It has been a busy few years for Too Kyo Video games because it was shaped as an unbiased offshoot of Spike Chunsoft again in 2017. Even with that entire international pandemic presumably slowing down manufacturing not less than just a little bit, the studio has managed to ship three video games since 2020: FMV thriller Dying Come True, kid-friendly(ish) action-adventure World’s Finish Membership, and acclaimed visible novel Grasp Detective Archives: Rain Code.
Its subsequent recreation, tactical RPG The Hundred Line: Final Protection Academy, is anticipated to launch in April 2025; and on prime of that the studio has plans within the works to attempt its hand on the mobile-led gacha market that is all the trend nowadays with free-to-play motion RPG Tribe 9, an open beta for which is presently out there at Steam Subsequent Fest.
With the attainable exception of Dying Come True, one factor that every one these video games have in widespread is that they’re, to some extent, non secular successors to the Danganronpa franchise, the rights to which nonetheless reside with Spike Chunsoft; however that is hardly stunning when you think about that collection creator Kazutaka Kodaka is certainly one of Too Kyo’s founders and he undoubtedly is aware of what sort of video games he likes to make. Tribe 9 isn’t truly a brand new IP for the studio, both: the upcoming recreation relies on an anime written by Kodaka and co-produced between Too Kyo and publishers Akatsuki again in 2022.
Admittedly, Kodaka’s degree of direct involvement with the Tribe 9 online game spin-off is unclear at this level. Advertising for the sport leans exhausting on the truth that the distinctively Danganronpa-y character designs are certainly courtesy of the identical artwork crew, which suggests to me that perhaps The Hundred Line (touted because the long-awaited narrative collaboration between Kodaka and Zero Escape creator Kotaro Uchikoshi) is the place the studio’s lead writers are focussing most of their efforts proper now. However regardless of the case, followers of the Danganronpa franchise will not must squint too exhausting to see the entire inventive crew’s fingerprints on this recreation.
Except for the acquainted character artwork – which seems a bit much less distinctive within the recreation itself than within the CGs, due to everybody being absolutely animated in 3D after they’re not working around the globe as pixel artwork chibis – there’s tropes and in-jokes galore to please and amuse long-time followers of the builders’ work.
Provided that Tribe 9 takes baseball as its dystopian future blood sport of selection, I used to be counting down the seconds till a personality turned up who was an apparent visible callback to Leon Kuwata, Danganronpa’s personal Final Baseball Star, and I used to be not dissatisfied. Paradoxically it is exhausting to speak in an excessive amount of element concerning the subtler thematic nods with out spoiling the hell out of Danganronpa, a collection that actually must be loved with minimal spoilers, however I can promise you that those that know will understand it after they see it.
As for the way Tribe 9’s monetisation goes to work, I am not solely certain of the small print proper now – on the time of writing I’ve not reached the purpose within the demo the place you unlock the gacha, though as a veteran of the style I can see what seems suspiciously like a pull foreign money counter presently sitting empty within the prime right-hand nook of my display screen. I am conscious that Tribe 9’s monetisation mannequin alone can be sufficient to place off some potential gamers, which is honest sufficient; however as somebody who enjoys HoYoverse video games nearly as a lot as she loves Danganronpa, I am well-positioned to watch these two worlds colliding.
Essentially the most instantly apparent distinction between Tribe 9 and HoYoverse’s output is that Tribe 9 does not attempt very exhausting to ingratiate itself with you. HoYoverse video games are inclined to ease you in for a number of dozen hours earlier than issues get difficult sufficient so that you can realise that you simply will must both drop off or begin grinding for character levelling supplies now. Tribe 9’s strategy appears to be the precise reverse: throw you right into a harmful world with a Degree 1 character and drive you to determine how the sport truly works earlier than it’s going to allow you to transfer on to put money into the story, the characters, or certainly the gacha.
One of many prime tags for Tribe 9 on Steam following July’s closed beta is “troublesome”, and it is there for a motive. It performs equally sufficient to Zenless Zone Zero that I wasn’t utterly out of my depth, however all the identical, it is certainly one of comparatively few video games the place I’ve died within the tutorial whereas looking for my ft – primarily as a result of, in contrast to ZZZ, you actually must handle your stamina and thoroughly observe enemy assault patterns proper from the beginning, and may’t simply spam the dodge button with only a few penalties whereas you determine your greatest angle of strategy.
Nonetheless although, Tribe 9’s adjacency to a number of studios, franchises, and genres that rank amongst my private very-special-interests acquired me to push on by means of the place in any other case I might need switched off and picked up a unique recreation solely. And certain sufficient, ultimately I used to be completely having fun with the satisfaction of understanding methods to trounce enemies who may down my frail anime boy protagonist in two or three hits if I wasn’t cautious.
As an avowed Soulslike-disliker, it is simply too sickening, actually, to suppose {that a} HoYoverse-style gacha RPG made by the creators of Danganronpa could be the factor that lastly will get me invested sufficient to placed on my powerful woman boots and begin truly having fun with a “troublesome” motion recreation. However I’ve to confess that it might be very on-brand.
Tribe 9 does not have a launch date but, however you may take a look at this open beta till Steam Subsequent Fest ends on Monday, October 21. It is simply on PC in the mean time, however the full launch may also be out there on Android and iOS gadgets.