong, has been my dream game for some time now, and I’m thrilled to finally share it today.”
Developed on Unreal Engine 5, Wyrdsong immerses fans in a dark historical fantasy where every decision has a consequence, both in this world and others yet to be discovered.
Headquartered in the capital region of Washington, D.C., Something Wicked Games is fully remote and hiring across all positions. Currently staffed with 12 developers, the studio hopes to achieve a full roster between 65-70 as development continues to ramp up.
It’s Candy-Coated Carnage in Killer Klowns from Outer Space: The Game, a New 3v7 Asymmetrical Multiplayer Horror Game Based on the Iconic 1988 Movie
MGM, Good Shepherd Entertainment and Teravision Games bring you a fun and frightening take on the iconic film, coming early 2023 to Steam, PlayStation®5, Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation®4 and Xbox One
THE HAGUE, The Netherlands – Aug. 23, 2022 – Video game publisher Good Shepherd Entertainment and leading entertainment studio Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) have revealed an ambitious and unexpected entry into the multiplayer horror genre: Killer Klowns from Outer Space: The Game, a new 3v7 asymmetrical online multiplayer game inspired by MGM’s 1988 cult horror classic film. When murderous alien Klowns come to feed on the quiet town of Crescent Cove, the locals must work together to fight back and survive the invasion. Players can team up as either Klowns or humans, choosing from a variety of character classes, to explore an expansive, ever-changing map with creepy surprises waiting around every corner.
Developed by Teravision Games, this playfully panic-inducing action experience faithfully recreates the atmosphere of the iconic movie and aims to stir up the asymmetrical multiplayer horror genre in multiple ways. The game is being developed as a live-service title, with multiple content updates planned for post-launch, and is expected to release early 2023 on Steam, PlayStation®5, Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation®4 and Xbox One.
Led by visionary game designer and Friday the 13th: The Game Executive Director Randy Greenback, Killer Klowns from Outer Space: The Game is blood-pumping asymmetrical multiplayer horror, boasting a uniquely campy sense of humor and nightmarish unpredictability that keeps the gameplay fresh and exciting with each session. Randy shared his excitement for the upcoming project:
“It’s a total bucket list item to get to work on the next chapter of such an iconic horror IP like Killer Klowns, especially getting the chance to partner with the original creators of the film and pair them with an incredibly talented development team like Teravision. I can’t wait for everyone to see what rockstars they are and the craziness we’re bringing to the genre.”
Key Features:
SEND IN THE KLOWNS: Take on a role of the iconic Killer Klowns – cooperate in a team of three players, utilize outlandish abilities, hunt humans with zany weapons, and plan your own alien invasion to harvest the citizens of Crescent Cove.
PROTECT HUMANITY: Fight back as a team of seven brave citizens of Crescent Cove – pick your class, explore the city for valuable loot and weapons, avoid getting captured by Klowns, and try to survive – or sabotage – the alien invasion.
WELCOME TO THE TOWN: Crescent Cove is a sprawling arena for unique 3v7 fights between Klowns and humans – boasting various locations, randomly generated map layout and a multitude of tactical opportunities for both teams.
EVOLVING THE HORROR: Unique approach to hide-and-seek gameplay, customization and respawn systems, PvPvE, dynamic objectives leading to multiple match results – Killer Klowns evolves the online horror formula in new ways.
Good Shepherd Entertainment, in partnership with Teravision and MGM, is excited to bring equal parts authenticity and innovation to this exciting new iteration of the cult favorite world, engaging the film’s original composer John Massari to create the score, and making The Chiodo Brothers – the original creators of Killer Klowns – executive producers on the game:
“When we first heard that someone wanted to make a Killer Klowns from Outer Space game, we all had the same initial reaction: finally! But nothing could have prepared us for the experience that the Good Shepherd Entertainment and Teravision teams were creating. We are thrilled by the sheer passion these folks share for the world of Killer Klowns and the care they have invested in bringing it to life in surprising new ways. We know our fans will be excited to be able to step into the oversized shoes of the Klowns for the first time… Because we are.”
Robert Marick, Executive Vice President Global Consumer Products and Experiences at MGM, added:
“We couldn’t be more delighted to collaborate with Good Shepherd and Teravision to bring this horror classic to life in an innovative new video game. Not only will the dedicated fans of the original film be excited for the video game’s take on the property, but it will also introduce the cult classic to a new generation of Killer Klowns enthusiasts.”
About Good Shepherd Entertainment
Good Shepherd Entertainment is an award-winning independent game publisher based in the Netherlands. The company has built a robust global footprint, shepherding talented development teams to create impactful games that innovate, challenge, and – most importantly – entertain. We’ve done this by pairing creators with writers, musicians and IP powerhouses and through strategic partnerships with some of the industry’s most notable names, including Devolver Digital, Croteam and Perfect World. In addition to the critically acclaimed John Wick Hex, GSE’s selection of titles includes Monster Train, Phantom Doctrine, the Transport Fever series, Hard West, and its sequel, Hard West 2. For more information, visit www.GoodShepherd.games.
About Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) is a leading entertainment company focused on the production and global distribution of film and television content across all platforms. The company owns one of the world’s deepest libraries of premium film and television content as well as the premium pay television network EPIX, which is available throughout the U.S. via cable, satellite, telco and digital distributors. In addition, MGM has investments in numerous other television channels, digital platforms, and interactive ventures and is producing premium short-form content for distribution. For more information, visit www.mgm.com.
About Teravision Games
Teravision Games is a leading Latin American video game development studio. It was founded in 2006 and its headquarters are located in Bogotá, Colombia, with offices in the US and Canada. The studio has developed more than 80 games for companies like Disney, Nickelodeon, Namco, Atari and Xbox Studios and is focused exclusively on PC/console development. For more information, visit www.teravisiongames.com.
Hardspace: Shipbreaker Lands on Consoles September 20! Discover the New Trailer Revealed at Gamescom’s Opening Night Live
PARIS — Aug. 23, 2022 — Hardspace: Shipbreaker, the acclaimed zero-g spaceship-salvaging sandbox game from Blackbird Interactive and Focus Entertainment, is officially coming to Xbox Series X|S, Xbox Game Pass, and PlayStation 5 on September 20, as shown in Hardspace: Shipbreaker’s Console Release Date Announcement Trailer which premiered during the Gamescom Opening Night Live!
Welcome to LYNX, the solar system’s leader in spaceship salvaging
Experience the daily life of a working-class spaceship salvager in Hardspace: Shipbreaker, where each shift brings the opportunities for big profits but even bigger risks, depending on your reflexes and skill. Experience the excitement of living, dying, and repeating the cycle while contending with next-gen physics and demolition effects set in a realistic industrial sci-fi future in the game’s story mode, or sit back, relax, and get lost practicing your salvaging skills in Free Play.
You’ll need to master scanning, cutting, and dismantling a variety of increasingly hazardous spaceships for valuable components and resources to pay off your astronomical debt to the massive LYNX corporation, a company that profits from both your success and failure. Death lurks around every bulkhead, and danger is how you earn your paycheck, but you might find that the workers during this challenging, competitive job have more power than they first believe.
On top of the compelling campaign and casual free-play mode that make up your solo journey as a space worker, test your skills in the R.A.C.E mode and win timed competitions against other Shipbreakers to climb the leaderboard and prove yourself to be the fastest, or most fearless, salvager of derelict ships.Hardspace: Shipbreaker releases September 20 on Xbox Series X|S and PlayStation 5. It will also be available on Day One with Xbox Game Pass and is already available on PC Game Pass.
Brainwash Gang fuels fast-paced and chaotic PvP battles with the perfect balance between FPS and deck builder
STOCKHOLM – Aug. 23, 2022 – Birds of a feather… fight together! Developer Brainwash Gang and Raw Fury are teaming up once again to bring you the ultimate deck-building FPS, Friends vs Friends, revealed today at Opening Night Live!
The world premiere showed the very first glimpse of the game, in which players choose from a roster of animal avatars, create a custom deck of weapons and abilities, and hop into one of many cartoon maps for the speediest, silliest fight of their life. Whether they enter the ring solo for a rapidfire 1v1 or double the fun with a 2v2, each player will encounter a mess of joyous mayhem.
About the Game
Friends vs Friends is an online PvP shooter that combines combat and deck building. Choose a character, build your deck with crazy cards and remember – you’re always just a friend away from a good time!
Play 1v1 or 2v2 in online, fast-paced, chaotic combat. Level up, get new cards, improve the ones you already have, and unlock new characters with their own unique skill. Powers, weapons, and debuffs are all played from your card deck. Become a titan, invoke a friendly turret, leach health with vampire bullets and make them have a big freaking head.
Key Features
“Quick Match” Redefined: Play with your friends or join online matching; either way, every battle will keep you on your toes until the outrageous end.
Perfect Your Deck: Unlock and upgrade cards to tweak your deck between matches to fit your playstyle (and win your way up the leaderboard).
Choose Your Challenger: Play one of 10 characters, each with a unique ability to bring to battle… and they look cool!
Practice, Practice, Practice: Try practice mode to get the lay of the land, or play against AI to train up your skills.
Play Your Cards Right: Adapt quickly to the cards in hand, the environment underfoot, and the opponent across the screen, even as post-launch content throws new characters, cards, maps, and events your way.
Friends vs Friends is available to wishlist on Steam now. The first demos will be available to Gamescom attendees this week, as well as at PAX West next weekend!
About Brainwash Gang
Brainwash Gang is a video game developer with headquarters in Madrid, Spain. Known for Damnview: Built from Nothing, Grotto, Nongunz, The Longest Road on Earth, and more, the Gang rebels against tying itself to a single genre, instead focusing on the feel of games.
Raw Fury is a boutique indie (un)publisher founded in 2015 by Jonas Antonsson, Gordon Van Dyke, and David Martinez. We do not care about genres or mechanics. We care about experiences and emotions. We want to help developers make magic.
Focus Entertainment and Deck13 Interactive Announce Atlas Fallen, a New Fantasy Action RPG Revealed in an Epic Trailer at Gamescom’s Opening Night Live
PARIS — Aug. 23, 2022 — Focus Entertainment and Deck13 Interactive (a Focus studio) are proud to announce the epic fantasy, super-powered action RPG: Atlas Fallen! Unveiled during the Gamescom Opening Night Live 2022 by Geoff Keighley, Atlas Fallen takes you to a semi-open world full of ancient mysteries and threats. Coming to PlayStation 5, Xbox Series & PC in 2023, get to know its sand-covered world now in the Reveal Trailer, and meet two mysterious fighters battling legendary creatures with sand-infused weapons.
World Reveal Trailer:
Rise from the dust and liberate mankind from the oppression of the gods
Glide the sands of a timeless land, filled with ancient dangers, mysteries and fragments of the past. Hunt legendary monsters using powerful, shape-shifting weapons and devastating sand-powered abilities in spectacular, super-powered combat.
Target and gather the essence of your enemies to shape your own custom playstyle, forging a new era for humanity in a fully cooperative or solo story campaign.
NETMARBLE REVEALS FINANCIAL EARNINGSFOR SECOND QUARTER OF 2022
LOS ANGELES – AUGUST 23, 2022 – Netmarble Corp, a leading developer and publisher of mobile games, reported $535.95 million in revenue, $17.46 million in EBITDA, and an operating loss of $28.09 million for the second quarter of 2022. Overseas sales accounted for 85% ($453.12 million) of total global sales.
“Releases late in the second quarter led to some of our new titles such as Ni no Kuni: Cross World and Merge Kuya Island having limited financial impact in the first half of 2022,” said Young-sig Kwon, CEO of Netmarble. “We expect to see increased performance in the third quarter, including the successful July launch of Seven Knights Revolution in South Korea, along with a variety of new titles slated for the second half of the year, including Overprime (early access), BTS Dream: TinyTAN House, and Charlotte’s Table, as well as blockchain games Let’s Get Rich: Meta World, King of Fighters ARENA and Monster Arena Ultimate Battle.”
Netmarble’s Q2 and H1 2022 financial results include:
For the first half of 2022, Netmarble earned $1.048 billion in sales and $54.51 million in EBITDA. The company reported an operating loss of $37.78 million and a net loss of $139.78 million.
North America led revenues (49%) with diversification across other key territories as follows: Korea (15%), Europe (12%), Southeast Asia (11%), Japan (8%), and other regions (5%).
Netmarble’s portfolio showed genre diversification across Casual Games (47% of revenue generated), RPGs (22%), MMORPGs (22%), and other genres (9%).
Top performing titles for the second quarter included: Ni no Kuni: Cross Worlds (10%), MARVEL Contest of Champions (10%) (Kabam), Cash Frenzy (8%), Jackpot World (8%), Lotsa Slots (8%), and The Seven Deadly Sins: Grand Cross (7%). All other games contributed to 49% of the company’s earned revenue.
A breakdown of the total financial earnings is below:
4/1/22 – 6/30/22 actuals
YoY Changes
QoQ Changes
Total Sales
$535.95 million
+14.4%
+4.6%
EBITDA
$17.46 million
-48.6%
-53.0%
Operating Loss
$28.09 million
–
–
Net Loss
$97.77 million
–
–
For details on Netmarble’s quarterly performance and to listen to the earnings call, please visit the company’sInvestor Relations page.
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About Netmarble Corporation
Established in Korea in 2000, Netmarble Corporation is a top developer and publisher pushing the boundaries of the mobile gaming experience with highly innovative games including Seven Knights 2, Ni no Kuni: Cross Worlds, MARVEL Future Revolution, Lineage 2: Revolution, The Seven Deadly Sins: Grand Cross, Blade & Soul Revolution and MARVEL Future Fight. As a parent company of Kabam and SpinX Games, and a major shareholder of Jam City and HYBE (formerly Big Hit Entertainment), Netmarble strives to entertain audiences around the world with a variety of mobile games based on its powerful franchises and collaborations with IP holders worldwide. More information can be found at http://company.netmarble.com
AQUATIC ADVENTURE GAME DAVE THE DIVER LAUNCHING INTO STEAM EARLY ACCESS THIS FALL
The game’s popular demo returns for gamescom, live now through Aug. 28
SEOUL – Aug. 23, 2022 – Underwater adventure and restaurant tycoon game DAVE THE DIVERis headed to Steam Early Access this October. To celebrate, MINTROCKET is unveiling a brand-new trailer at gamescom and has re-released its well-received Steam demo. Players can explore DAVE THE DIVER’s unique gameplay, stunning underwater landscapes and wild sea creature boss fights by jumping into the demo now through Saturday, Aug. 28.
DAVE THE DIVER gamescom trailer:
The previously released Steam demo features a few small changes including:
Improved player guidance and fish AI
A smooth 60 FPS update
Inclusion of Simplified Chinese
In DAVE THE DIVER players can explore the mysterious Blue Hole filled with a beautiful sea of numerous fish species and giant creatures whose ecology and topography are constantly changing. But an unknown creature awaits, making it important to upgrade equipment along the way to keep up defenses. Successfully running a sushi restaurant out of the water allows players to make and sell special dishes with the fresh ingredients they’ve caught, earning money for their much-needed upgrades.
MINTROCKET is a separate sub-brand of NEXON. The brand aims a world where various genres and new kinds of enjoyment coexist. What makes a great game? MINTROCKET thinks its answer is from the gamers. MINTROCKET only focuses on making fun gameplay and brings immersive gaming experiences worldwide with our creative and inspiring games.
MOUNT & BLADE II: BANNERLORD WILL RELEASE ON PC & CONSOLES OCTOBER 25, 2022
TaleWorlds Entertainment announced today that their acclaimed action RPG will be released on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox One X and Xbox One S
TaleWorlds Entertainment announced today at Gamescom 2022 that their acclaimed action-RPG, Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord, will be released on PlayStation (PS4 and PS5) and Xbox consoles (Xbox One and Series S&X) on October 25th, 2022.
Developed as a multi-platform game since day one, the console version of Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord will have the same gameplay features as the PC version. The game will be available to pre-order from today.
The currently available PC Early Access will also move on to full release, along with the console launch at the same date. But don’t fret – While this marks an important milestone for the game, it is not the end of the road for Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord, which will continue receiving updates in the months to come.
“These two years have been a long and challenging road”, said Armagan Yavuz, CEO of TaleWorlds Entertainment, in a statement today.
“Developing a massive and complex game such as Bannerlord, for several platforms, and in the middle of a pandemic, is no easy task – and I’m incredibly proud of our team for its relentless, brilliant work. Despite the challenges, it’s also been a rewarding path: we’ve found many synergies that we weren’t initially expecting between consoles and PC, synergies that have made the game grow and be better than it would have been in other circumstances. We’re looking forward to putting the game in the hands of our amazing community, which has been supporting us in consoles since Warband.”
ABOUT MOUNT & BLADE II: BANNERLORD
Bannerlord is the sequel to the acclaimed Mount & Blade: Warband, one of the most successful and influential RPGs of our time. Mount & Blade has been universally praised for its deep gameplay, which combines action, RPG, and strategy in a sandbox world where players create their own story in the fictitious continent of Calradia.
This follow-up, prequel to Warband, takes place 200 years before the Calradia we know from previous games. The Calradian Empire is on the verge of collapse, engulfed in civil war, and rising new powers are trying to take over the remnants and establish their own hegemony over the continent. In front of them, other factions try to take advantage of the chaotic situation to gain power.
Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord was released on Early Access in March 2020 to great success, and since then has received dozens of content updates, growing to an even bigger and more ambitious game. As the full release version of the game approaches, Bannerlord finally shows its anticipated console version at Gamescom for the first time.
ABOUT TALEWORLDS ENTERTAINMENT
TaleWorlds Entertainment is an independent video game development company, founded in 2005. Having grown from the initial two founders, TaleWorlds now employs over 120 developers, including a self-publishing team. Mount & Blade has received numerous accolades since its release, including multiple placements in PC Gamer Magazine’s “Top 100 PC Games of All Time” list.
ABOUT PLAION:
PLAION is a leading independent developer and producer of games and entertainment products, with ten development studios and five publishing units based all over the world. Founded in 1994 as Koch Media, PLAION offers a unique breadth of services and solutions, dynamically growing its business to push ourselves and our partners to the forefront in all the segments we operate in.
PLAION runs a multi-label strategy, with fully owned publishing units, such as Deep Silver, Prime Matter, Milestone, Vertigo Games and Ravenscourt, publishing games for consoles, PC and VR platforms across all physical and digital channels.
Additionally – as a global publishing partner – PLAION has formed long-term multinational publishing collaborations with numerous game publishers including Activision Blizzard, Bethesda, Capcom, Focus Multimedia, Giants Software, Koei Tecmo, Paradox, Sega, SNK, Square Enix, Techland, THQ Nordic, Tripwire, Warner Bros and many others.
With its parent company in Höfen, Austria – and the HQ in Munich, Germany – PLAION owns local publishing companies in Germany, UK, France, Spain, Italy, Sweden, the Netherlands, Austria, Switzerland, Poland, Australia, the United States as well as Japan and Hong Kong.
PLAION owns ten game development studios: Deep Silver Volition (Champaign, IL, USA), Deep Silver Dambuster Studios (Nottingham, UK), Fishlabs (Hamburg, DE), Warhorse Studios (Prague, CZ), Milestone (Milan, IT), Voxler (Paris, FR), DigixArt (Montpellier, FR), Flying Wild Hog (Warsaw, Kraków, Rzeszów, PL), Free Radical Design (Nottingham, UK) and Vertigo Games (Rotterdam, Amsterdam, NL). Additionally, PLAION collaborates with numerous independent development studios around the world.
Part of PLAION is also PLAION PICTURES, a leading independent film distributor in Europe with a library of more than 1.400 titles. Further business operations include Sola Media, a sales agency and production company for family entertainment, Spotfilm Networx, a multi-channel streaming network, and a sub-label dedicated to Japanese animation.
PLAION also owns the leading video game merchandise company DPI Merchandising (Denver, Roseburg, USA and Munich, DE) and a Quality Assurance Facility in Olomouc, CZ.
When it comes to Digimon, fans of the series never quite know what to expect. The franchise has seen numerous different anime series of various types including plenty of video games that tackle a wide range of genres throughout the years but perhaps the strangest part of Digimon had yet to come. Then, a new RPG by the name of Digimon Survive was announced back in 2018 and now after numerous delays and change in developer, the title has arrived worldwide and despite its flaws it may be one of the most unique combinations of visual novel and tactical RPG that fans of either genre could ask for and certainly one that Digimon fans will want to experience.
Story
Takuma and a number of his middle-school classmates are on a field trip in the mountains that is meant to be an extended stay visiting historical locations, hiking, and more. The initial plans are ruined when an earthquake causes the paths through the mountain to become blocked off. Things change however when a pair of locals lead them to a nearby shrine, explaining to them the historical meaning behind it and that it is technically forbidden for people to trespass. It doesn’t take long before strange events occur and Takuma and many of his classmates find themselves in a mysterious strange world and pursued by dangerous creatures.
Things grow even stranger as many of them are separated only for more monsters to appear but this time around, these monsters happen to not only be friendly but already seem to know their names. These Digimon come in as helpful allies against the initial onslaught and Takuma quickly learns that Agumon, his partner, is his best bet for surviving in this strange new world and perhaps finding a way back home.
In many Digimon series the process of becoming a “Digi-Destined” seems like a dream come true but this premise is tackled with a far more complex and realistic approach in Digimon Survive. Rather than simply being a happy adventure in a new realm, Takuma and his classmates are initially terrified and under attack on numerous fronts by hostile Digimon that see them as nothing more than food. With few allies, no food or supplies, and located in a strange place with no way home, Digimon Survive is a far darker themed tale than one would expect. This is especially true once the game’s storyline begins to develop further and reveal additional elements about this world and the myths that players learned about at the beginning of the game.
While we will avoid spoiling the more important details, some of the broader strokes see players needing to make various decisions throughout Digimon Survive that will steer the game’s branching storyline down various paths. This includes how players choose to build their relationships with the other characters in the game as the closer Takuma becomes with other members of the cast the stronger their Digimon can become as well as reveal additional story details. In many ways, it can also be something of a double-edged sword though as players can often only interact with others so many times in-between story sequences so and it is not possible to max every friendship out in a single run, so players may want to play favorites but this is where the other side comes into play.
As mentioned, Digimon Survive is a far darker seeming game than one may think and that is entirely true, especially when it comes to survival. There are numerous times that players may witness one of their friends dying in a situation that could have been avoided should certain choices have been made differently and the characters and plot will react accordingly by mourning the loss of their friends. This leads to some rather hard hitting moments and players likely wanting to keep something of a save rotation to avoid locking themselves into a bad situation should they wish.
With real stakes at play and a great storyline to work with, Digimon Survive‘s lengthy visual novel moments that dominate the game are an incredible experience that offers a story unlike anything I believe the franchise has had to offer so far. The characters themselves are nicely developed as well though a few can be a bit annoying, especially at the beginning, and the game’s glacial starting speed can drag the story down a bit but those who stick with it are in for a real treat.
Gameplay
In most regards, Digimon Survive is far more visual novel than anything else but it does offer some solid gameplay outside of simply reading dialogue and making choices. Now, as mentioned before, players will make various choices throughout the game that can affect relationships and determine their story path and outside of these story phases players will also be given time to explore the world map a little by traveling through the rooms of the school and interacting with other characters or searching for items/battles. These relationship building phases help boost a character’s stats and reveal more story elements but thanks to the limited amount of options available players will need to plan accordingly.
During exploration players can also examine their surroundings using their cell phone and take photos of digitized areas of the map. These photos can uncover various items ranging from healing items to even uncovering special crystals that serve as equipment. These crystals range from giving skills to the Digimon that it is equipped to to providing various stat boosts but unfortunately equipment slots are a bit too limited for their own good which limits customization.
Players can also encounter enemy Digimon when photographing these locations and players can either choose to fight them or run away at no risk. These battles serve as “free battles” that players can also choose to enter at almost any time and work as both ways to train up the player’s own Digimon as well as potentially recruit “Free Digimon” to the team. Unlike partner Digimon, Free Digimon will always stay Digivolved and can turn into some heavy hitters. It is worth noting that while it isn’t required to gather other Digimon to your team, it is highly recommended because occasionally battles lock out certain partner Digimon and also serves as a great way to gather all of your favorites on a team. Recruiting a Free Digimon plays out similar to a certain other RPG franchise with players needing to answer three questions when talking to them and, if successful, trying to recruit them to the team. A failure will result in the Digimon becoming enraged and seeing a boost in its stats so players will want to play carefully at times.
As far as battles go Digimon Survive‘s tactical RPG combat is quite solid if a bit simple. Players who are familiar with tactical RPGs will already know most of the game’s elements such as each unit being able to move a certain distance, make an attack or use a skill or use an item, and then ending their turn facing a chosen direction. Attacks from height advantages, the sides, or from the rear deal extra damage to enemies and players will receive more damage just the same. There are other elements such as elemental strengths and weaknesses but for the most part the combat really doesn’t get too complicated. Players will see that they can Digivolve their partner Digimon into stronger forms at the cost of ever draining SP, which would otherwise be used to perform various attacks. When not evolved, Digimon will recover SP when not taking action or by receiving support from nearby allies. This leads to a fairly simple to understand but also quite fun combat system that players can choose to make as deep as they like.
Visuals & Audio
From the moment players begin the game they will immediately notice how much effort has been put into making sure nearly every element of Digimon Survive is gorgeous looking. Character portraits have plenty of detail and the environments that players can explore are highly detailed and have a wide amount of variety. The Digimon models, both in combat and character portraits, are gorgeous looking and feature quite a bit of detail with only some of the attacks looking a bit too basic for their own good.
With Digimon Survive being a visual novel it is worth noting that the game only features the original Japanese voice track with English subtitles. The Japanese voice cast has done a great job with their roles here and the localization also appears to work quite well, though one character is a bit more “joke” oriented than some may be expecting. As far as the soundtrack goes, the game features a wide array of music that fits well given the strange occurrences that happen throughout the game.
Overall
Digimon Survive is not the type of game that many would expect going in but it turns out that this is only the first of many great twists that await them in the game. With the title being primarily a visual novel its storyline does the heavy lifting here by offering some amazingly enjoyable writing, especially for Digimon fans, and some great presentation with plenty of replayability while the combat is a serviceable way to take on foes with plenty of room for depth but not quite as much customization as some may want in a RPG.
Capsule Computers review guidelines can be found here.
