Slick, stylish games about Tokyo are usually left to Japanese creators. However, Maciek Strychalski is about to change that with his visually arrested Tokyo 42.
Coming in 2017, the isometric title will be a blend of role-playing, shooter, and even a bit of strategy. The developers, fans of both classic and modern, AAA titles, are blending both sensibilities to make something that looks pretty special.
Taking place in a futuristic Tokyo, players take the role of a character who falls into the underground world of assassins. The basic conceit is that you take missions from terminals, and build up your underground rep as you progress through the ranks. It sounds very No More Heroes-esque in that sense.
“The devs describe Tokyo 42 as ‘Syndicate-meets-Monument Valley-meets-Worms’ – it’s pretty unusual, so we can turn a blind eye to those excessive hyphens,” says the official PlayStation Blog. “The game has a significant open world single player mode with a story and lots of side-quests, plus a competitive arena-based multiplayer component.”
That multiplayer portion sounds really interesting, too. “Skin swapping has a big impact on multiplayer as well,” says the blog. “In the core Arena mode, you and your opponent spawn into a small area, unaware of each other’s location. You must try to act nonchalantly as part of the crowd as you move around collecting weapons: giving away your location could mean instant death if your opponent picks you out.”
From these descriptions, Tokyo 42 sounds right up my alley. Its genre-hybrid nature and interesting concept both sound very winning. There’s a lot going on there, and all of it sounds pretty stellar. That’s on top of an art direction and score that both seem rather exceptional. I only wish I could get my hands on it sooner.
Until then, here’s the debut trailer for this interesting little game. Here’s hoping it turns out as amazing as it looks.
