Whenever a video game attains critical success, generally fans will desire more of it, such as additional content or even a new video game. This also applies to upcoming titles of great anticipation. For example, during the months prior to Elden Ring’s launch, Dark Souls saw an increased amount of daily players up until Elden Ring’s launch. With regards to upcoming highly-anticipated titles, Eiyuden Chronicles: Hundred Heroes has received massive support on Kickstarter for a Japanese-style RPG not scheduled to launch until 2023. The developers have released some screenshots of the game, and they look great so far. Despite having their hands full working on the aforementioned title, the Eiyuden Chronicles team have managed to recently launch a companion title in Eiyuden Chronicle: Rising.
Launching on all current platforms, Eiyuden Chronicle: Rising serves as a prologue to Hundred Heroes, as many of the characters in Rising will return in Hundred Heroes. As a companion title, it does not have the length that Hundred Heroes plans to have, but its price reflects that. Unlike Hundred Heroes that plays as a turn-based RPG, Rising plays more like a roguelike mixed with action-platforming. While officially described as an action-platformer similar to Castlevania, Rising contains numerous mechanics similar to roguelike games. For example, players may only obtain as much loot as their bag can hold, and deposit loot into their storage upon leaving a dungeon; however, doing so causes all enemies to respawn. Players may only progress through dungeons up to a certain point, and then they must go through story quests to advance, meaning players cannot go out-of-sequence. Combat remains fairly straightforward, but allows you to swap between characters during a battle. Swapping characters with the correct timing produces a “Link Attack” that deals significant damage, which players will want to utilize to defeat stronger foes. Most players will want to mainly control the main character, who functions as a light and agile fighter, only swapping to the other two characters when the need arises: a strong yet slow bruiser, and a ranged magician who has to recharge every few attacks.
As a companion title, Eiyuden Chronicle: Rising does not take long to complete the main story. This game serves to tell the origin story for Hundred Heroes launching in 2023, explaining the lore of the game and introducing some of the characters. Rising also serves as something to play for Eiyuden Chronicle fans while waiting for Hundred Heroes to release. Luckily, Eiyuden Chronicle: Rising has launched on all current platforms, proving multiple methods to enjoy this game.
Honorable mentions:
- Soundfall – Take Crypt of the Necrodancer and apply roguelike mechanics with 4-player co-op, and you get Soundfall.
- Salt and Sacrifice – This sequel to Salt and Sanctuary combines Soulslike elements with the gameplay of Castlevania-style games.
- We Were Here Forever – This latest entry in the We Were Here series delivers a new environment to overcome. Like previous games of the series, this game requires two players to play cooperatively to solve puzzles and escape from the dungeon.
A Punk, A Camera, and An Empty Stomach 