PLAYSIM is a publisher you may not have noticed before. However, they can satisfy all your needs for odd Japanese games (with a very tidy age rating) and more. They are so big that they have their own digital presentation event, their PLAYSIM Direct if you want. The latest was given the creative name PLAYSIM Game Show 2022 and was launched at 16.00 Japanese time on Sunday, which means an early morning at 8.00 Swedish time. In it, we got to take part in a dozen news among game announcements as well as for DLC to already released.
Because PLAYSIM is a Japanese publisher, many of the announcements are specifically for Japan. Some of them are already in the west, while others may take longer to reach us. Each headline comes regardless of the most important details for all stakeholders.
Momodora: Moonlit Farewell
First out in the presentation was Momodora: Moonlit Farewell. The Momodora series is a collection of metroidvania games (a term used by developers and presenters themselves). This is the fifth part of the game series and will serve as a concluding chapter. However, you do not need to have played previous parts, according to the developer. In connection with the broadcast, the game’s Steam page was published, but without a confirmed date other than that it will be released this year.
Homura Hime
Homura Hime is a hack ‘n slash game with clear inspirations from spectacle fights like Bayonetta or Devil May Cry, mixed with the bullethell subgenre of shooter games. In the trailer we saw, there were hectic boss battles with lots of dangers on the screen. For the development is a Taiwanese studio by name Crimson Dark, which started as a single student and is now a studio of five people. Steam page for Homura Hime is now open and the release date will come later.
Subway Midnight
Steam players can already play this horror game, but now it also comes on Switch and more formats, so you can play it “in a dark room on a large sofa”. You can read what Varvat thought about it here.
The Use of Life / Inochi no Tsukaikata
The Use of Life is a JRPG with anthropomorphic characters and a fighting system based on quick time events. The game’s story has some good-for-evil vibes and will have different endings depending on where you are in this dichotomy. It has apparently been present at several indie game events in its home country Japan, but will now be available to international audiences in the form of an Early Access release on Steam sometime during the year.
Mahou Shoujo Meiga Sufia / door ou 少女 の の イ
A third-person shooter with a magical girl with giant weapons in the lead role. The Hou in Mahou means “firearm” and thus forms a pun for those who are familiar with the language / culture. Mahou Shoujo Meiga Sufia has no English title yet; its newly opened page in the Steam store can only be accessed with the game’s Japanese name. However, the game has been developed for seven years and is a kind of final passion project with the creator. A release date is still missing, but we know it will come this year.
Samurai Bringer
Isometric action with roguelite elements and a soundtrack from a lost player (which is not so lost anymore). The goal is to defeat the eight-headed dragon Yamata-no-Orochi. Along the way, you will take on hordes of enemies and acquire new abilities. Samurai Bringer is designed to be fun for fans of random games and the level of difficulty they usually have, as well as new players, the studio promises Alphawing.
Takkoman -Kouzatsu World-
A game that mixed shooting from Gradius with platforming from Mega Man (and strings the life meter from the latter). Thank you is part of the popular Touhou series of entertainment media and proudly wears his brooch as a fan. This has previously existed at PLAYSIM’s own digital store, but will now reach Steam shortly. It also has the same developer as GENSOU Skydrift, so expectations should perhaps be tempered somewhat.
Astronaut
Finally arrived on the Nintendo Switch in a very complete version. The program worlds spent a good quarter getting acquainted with the game and it looks like it will be a hit in Japan. The release date was already January 13, but a physical release will arrive in Europe and Australia on February 18.
The Sealed Ampoule / Kuchinashi Ampoule
A clicker game mixed with cave crawling. Gameplay centers around fairly simplistic fundraising in favor of the story. Ampoule is being developed by two people and has long been on smartphones, after which it took the step over to Steam in March last year. Said duo promises tens of hours in game length. The main character is completely voiced by the voice actress Shizuka Itou (whose CV starting to get quite far!). The Sealed Ampoule will be released on February 3 on PlayStation 4, Xbox One and Nintendo Switch.
TASOMACHI: Behind the Twilight / Tasogare ni Nemuru Machi
One of last year’s little oddies is now getting a physical release on PlayStation 4 and Nintendo Switch, complete with art book and music CD. What Varvat liked TASOMACHI you can read here.
Noel The Mortal Fate / Hiyaku no Noel
The girl Noel has been deprived of her arms and legs by demons. Noel The Mortal Fate is her story of revenge. It takes place over seven episodes (or seasons) and is heavily inspired by manga. It is also developed by a single person. The game has been available on Steam for a couple of years now, but now reaches Switch in a kind of new version with a price tag of around SEK 250 – but only confirmed for Japan so far.
Mighty Goose
Mighty Goose gets a DLC track during the current quarter. This applies to all versions (Steam / PS4-5 / XBO / XBXS / SW).
Bright Memory: Infinite
Bright Memory: Infinite get cosmetic DLC in the form of two costumes. They are limited free in the spring. The program hosts also looked a little surprised at the news value of this headline. Bright Memory: Infinite and its predecessor (without the Infinite subtitle) are both available on Steam.
La Mulana 2 and the developers’ secret project
The developers Nigoro which is behind, among other things La Mulana-games have “realized that, after almost ten years in the industry, we do not have the genius to develop games in a short time”. Therefore, they gave us three and a half updates on what they are doing now: project 1 which is DLC for La Mulana 2 with the name Tower of Oannes and can be purchased already for about 40 kronor, project 2 which is still a secret, project 3 which is a completely new game (with a really nice artistic ambition, if you ask me) which has been named Ahamkala and… a project 4 that did not have time to manifest before the broadcast began. You probably have to take this easy and maybe play a little Tower of Oannes waiting for more info. Skip to 1:43:10 in the video above for a closer look at Ahamkala.
Gnosia
Gnosia is a science fiction-themed visual novel. In the story, a crew is stranded in the middle of space with a hidden threat on board called Gnosia. Gnosia has infiltrated the crew so well that no one knows who it is and everyone must try to find him through discussions and polls. Does that sound familiar? Perhaps it is easier to describe it as the lone player Among Us? Gnosia was released in 2019 for PlayStation Vita and Nintendo Switch 2021, but now reaches an international audience on PC for the first time with an English-language release via Steam – which you can buy now for just over 200 kroner.
PLAYSIM has a portfolio of very mixed quality, but it is at least unique and interesting in its own right. They are a small publisher who dares and wants to – that is more than you can say about many others. They are also aware of their international fans; several of the trailers we saw during the morning are in english. Hopefully they all bear good fruit.
