“Never split the party.” It’s wisdom handed down from generations of RPG experience, and reinforced in almost every horror movie, and every episode of Scooby Doo. Now upcoming 3D real-time dungeon runner RPG Hyakki Castle has decided to flip that bit of time honored advice on its head, with an entire combat system built around splitting the party. Madness!
The new gameplay trailer shows off in exquisite detail the variety of Japanese monsters that players will face as they delve into the secrets of the titular enormous, haunted castle. It appears that players will be able to split their party in two and use that ability to flank enemies, solve puzzles, and do whatever other things require being in two places at once.
I’m not really sure splitting the party to face two monsters at once was the best plan here…
The game features stylized Ukiyo-e graphics and a soundtrack of traditional Japanese music. Set during Japan’s 18th Century Edo period, Hyakki Castle brings the “Fantastical World” to life. Players are challenged to build a four-character party of Samurai, Monks, and Ninja to escape traps, battle monsters, solve puzzles, and ultimately confront and defeat the Lord of the Castle.
This looks like a rather interesting game. There’s a definite horror feeling to it, as many of the Japanese demons are seriously unsettling simply to look at (note that head and foot thing for an example). The ease of switching between party groups, and whether that turns out to be a gimmick deployed under specific circumstances, or a vital part of the game, is probably the biggest question in my mind. It’s always nice to see a developer at least trying to bring something new to a genre.
Just a giant snake with a Geisha’s head. No big deal…
Unfortunately, the game is going to miss a Halloween release. It is currently slated to launch on PC via Steam on November 15th, 2017. The Western publisher is Happinet, while the game is being developed by Asakusa, Japan based Asakusa Studios.
https://youtu.be/LnS0oDQrY8c
