Visual Novel News:
After previously being delayed to an unknown date, Shiravune have announced that Destiny Star Girlfriend will now be released on the 14th December, 2023 on Steam, JAST, and other platforms. It’s a Moe Game Award-winning romantic comedy visual novel by mirai. An 18+ patch will be available for the Steam version. We have published a review on this upcoming visual novel if you are interested in checking it out.
A surprise kerfuffle with unhinged space demons sees campus nobody Seiji “tied by fate” to Yuuri, the undercover magical girl who’s also his covert classroom crush! With both their secrets out of the bag, can Seiji still shoot his shot? Or will the evil Majin’s minions invade Earth first?
Ahead of it’s release on 21st December, 2023, ONE. has release it’s PC demo in English via the Steam Store. You can also access this via the Nintendo eShop for your region. It is significantly cheaper on PC than Nintendo Switch, with pre-orders currently available via JAST USA.
What tied me to this world… 1998, winter. I was just a regular student until another world was born in me. Like softly falling snow, it blanketed and began to bury my everyday life. It was only then that I realized… That there were certain things in my life that never changed. The same familiar scenery. The warmth of the one I loved, who filled me with a joy I never noticed. Their existence tied me to this world. It was when I first started to want these bonds, to want that special someone, that time began to pass, and sunlight caused the season to really shine. When it did, which world was I standing in, and who was holding my hand?
Talesshop has announced an upcoming Steam release of the Korean visual novel Lament of a Lifeless Planet (Jug-eobeorin Byeol-ui Neogsduri) with improved picture and sound quality, an improved user interface and 5 additional episodes compared to the original 2016 release. The Spiritless Shaman (Jeonglyeong-eobneun Jeonglyeongsa) will also be released on Steam with an improved picture and sound quality as well as an improved user interface, following a non-Steam release in 2019.
Both Steam releases have officially been announced for 15th December 2023 with Korean language support. We have been informed by one of their localization staff that an English release for both titles will follow 4 weeks after.
Find the Announcements Here and Here
MangaGamer has now released Liarsoft’s Sona-Nyl of the Violet Shadows ~What Beautiful Memories~ on both Steam and MangaGamer on 8th December, 2023.
The 5th entry in Liarsoft’s Steampunk visual novel series is a mysterious fairytale in which fantasy and reality intertwine. The story unfolds from the perspectives of 2 women: one who travels in the ruins of Engine City New York, and one who finds herself in an underground wolrd with a violet sky.
More Visual Novel News
- Yukar From the Abyss by LocaGames is now available on the Nintendo Switch eShop
- Curse of Gravehollow Peaks is coming to Steam on 13th December, 2023
Gaming News:
The Game Awards took place last week, and it was quite a packed show! There were an absolute ton of announcements, but here are some of the highlights from the event:
Atlus started things strong with a new trailer for the Persona team’s new franchise! Metaphor: ReFantazio got a new trailer that revealed many new characters, story elements, and even the types of gameplay you’ll be partaking in. The trailer ended with finally announcing the release window for the new game.
Metaphor: ReFantazio releases for PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X, and PC in Fall 2024.
Watch the trailer for Metaphor: ReFantazio
Though Atlus wasn’t done with just that, as we got a brand new trailer for the highly anticipated remake of Persona 3! This new trailer showcased more of the game’s mechanics, social link events, and even some new anime cutscenes and music teases.
Persona 3 Reload launches for PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X, Xbox One, and PC on February 2nd, 2024.
Watch the trailer for Persona 3 Reload
SEGA made quite a stir with a massive announcement of 5 new games, all announced at the same time! In a quick-paced announcement trailer, the company announced that new games in the Jet Set Radio, Golden Axe, Shinobi, Streets of Rage, and Crazy Taxi franchises are now in the works! We don’t know anything else aside from some quick clips of these new games, but fans of SEGA will surely be extremely happy to hear these are in the works.
Watch the trailer for SEGA’s 5 new games from classic franchises
It’s been almost a year since the new entry in the Budokai Tenkaichi series of Dragon Ball games was announced, but The Game Awards finally gave us more information! Now titled Dragon Ball Sparking! ZERO, a short gameplay showcase was shown and it looks quite similar to the original PS2 games, but with a massive visual overhaul. It also confirmed that transformations are returning, a bunch of characters that’ll be joining the roster were revealed, and that Spike Chunsoft are the ones developing this new title.
Dragon Ball Sparking! ZERO will be released for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, and PC. No release window was announced at this time.
Watch the trailer for Dragon Ball Sparking! ZERO
After a long time of waiting, a brand new main entry in the Mana series from Square-Enix has finally been revealed! Visions of Mana is an open-world action RPG with a gorgeous visual presentation, though we can only guess what the story will entail at this time.
Visions of Mana launches for PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X, and PC in 2024.
Watch the announcement trailer for Visions of Mana
But a new entry in the Mana series wasn’t the only thing Square-Enix revealed, as we got some news on the next installment in the Final Fantasy VII remake series! The theme song for the game was revealed in a live performance at the event, with a brand new trailer being released alongside it, showcasing more of the next part in this legendary RPG story and environment.
Final Fantasy VII Rebirth launches exclusively for PlayStation 5 on February 29th, 2024.
Watch the theme song trailer for Final Fantasy VII Rebirth
The latest entry in the franchise is also getting some love too! Final Fantasy XVI is getting 2 DLC expansions titled Echoes of the Fallen and The Rising Tide, with Echoes of the Fallen now available to download and play. The Rising Tide DLC expansion will be released in Spring 2024.
Watch the Final Fantasy XVI DLC trailer
What Game Awards event would it be without an appearance from Hideo Kojima? The famous creator is working on a new game titled OD with help from Xbox Game Studios and even Jordan Peele, the director of hit movies like Get Out, Nope, and Us. Aside from a short teaser, we have no idea what platforms the game will release on or a release window for the title.
Watch the announcement teaser for OD
Even with the success of Genshin Impact and Honkai Star Rail, Hoyoverse is still working on their next big game: Zenless Zone Zero! The game got a brand-new trailer showcasing some new characters and finally revealed the release window for when we can finally get our chance to play it.
Zenless Zone Zero will be available for home consoles, iOS, Android, and PC in 2024.
Watch the Game Awards trailer for Zenless Zone Zero
In September of 2022, Sony Interactive Entertainment and Koei Tecmo announced Rise of the Ronin; an open-world game set in the late Edo period of Japan. The game is being worked on by Team Ninja and despite us not hearing much about the title, the Game Awards finally revealed more footage and even the full release date!
Rise of the Ronin launches exclusively for PlayStation 5 on March 22nd, 2024.
Watch the trailer for Rise of the Ronin
The next character in the third Season Pass for Guilty Gear Strive was announced: Elphelt Valentine! Alongside the announcement of her return to the series, a three-versus-three mode was also announced and will be arriving in 2024.
Elphelt Valentine is now available in Guilty Gear Strive.
Watch the trailer for Elphelt Valentine for Guilty Gear Strive
While we’ve been getting trailers and new information for Black Myth: Wukong throughout the year, there’s one thing everyone wanted to know more than anything: when will it be released? This soulslike based on Journey to the West has been known for quite some time, but finally, at the Game Awards, we got the full release date for the title in a brand new trailer.
Black Myth: Wukong is arriving for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, and PC on August 20th, 2024.
Watch the release date trailer for Black Myth: Wukong
To close out the Game Awards, they ended it with quite the epic announcement! A brand new title in the Monster Hunter series was unveiled titled Monster Hunter Wilds! While we don’t know much about the title, the developers are aiming to make this the greatest Monster Hunter experience for fans of the franchise.
Monster Hunter Wilds launches for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, and PC in 2025.
Watch the announcement trailer for Monster Hunter Wilds
Outside of the Game Awards, fans of both Street Fighter and Shonen Jump were treated to a crossover nobody would have expected! While it was announced earlier this year, we received a beautifully animated trailer to promote the crossover and we now know when it will be releasing within Street Fighter 6: January 9th, 2024.
Watch the Street Fighter/Spy x Family crossover collaboration trailer
Anime News:
It was a big week for anime announcements too, as 2 highly anticipated Shonen Jump adaptations are returning in 2024! First up is the return of Demon Slayer, as it’s back for its fourth season, which is set to premiere with an hour-long episode in Spring 2024. But that’s not all! If you want to watch it early, just like with Season 3, the premiere of this new season will be coming to film theaters across the globe in February 2024!
Watch the Season 4 announcement for Demon Slayer
We also received the release window for the next season of My Hero Academia! Season 7 is set to kick off in Spring 2024, with the announcement being made in the form of brand new key art to promote the series’ return.
Upcoming Releases:
Granblue Fantasy Versus Rising is releasing this week, so if you’re looking for a fighting game fix to close out the year, this will be your best option! This new version of Granblue Fantasy Versus adds in brand new characters, mechanics, game modes, and even includes rollback netcode and even crossplay for online play, something fighting game fans will surely appreciate.
Granblue Fantasy Versus Rising arrives for PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, and PC on December 14th.
An anime/gaming aficionado, experienced content creator and lovable goofball. Name a game genre and Seamus has likely played it… yes, even that one. Follow him @TrueStorySeamus
