VR hasn’t hit it’s peak yet; in fact, there is still quite a ways to go. With games at this point usually only lasting a couple of hours, and the interactions within those worlds kept to a minimum, there are many avenues of improvement. However, one genre I did not expect to attempt cross-pollination this early are the Japanese visual novels.
In some ways, they’re perfect for VR (first-person gameplay, puzzles, interactive environments etc.). In others, it’s hard to imagine how it would work (walls of text, tapping a single button repeatedly to get through the text, the static nature of the POV). Which is why ALTDEUS: Beyond Chronos is so novel… it attempts to further the experiment used for Tokyo Chronos.
VR: Visual Reality
By fusing visual novels and VR together, developers MyDearest hope to forge a new path. They look to have more interactivity in the sequel. How interactive it will be is not clear.
Taking place 300 years after the original, players control Chloe, “a genetically enhanced soldier” thrown into the midst of “mecha battles” against aliens. The combat diva Noa will help Chloe during battle with using “song and instruction”.
Stranger yet, “as a symbol of hope for the new world, Noa charms and performs for fans in vibrant live concert sequences”. Also, in keeping with Visual Novel tradition, there will be multiple endings that change depending on the player’s choices.
The game will release with both Japanese and English voice-acting. The newest trailer shows off the talent list for those voices, including Akari Kito as Chloe and Yumiri Hanamori as Noa.
Players will also have music choices– some J-Pop from in-game diva Noa or a slightly heavier J-Rock. Whatever helps put you in the role of humanity’s mecha-pilot saviour.
ALTDEUS: Beyond Chronos will release for Oculus VR devices. As for a release date, it is targeting a Q4 2020 release.
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