Latest news with #actionRPG
Asharq Al-Awsat
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Asharq Al-Awsat
Manga Productions to Publish 'Nioh 3' in MENA with Arabic Localization
Manga Productions, a subsidiary of Mohammed bin Salman Foundation (Misk), announced on Tuesday its partnership with KOEI TECMO GAMES as the official publisher of the highly anticipated action title 'Nioh 3' in the Middle East and North Africa region. The game is scheduled for a worldwide simultaneous launch in early 2026 on PlayStation 5 and Steam. In a statement, Manga Production said 'Nioh 3' marks the latest chapter in the acclaimed dark samurai action RPG series, celebrated for its unique blend of Japanese mythology and intense combat. With over eight million units sold worldwide, the Nioh series has established itself as a global favorite. This new installment adopts an open field environment and a new battle system that allows players to switch between the two fighting styles "Samurai" and "Ninja" in real time during combat. As part of the collaboration, Manga Productions will lead the Arabic localization, marketing, and regional publishing efforts. In line with the company's mission to empower local talent, Manga Productions will involve Saudi creatives in the localization process, ensuring a culturally resonant and high-quality experience for Arabic-speaking players. Manga Productions CEO Dr. Essam Bukhary said the launch of 'Nioh 3' with Arabic support for gamers in the region is another step toward delivering world-class experiences while empowering Saudi talent throughout every stage of development. 'The trust we've earned from our global partners reflects Manga Productions' strong capabilities in publishing, distribution, and marketing, as well as our continued success in delivering high-quality, culturally relevant content to audiences across the region,' he stated. Manga Productions and KOEI TECMO GAMES remain committed to delivering high-quality entertainment that reflects the growing passion and potential of the gaming community across the Middle East. KOEI TECMO GAMES President and COO Hisashi Koinuma stressed: 'After the positive reception of DYNASTY WARRIORS: ORIGINS, we're excited to deepen our partnership with Manga Productions to bring Nioh 3 to Arabic-speaking audiences, fully localized and tailored to their expectations.' Manga Productions Business Development and Content Licensing Director Eng. Abdulaziz Alnaghmoosh said: 'Following our collaboration on DYNASTY WARRIORS: ORIGINS, which was praised for delivering an Arabic experience that felt original rather than translated, Nioh 3 is our next step in raising that standard.' 'We're committed to offering players a seamless, fully localized journey that feels like it was made for them from day one of the worldwide simultaneous launch,' he remarked.
Geek Culture
12-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Geek Culture
‘Towa and the Guardians of the Sacred Tree' Carves Bold Addition To Rogue-Like Genre With Weapon-Switching Focus
Replayability, procedural generation and non-linear progression – these are the core pillars of rogue-likes, a subgenre of role-playing games (RPG) often lauded for creating unique and unpredictable experiences with every 'run', the term used to describe each playthrough of the game, where death means starting over almost from scratch. With the roguelike genre dominated by titles that have perfected the formula, like Hades or The Binding of Isaac , what more can newcomers bring to the table that hasn't already been done countless times before? For publisher Bandai Namco Entertainment and developer Brownies Inc., their answer lies in Towa and the Guardians of the Sacred Tree , an upcoming 2D action roguelike oozing with charm and visual flair, and most importantly, offers a refreshing take on the traditional hack-and-slash format with its heavy emphasis on weapon durability and hot-swapping. Over the course of a roughly half-hour gameplay preview session, we were able to experience a taste of what's in store for the ambitious title, and after trying out its innovative combat mechanics, left with an eager yearning for more. As a studio known for turn-based RPGs like the Egglia franchise, or relaxing farming simulators like 2019's Doraemon Story of Seasons , Towa and the Guardians of the Sacred Tree marks a bold departure for Brownies Inc., not only due to a shift in genre, but also the overall intensity of moment-to-moment gameplay. This intensity isn't immediately apparent from the get-go, as the game presents a similar cutesy visual aesthetic seen in the studio's past titles, with heavily stylised designs for characters and environments alike. Players take on the role of Towa, the priestess of the fictional Shinju Village, who is tasked with gathering eight trustworthy companions, known as Guardians, as they embark on a quest to defeat Magatsu, an evil god who threatens to consume the land with his dark miasma and armies of creatures known as Magaori. Unlike traditional roguelikes, though, Towa and the Guardians of the Sacred Tree features an overarching narrative that's directly influenced by the completion of runs, with the inclusion of a unique time-progression mechanic. Due to Magatsu, time has come to a complete standstill in Shinju Village, with players needing to complete runs to progress the game's main plot. 'Once you defeat the final boss in each run, the village's time progression will be altered, constantly progressing with each run cleared,' explains game director Shuhei Yamashita in an accompanying interview session with Geek Culture and other Southeast Asian media. 'This is one of the unique essences of the title, as not only will each run feature multiple paths to choose from, but clearing them will directly affect the game's storyline and push its narrative forward.' The essence of any rogue-like lies not only in its procedural runs but in the core combat mechanics that tie everything together. In Towa and the Guardians of the Sacred Tree , players don't venture on runs alone, but always in groups of two. Furthermore, Towa might be the game's protagonist, but she doesn't actually embark on runs, instead leaving it up to her eight companions. Players have a choice between two of the eight playable Guardians, each with their own distinct visual style and backstories to discover. Take Nishiki, for example, a towering humanoid Koi fish who laughably loves eating seafood and can't swim despite his appearance, or Origami, a woman who, like her namesake, wears a giant Origami boat as a hat, and Bampuku, a giant bipedal Shiba Inu who's the definition of the word huggable. Interestingly, the wacky designs of some of the Guardians weren't an idea inspired by other games, media or folklore, but rather the creations of Yamashita himself. 'We did want to make strange and interesting characters for the game, and we thought it was a good idea to make them stand out a little bit. I designed the looks of Nishiki, Origami and Towa, and it doesn't matter if they look strange, I mean, there are eight characters, so why not make some of them look a little weirder?' It's not only looks that set the Guardians apart, as each also possesses unique movesets and abilities to mix and match. Players will take two Guardians across each run, one taking on the role of 'Tsuguri', the main damage dealer wielding two swords, and the other a 'Kagura', a supporting role which offers a choice of two spells, each bound to a trigger button. Once a run begins, players will encounter the traditional rogue-like format of progressing through procedurally generated instances, choosing different paths with varying rewards along the way. What sets the game apart, however, is its focus on themes of duality in its core concepts, as apart from having two characters and their aforementioned roles, hot-swapping between weapons also plays a key part in combat. No matter the character chosen as the Tsuguri, each will enter battles equipped with two swords, the Honzashi (Main) and the Wakizashi (Sub), with each character possessing unique attack patterns for both: Origami, for example, performs a slow but powerful sweeping attack combo with her Honzashi, while her Wakizashi requires the attack button to be held to charge up a ground slam that deals damage in a straight line. Shingin, a fox-ninja hybrid Guardian, throws his Honzashi forward to attack at range, while his Wakizashi calls down an explosion from the sky at range. The use of both weapons is tied together by the game's blade sharpening system, which causes the quality of each weapon to degrade with every attack, reducing their effectiveness unless the player performs a 'Quick Draw', a move that causes the character to quickly swap weapons, striking with the new one while simultaniously sharpening the other. Unlike most games with a weapon degradation system, however, both swords lose their sharpness extremely quickly, usually after five or so attacks, making constant weapon-swapping essential and encouraging equal use of both. With the combination of two swords, two spells, and a final ultimate move known as a 'Fatal Blow' that's unique to each Guardian, combat quickly becomes a dance of utilising everything at each character's disposal while dodging an enemy's telegraphed attacks, resulting in an addictive gameplay flow that's equal parts hectic and engaging. After clearing each combat encounter, players will receive rewards based on a chosen path, which can range from materials, currency, or a choice of four Graces, run-specific upgrades that can enhance the capabilities of swords and spells, or provide new abilities like a window of invulnerability upon dodging. Instead of combat encounters, players can also choose a path after battle that leads them to a shop to exchange currency for a Grace, or a spring that refills their health. This pattern then repeats until the player reaches the final boss for the run, or until death. Upon death, runs are reset, which removes all Graces earned, but players will still be able to retain any materials found. These can then be brought back to Shinju Village and used for weapon crafting and ability upgrading for the Guardians, although we were not able to try this out due to the curated nature of the preview. This limitation also extended to the game's time progression narrative, but in theory, these systems will serve to supplement to the game's already solid combat foundations by offering gradual improvements to each character, keeping gameplay engaging even after multiple runs. Despite the relatively brief preview session, it's clear that Towa and the Guardians of the Sacred Tree is an ambitious title for Brownies Inc. There's always something impressive about a team willing to step out of their comfort zone, especially when the resulting game effectively balances familiarity with innovation. This could very well be the next sleeper rogue-like hit, which is impressive considering the project itself was a happy accident of sorts. 'It started with us trying to challenge ourselves with something new,' Yamashita concludes, 'We wanted to start a small project, and thought the rogue-like genre would be a good start. But it ended up becoming bigger than we expected, and now it's a super big project, and we're just bulldozing through it with sheer willpower.' Towa and the Guardians of the Sacred Tree will launch on 19 September 2025 for the PS5, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch and PC. Kevin is a reformed PC Master Race gamer with a penchant for franchise 'duds' like Darksiders III and Dead Space 3 . He has made it his life-long mission to play every single major game release – lest his wallet dies trying.
Al Bawaba
10-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Al Bawaba
Was Nintendo the problem all along? Game Freak's Beast of Reincarnation sparks shock
Published June 10th, 2025 - 10:52 GMT ALBAWABA - Japanese developer Game Freak recently took the internet by storm during the 2025 Xbox Games Showcase after revealing its upcoming souls-like, Beast of Reincarnation. The stunning graphics left people in shock after they compared the developer's previous games to Nintendo's Pokémon franchise. Game Freak has always been subjected to criticism for its lackluster graphics and poor optimization in Pokémon games such as Sword and Shield, Legends: Arceus, Scarlet and Violet, and many more. Many fans blamed the developer, further stating that the studio lacks "motivation." However, others blamed the Nintendo Switch hardware, deeming it "outdated" and "weak" for its time, which caused limitations in graphics and performance. — PlayStation (@PlayStation) June 9, 2025 While that might've been the case, other Nintendo titles like Kirby: The Forgotten Lands, Mario Kart 8, Luigi's Mansion 3, and many more run steadily with stunning graphics. Additionally, Game Freak recently showcased the visible difference in textures between the Switch and Switch 2 versions of its upcoming game, Pokémon Legends: Z-A. Beast of Reincarnation (Game Freak) Game Freak describes Beast of Reincarnation as "an expansive one-person, one-dog action RPG built around demanding, technical combat." It follows the story of Emma and her loyal canine companion, Koo, who venture into post-apocalyptic Japan as humanity's last hope. The game is set to launch in 2026 for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC via Xbox Game Pass and Steam. According to its Steam store page, Beast of Reincarnation draws elements from adventure, action, and souls-like games © 2000 - 2025 Al Bawaba (
The Verge
08-06-2025
- Entertainment
- The Verge
Pokémon studio's action RPG Beast of Reincarnation launches in 2026
Game Freak, perhaps best known for its work on the Pokémon franchise, is working on a new action RPG called Beast of Reincarnation that will launch sometime in 2026. In the game, you play as Emma, who will be accompanied by a canine friend. 'Survive a journey across an ominous, ever-changing world where dangerous forests can erupt in the wasteland,' according to the description from a new trailer shown at the Xbox Games Showcase 2025. 'As Emma and Koo push deeper into the unknown, their bond strengthens—and with it, strange powers bloom.' The description also says the RPG is built around 'demanding, technical combat,' and based on the trailer, that sure appears to be the case — it looks thrilling.
CNET
28-05-2025
- Entertainment
- CNET
Elden Ring Nightreign Review: An Addicting Multiplayer Roguelike for Challenge Junkies
I drop into a fantasy land with a sword and two squadmates, all dedicated to defeating the Nightlord ruling over our shadowy limbo realm -- but first, we have to survive. From the deepest mines to the highest snow-capped peaks, we clashed and slew monstrous beasts for two in-game days at a breakneck pace to stay ahead of the closing ring of blue flame. On the third day, confronting the Nightlord in its lair, we get close to defeating it with wild weapons and spells -- but win or lose, we shrug and queue up to drop once more. This is Elden Ring Nightreign, a spin-off of studio FromSoftware's phenomenally successful and notoriously difficult fantasy action-RPG game Elden Ring. Rather than spend dozens of hours exploring wide lands in a solo adventure, Nightreign takes the combat and boss structure to a co-op multiplayer setting where tight gameplay must be balanced against speed and strategy to survive each trip into the game's arena. Nightreign is a departure for FromSoftware, eschewing the slow solo explorations of its previous games in favor of fast-paced rounds building your heroes from scratch, kind of similar to battle royale shooters like Fortnite and Apex Legends. But unlike those PvP-intensive games, each Nightreign round pits the friendly squad against a map full of computer-controlled enemies, leaving players dependent on teammates to survive -- or themselves, if they're bold enough for a solo run. (Currently, players can either go it alone or queue for three-player squads.) Screenshot by David Lumb/CNET Nightreign is focused, repeatable Soulslike action Nightreign ambitiously tries to see how much of an idiosyncratic yet popular game can be slimmed down and imported into a new gameplay loop. It's easy to put a hundred hours or more into Elden Ring, exploring every nook and cranny, upgrading weapons and trying out different strategies. Nightreign punishes that slow pace, requiring squads to blitz around the map, hitting specific points of interest to get as strong as they can to survive and defeat the big boss at the end of each three-day run. (Playing through three in-game days and facing the Nightlord boss at the end of a run can take 45 minutes to an hour -- or less, if you die along the way.) This approach will be catnip for fans of FromSoftware's signature tough boss combat, as it distills Elden Ring down to its core combat loop with just enough randomized surprises to somewhat refresh each run while keeping enough the same to quickly plan and alter course along a run. That makes sense, as Nightreign is directed by Junya Ishizaki, the person in charge of overseeing the combat for Elden Ring. On the surface, a lot has carried over from Elden Ring, but there are plenty of subtle refinements to make it fit fast-paced multiplayer gameplay. Player characters kit themselves out with powerful weapons and spells without worrying about stat requirements or armor. There's no fall damage, allowing players to drop from great heights to keep moving, and spirit hawks lift them in aerial routes around the map. Running up to a spiritual spring of blue fire lets you leap upward hundreds of feet in an invigorating ascent with a heavy bass sound effect -- I breeze around the map feeling fast and powerful, a hunter in a forsaken land. But there is some part of FromSoftware's spirit that's lost in Nightreign: that feeling of being dwarfed by an alien world that slowly unfolds its mysterious history as you cut your way through its cursed remains. Instead, Nightreign leans heavily on the mystique and lore built up in Elden Ring, presenting a mirror version of that well-known setting with its own limited mythology that can be revealed with optional missions. But you can just stick with the gameplay loop, and many will, turning Nightreign into a greatest hits album of fun FromSoftware moments that doesn't introduce too much that's new -- beyond designing the game around persistent squad multiplayer. Screenshot by David Lumb/CNET And the multiplayer is a joy, despite rough edges that, in true FromSoftware fashion, are unexplained or buggy in ways that the community will likely fondly rehabilitate as part of the game's charm. For instance, the game requires a lot of ascending big plateaus by hopping up misshapen steps with erratically successful ledge grabs. It's minorly frustrating, but does ratchet up the tension when you're trying to escape death or rush to a teammate's aid -- and much like the rest of FromSoftware's games, Nightreign is so tightly polished elsewhere that this slight jank, or other aspects like it, is tolerated and treated as part of its difficulty and flavor. Which is all to say that, for $40, Nightreign delivers on its vision of concentrated, easily repeatable FromSoftware action that's sure to hook the studio's die-hard fans and potentially lure other difficulty junkies who prefer quick multiplayer romps to lore-heavy solo adventures. With rogue-like novelty that rewards replaying, there's a decent blend of familiar elements and shifting map factors for fans of FromSoftware's tough gameplay to get their fix without needing to replay games they know so well. Fans of the longevity of Elden Ring and its DLC Shadows of the Erdtree should be cautioned: On top of a more narrow appeal than prior FromSoftware games, players will vary in how much replay value they'll get out of Nightreign, since there's currently only one map and a finite number of end-run bosses to tackle. The eight character classes, called Nightfarers, have varying complexity in their ability mechanics and will take players a while to master, but they'll likely spend most of their time attacking with weapons and dodging enemy blows, as in Elden Ring. There are plenty of randomized factors that mix up a run, from shifting terrain opening up new areas to "invasions" of powerful enemy computer-controlled Nightfarers. But in the 20 hours it took me to beat half the end-run bosses and kill the final boss, the single map became such a known entity that I stopped paying attention to it as anything but a race course to speed over on the way to my next task. Screenshot by David Lumb/CNET Where Elden Ring Nightreign triumphs and falters As a FromSoftware fan who can muck his way through its games in ways that nobody would describe as "dominant," Nightreign is something of a relief, as my two permanent teammates can help a lot in distracting bosses and picking me up when I make mistakes. Thanks to previewing the game earlier this year, I hit the ground running, pairing up with CNET teammates to try taking on big bosses -- and failing. But after pairing up with a very skilled Bandai Namco employee (one of many who volunteered to help reviewers like me take on bosses and finish the game), we took down some of the biggest and baddest Nightreign has to offer. There's no mistaking that I was carried by more skilled teammates, and that has me concerned for a bit of the game's flow and player skill growth. While I was used to cautiously and slowly going through FromSoftware games, my more skilled teammates flung us outbound on a speedy tour of the map zones we needed to hit to get as strong as we could. When I fell, they tanked bosses and dodged attacks to revive me. When the map's Shifting Earth conditions led to a new area, my expert teammate took us to the exact right spot to take full advantage of it -- something that might have taken plenty more runs to figure out on my own. I certainly improved over time, but it was all during rounds -- in the Roundtable hub, players return to between missions, a Sparring Grounds area lets you try out each of the eight total (six starting, two unlockable) Nightfarers' regular and ultimate skills, along with every weapon in the game. But it's a far cry from the game's high-pressure situations of boss events, enemy groups and more. Players will improve only by trial and error in the field, sometimes letting down their teammates in the process. Screenshot by David Lumb/CNET Yet, when you and your team are firing on all cylinders, there's no thrill like eking out a win over a monstrous boss. After killing a trio of end-run bosses, another reviewer, Bandai Namco employee Micah (team Cat Password all the way) and I locked in to beat the game's final boss. Shouting out congratulations over team chat, my body shaking with adrenaline, I felt like I'd completed a gaming feat -- something not unknown to many Elden Ring players after surmounting one of that game's many challenging bosses. I felt accomplished. I wanted to tell everyone, and when the game comes out, bring my friends in to play Nightreign with them, guiding as I was guided. But would I recommend my FromSoftware newcomer friends to play? Bandai Namco Who is Elden Ring Nightreign for? The more I thought about it, the more I felt my dozens of hours in Elden Ring were essential to starting Nightreign strong -- and even then, it took 20 hours in Nightreign to feel like I'd gotten a good handle on the best way to play. Knowing Elden Ring's massive arsenal of weapons and spells felt essential to picking up Nightreign and immediately having fun. New players who don't have baked-in knowledge of Elden Ring or the combat flow of FromSoftware games will probably be left in the cold. Aside from a tutorial section teaching players basic mechanics, Nightreign lacks the carefully crafted early sections of the studio's other games -- it quite literally drops players into the map for a run and tells them to get killing. The virtue of FromSoftware's single-player adventures' difficulties is that players could approach them at their own pace; in Nightreign, they must rapidly adapt to the studio's particular flavor of tough combat while also figuring out a largely unexplained world. The studio's famed minimalist storytelling will likely do a disservice to new players who die too quickly to learn. Whether they continue with the game after a humiliating defeat is, indeed, the classic trial that every FromSoftware player faces. But it sure seems like new players have a high hill to climb picking up on the game's subtly conveyed details -- map flow, enemy camps, bosses, weapons, churches, strategies -- while also figuring out how to play Soulslikes from scratch. And yet, Nightreign is so unlike every other game out there that its sheer novelty may be enough to tempt FromSoftware veterans and newcomers alike. It's polished, is easy to get into the action and has a very high skill ceiling. If players stick through its lack of direction and difficulty, they'll find a multiplayer game that feels rewarding to win in a way few other games are. And when they lose, they may find themselves like I did -- nursing annoyance that they fumbled but eager to drop in one more time with their trusted squad.
