Publisher Kodansha and developer MegaRock will release a demo for stealth-based science-fiction RPG Guns Undarkness for PC via Steam on February 24, the companies announced.
Here is an overview of the game, via its Steam page:
About
A strategy JRPG helmed by lead developer Shoji Meguro (composer for the Persona and Shin Megami Tensei series).
Customize your arsenal of unique firearms to dominate the battlefield and forge relationships with your team to bolster your combined abilities during intense turn-based combat.
- A turn-based tactical JRPG inspired by games like Metal Gear Solid and Persona.
- A relationship system that boosts the protagonist as you grow closer with your teammates.
- A story set in a futuristic world on the verge of global and societal ruin.
- A meeting of the minds Shoji Meguro (Persona, Shin Megami Tensei), Ilya Kuvshinov (Ghost in Shell: SAC 2045, The Wonderland), and Lotus Juice (Persona series).
Story
The year was 2045 and humanity was in a state of abeyance that allowed technology to flourish, but deepened the social divide between the rich and the poor, the Haves and the Have Nots.
Within the ranks of the latter grew a faction who planned the Great Reset–an event steeped in primitivism that would change the course of humanity.
The Thousand Plateaus launched two weapons of mass destruction, triggering a worldwide nuclear war.
And so, the Great Reset was accomplished.
Enter our Protagonist, a rookie member of a private military company tasked with handling the worsening situation. It is up to you to discover the truth behind love in a world wracked by devastation and whether humanity is capable of being revolutionized.
Gameplay
Guns Undarkness is a futuristic JRPG that combines tactical positioning with turn-based strategy.
- On the Field
- On the field, the player will control the Protagonist and up to 3 allies.
- Use hand signals to instruct your allies to hide at select spots and then order them to cover you. Once you have the highlighted enemy in your sights, it’s time to open fire!
- If your team engages the enemy while totally hidden then you’ll activate an attack bonus. The more you fire during this bonus, the more damage you’ll deal before the battle begins.
- Hidden or not, once you fire on the enemy your team will leap into a turn-based battle.
- Attacks are basic actions that don’t consume SP, while Skills use SP but pack more punch. Attacking from behind cover? Then unleashing your skills with no cost to your SP!
- The affinity of your weapon and that of your target’s TAGS (defense suit) will determine how much damage you deal. Manage to strike your enemy in a weak point and you can deal massive damage, while an enemy’s defense value can also reduce the amount of damage they take.
- Hit an enemy’s weak point with a normal attack and you’ll be able to duck into cover. All skills are powerful, but there are also guns with special buff / debuff abilities.
- Status Screen
- Winning a battle earns your team two types of experience points: Character EXP and Gun EXP. Leveling up boosts a character’s stats and unlocks new skills for guns.
- Off the Field
- Off the field, you and Alpha Team will spend your downtime outside of missions in the Maroon, an amphibious submarine that the team uses as their hideout. You’ll use the hideout to accept quests or visit shops and other locations on the world map.
- Gun Customization
- You’ll be able to enhance the guns you own by adding parts. You’ll even acquire blueprints and materials that’ll let you build new guns as you progress through the story.
Characters
Led by Commander McGovern, the Alpha Team is one of the offensive units that work for BTI, a large American private military group.
The team was originally composed of McGovern, Will and Zach–two men who had been her subordinates back when she was a marine—and Naomi, an advanced combat android. Our story begins with the Alpha Team welcoming in their fifth member—the Protagonist.
- Protagonist – The main protagonist, and the player’s avatar. After working his way through the ranks of numerous private military groups, he becomes the newest member of the BTI Alpha Team. Thanks to his exemplary combat ability, he’s the only member of Alpha Team kitted out with the latest TAGS equipment—definitely not something typically gifted to a rookie.
- Sofia – A bright and cheerful 17 year old; she’s the only child of the great scientist Dr. Cowen. Despite her uneasy relationship with her father, she chooses to take over his research in the midst of nuclear war with the hope of creating a brighter future for mankind.
- Will – Despite his earnest nature making him seem like a softy, he provides serious support to the Alpha Team when equipped with a shotgun. He’s like a brother to the Protagonist, a former U.S. Marine alongside Zach, and once served under the same superior as Alpha Team Commander McGovern.
- Naomi – A high-performance combat android, she has no problems conveying emotion or communicating with humans. While Naomi has a gentle, motherly disposition, she’s also a reliable member of the Alpha Team’s offensive, charging across battlefields with her handgun.
- Leon – A silent mercenary of mystery. In his younger years, he worked as an assassin until General Zhang, leader of the Thousand Plateaus, hired him to do his dirty work. He has superhuman reflexes that he can use to dodge bullets, which are far more powerful than even state-of-the-art TAGS technology.
- The Thousand Plateaus – A far eastern military regime that instigated the nuclear war. Led by General Zhang. In the name of primitivism, the idea of abandoning human technology and returning to the primitive ages, they have set the entire world on a path to ruin. Primitivism gained more and more supporters following the start of the war, until looting and pillaging became rampant across the entire globe. As of now, chaos reigns thanks to them.
Locations
- Devastated City – A city with a some technology left where the wealthy settled after the war, subsequently making it a prime target for the primitivists.
- West Coast Village – The poor gathered here after the war and formed a group to fight back against primitivist looters.
- Research Facility – A large research city once occupied this area before the war. It was abandoned shortly after, but important research materials still remain in the rubble.
Staff
- Shoji Meguro (Persona series, Shin Megami Tensei series)
- Ilya Kuvshinov (Ghost in Shell: SAC 2045, The Wonderland)
- Lotus Juice (Persona series)
Watch a new trailer below.
Demo Trailer
English
Japanese