News by Lindsay M.
Welcome to Digitally Downloaded’s regular catch-up news feature. With each issue we will bring you the best news that you may have missed. Grab the biggest mug you’ve got, fill it with your favourite brew, and catch up with us (and our favourite news anchor, Dee Dee)!
Meet Elvira, goddess of Erde Wiege, appearing in Atelier Sophie 2
We are very excited for Atelier Sophie 2: The Alchemist of the Mysterious Dream, mostly because we trust the series and the developer (Gust) to really deliver. This week, a new character was announced: Elvira. There was also information released on weather (and controlling it) and a new type of location that will fill your pockets with a bounty of materials. Here’s the trailer:
In the game, Sophie is searching for her friend in the dream-like world known as Erde Wiege. While exploring, Sophie encounters Elvira, the goddess who created the area (Erde Wiege). She also finds her friend, unconscious, but that’s another story for another day. Weather plays a key factor in the gameplay. Each area’s weather is already determined. Players will have to deal with environment obstacles (raging rivers is the given example). Even better, with the help of Dreamscape Stones, Sophie and her friends are able to change the weather to change the environment. Unrelated to weather, there are also locations called Major Gathering Spots that have better material than traditional gathering spots. With the correct tool equipped, a mini-game will begin. Mini-game examples include fishing and shooting targets with a slingshot.
Developed by Gust and published by Koei Tecmo, Atelier Sophie 2: The Alchemist of the Mysterious Dream will be released on February 25 for PC via Steam, PlayStation 4, and Nintendo Switch. The original story, Atelier Sophie: The Alchemist of the Mysterious Book, is available for PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 3, PlayStation Vita, and Nintendo Switch; it first launched in 2015.
moon will finally launch for PlayStation
I’ve been very patient regarding moon coming to PlayStation. It released for Nintendo Switch a couple of years ago in Japan (later on in the west), but so far that’s been the only platform on which to play the classic anti-RPG. But my patience has paid off, as it has been announced that the title will launch digitally for PlayStation 5 and PlayStation 4 next month. If you’ve forgotten about moon since its western launch, here’s a past trailer for the Switch version:
So what is an anti-RPG? It’s everything RPGs are not. There’s no battles, no pillaging, and a real focus on NPCs. The story begins when a boy is sucked into his television set and lands in the Moon World. Moon World’s hero likes to go around killing animals for experience, and the boy’s goal is to do the exact opposite. In fact, he can capture their souls when their deceased bodies are found laying on the ground. There’s a choose-your-own-soundtrack feature, where players can shuffle the tracks into the order they choose.
Developed by Onion Games, moon will be released digitally on December 16 for PlayStation 5 and PlayStation 4. It it likely just a PlayStation 4 version playable on the PlayStation 5, but there is a slim chance it is two different versions of the game. moon first launched way back when in 1997 for the original PlayStation.
Fantasy Life Online to end service in Japan
This story has me scratching my head, because the timing just doesn’t make sense. Less than a month ago, I wrote about how Fantasy Life Online is finally coming west. In fact, its closed beta test would have ended only a couple of weeks ago. The sequel to the loveable 3DS title Fantasy Life has been on Japanese devices for a few years now. Ending service makes sense if the game isn’t being played, but is that even the issue? I also can’t help but wonder if this will have any impact on the western launch of the game. Here’s a Japanese trailer to show off what it is I’m actually talking about:
Level-5 issued a statement about the shutdown, stating, “Since launch, we have strived to achieve our goal of operating a game that players can enjoy, but have come to the conclusion that it will be difficult to provide satisfactory service going forward, and have thus decided to end service.” That’s why I’m questioning the shutdown, as it doesn’t sound like the game isn’t being played, it sounds like an inability to manage its own services.
Fantasy Life Online began life as Fantasy Life 2, so it’s legitimately a sequel to the original title. All those great gameplay features are still there: classes, crafting, battling, and more. Players actually build up their own village, at their own pace. Up to four players can adventure together, but it’s perfectly good to go at it alone. The ultimate goal is to rescue the world from the power of darkness.
World End’s Club coming to PC later this month
The game with a dream team behind it will be coming to PC via Steam in late November. World End’s Club “dream team” is Zero Escape series creator’s Kotaro Uchikoshi as scenario writer and Danganronpa’s Kazutaka Kodaka as creative director. It’s certainly been compared to both series before. It fuses together 2D side-scrolling action and story-adventure to create something different that any games available today. Here’s a trailer from the Nintendo Switch launch:
Twelve kids are about to embark on a 1,200 km journey. The kids are all oddballs and part of the Go-Getters Club. They’re different from the other kids, but it’s unknown how. While on a class trip, they get into an accident and wake up in an underwater theme park. A mysterious clown orders them to play a game of fate. While they are underwater, the kids powers awaken, but there is also some weirdness happening on earth.
Developed by Grounding Inc., ESQUADRA,inc, Too Kyo Games, and Izanagi Games (also published by Izanagi), World End’s Club will be released on November 30 for PC via Steam. It originally launched for Apple Arcade last year, and Switch earlier in 2021. It is not available on Xbox or PlayStation (at least, not as of this moment).
