Visual Novel News:
Following JAST USA’s announcement last year that they will release the Onigokko! fandisc, a date has now been announced. The Onigokko! fandisc will release is on the 23rd June, 2023. It features after stories for the four heroines and a new story from the main character’s little sister.
It can currently be pre-ordered via the JAST Store.
Welcome back to Miyajima Island! Without spoiling too much of the first game, the Onigokko! FanDisc has after stories for each of the game’s heroines! In case you’ve ever wondered how things shoot out between you and your favorite girl from the first game, or just wanted to experience a little more of what made her so magical, this fandisc has it!
But in addition, we’ve got a little extra for you; an imouto route, for all of you sister-lovers out there who felt like the first game left you wanting! Want no more, for that wrong is righted here, as Keisuke’s sister has her own fully playable story!
DLsite garumani has announced an upcoming translation of Club Suicide Complete Edition from MORPATH into English. They’ve described this otome visual novel as an Anti Romance ADV.
Failbetter Games has launched Mask of the Rose as of the 8th June, 2023 to mixed reviews on Steam and a ‘Fair’ rating on OpenCritic.
A marvellous romance with a hint of murder. Lose your heart to a stolen city in this game of amorous intrigue! Seek love, for yourself or your friends. Help a murdered man find justice. And watch out for the bats.
More Visual Novel News
- Two and a Half Studios has released The Divine Speaker: The Sun and the Moon on Steam
- Perfect Garbage has announced the upcoming release of Love Shore on 30th June, 2023
- NekoNyanSoft will be the publisher for the Western visual novel Cerulean Days by Cascade of Leaves
- Bloom Digital Media has announced LongStory 2
- Pablo Barrón has announced Checkmate! My Shogi Club President can’t be this Cute!
- Long Since the Eschaton has been released on Itch as a free otomejam/joseijam project
Anime News:
Want something to do this upcoming weekend and live near Birmingham in the UK? Calling itself the ‘UK’s largest Anime Manga and K-pop Expo’, AnimeCon UK is hosting it’s first ever event on the 17th and 18th of June, 2023.
With appearances from multiple anime dub voice actors from shows such as Elsie Lovelock, Zach Aguilar, Mele Lee, appearances by VTubers from Nijisanji EN, professional cosplayers such as Taryn and Ember Wolf, a screening room by Crunchyroll, plenty of exhibitors, artists, karaoke and more, it sounds like it will be an eventful weekend. They’ve kindly invited NookGaming to cover it as press, so keep an eye out for our impressions later on.
Gaming News:
Unless you’ve been living under a rock (though we won’t judge you if you do), the Summer Games Fest 2023 event took place over the weekend! With it, there came a metric ton of exciting announcements! Here are the highlights:
To open the event, a showcase of games was shown, and it had quite a lineup:
To start, even with Sonic Origins Plus releasing later this month, SEGA are looking ahead towards the next big title that stars gaming’s blue blur! Sonic Superstars goes back to the franchise’s roots with a 2D platformer staring Classic Sonic but in a fully 3D graphics engine. This new title includes multiple playable characters, new traversal abilities, and a four-player co-op feature; a first for 2D Sonic games.
Sonic Superstars releases for PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and PC this Fall.
Watch the announcement trailer for Sonic Superstars
The Souls-Like action game inspired by Carlo Collodi’s timeless classic, Pinocchio is almost ready for release! A brand new trailer for Lies of P was released, finally revealing the game’s release date, and a demo is now available to give you a taste of the full game.
Lies of P launches for PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X, Xbox One, and PC on September 19th.
Watch the release date announcement trailer for Lies of P
If you’re a fan of Dragon Ball, you’ll definitely be excited for this next game! Based on the one-shot manga by Akira Toriyama, Sand Land is not only getting a film adaptation later this year, but the event announced that the story will also be getting a video game. This new game is being developed by ILCA, who you may recognize for being the studio that released One Piece Odyssey earlier this year. It’s unclear what kind of game Sand Land will be, but highlights include an expansive desert to explore and a mix of both in-person and vehicle combat.
Sand Land is coming to PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X, Xbox One, and PC. No release date was announced at this time.
Watch the announcement trailer for the Sand Land video game
Insomniac’s Spider-Man 2 got a small segment during the showcase, even if we didn’t get too many more details compared to the recent PlayStation Showcase. While we mostly got some new concept art and the game’s box art, the biggest announcement was the release date for this highly-anticipated title, and it’s sooner than you might think.
Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 launches exclusively for PlayStation 5 on October 20th.
SEGA’s Like a Dragon series is getting a brand new spin-off starring the franchise’s most recognizable character later this year. Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name stars Kiryu Kazuma and brings back the real-time action system from past games and a new location filled with things to do.
Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name releases for PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X, Xbox One, and PC on November 9th.
Watch the trailer for Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name
To wrap up the Summer Games Fest opening event, they ended with an update for the next entry in one of the most anticipated remakes. Final Fantasy VII Rebirth got its first full trailer revealing what Cloud and the gang have been up to after their escape from Midgar. The trailer showcased the more open level of exploration in the vast world outside of Midgar, along with a taste of combat sequences, and confirms that Red XIII and Yuffie will be joining the party. And of course, the trailer included teases for the story we’ll be indulging in.
Final Fantasy VII Rebirth launches exclusively for PlayStation 5 in early 2024.
Watch the Final Fantasy VII Rebirth trailer
But that wasn’t the only showcase, as Microsoft held their own digital event as part of the Summer Games Fest on Sunday. Here are the highlights of what was announced:
In what could be considered the worst-kept gaming secret in recent memory, Atlus announced a full remake of the PlayStation 2 classic, Persona 3! With a revamped battle system, completely remade graphics and UI, and even a whole new voice cast, Persona 3 Reload is injecting the classic JRPG with all the lessons learned from the phenomenal success of Persona 5. Though it should be noted that this remake will not include certain extra content found in Persona 3 FES and Persona 3 Portable such as the female protagonist or The Answer.
Persona 3 Reload launches for Xbox Series X, Xbox One, and PC in early 2024. Other platforms are rumored, but have not been announced at this time.
Watch the announcement trailer for Persona 3 Reload
Even though we thought we’d only be getting one announcement for the Like a Dragon franchise at Summer Games Fest, it turns out we were wrong! The eighth main entry in the series got a hilarious new trailer that seemingly takes inspiration from Austin Powers while also announcing the game’s official title: Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth.
Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth releases for PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X, Xbox One, and PC in early 2024.
Watch the announcement trailer for Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth
Despite the massive amount of popular franchises under their disposal, it’s always exciting to see a brand new IP from Capcom! This new game, Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess, advertises itself as a blend between action and strategy that sees you playing a warrior against the spirit realm.
Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess will be releasing for Xbox Series X and PC. No release date was announced at this time.
Watch the announcement trailer for Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess
Not to be outdone by their previous announcement, Atlus also announced another Persona title; one which has quite a unique spin! Persona 5 Tactica sees the Phantom Thieves enter the realm of strategy RPGs with cartoony visuals and a brand-new character named Elle. If you still want more adventures from this loveable cast, this will surely scratch that itch!
Persona 5 Tactica launches for Xbox Series X, Xbox One, and PC on November 17th. Other platforms are rumored, but have not been announced at this time.
Watch the announcement trailer for Persona 5 Tactica
Moving over to Western RPGs, CD Projekt RED’s Cyberpunk 2077 has had quite the redemption arc since its rough launch as noted in our review of the 1.5 update, and the game is finally getting its first DLC expansion! Titled Phantom Liberty, this new chapter sees V tasked with saving the president of the New United States of America after an unexpected plane crash, finding herself stranded in a dangerous part of Night City: Dogtown. Outside of this new content, it was also confirmed that the base game will also be receiving significant improvements that will also be available to those who own the base game.
Cyberpunk 2077’s Phantom Liberty DLC expansion releases on September 26th.
Watch the trailer for Cyberpunk 2077’s Phantom Liberty DLC expansion
Remember back in 2016 when Atlus teased a project called Project Re Fantasy? Probably not, since the company has remained mostly silent about it for quite a long time. But at long last, we finally have our first full look at this upcoming RPG, and it even got a brand new title: Metaphor ReFantazio! Just by looking at the announcement trailer, it’s very clear that this is from the same creators behind the Persona series, though it is advertising itself as Atlus’ first full-scale fantasy RPG. It’s got some big names behind it, such as Katsura Hashino directing, Shoji Meguro composing the music, and Shigenori Soejima working on the character designs.
Metaphor ReFantazio launches for Xbox Series X and PC in 2024.
Watch the announcement trailer for Metaphor ReFantazio
To wrap up the Microsoft Showcase, they had an entire 45-minute segment dedicated purely to Bethesda’s next big RPG: Starfield! There’s too much information to display here in a paragraph of text, but along with the gameplay showcase, they also announced the various versions of the game you can get.
Starfield launches for Xbox Series X and PC on September 6th.
Watch the Starfield gameplay showcase
Outside of the Summer Games Fest, Bandai Namco announced a closed network test for one of their biggest franchises! Tekken 8‘s closed beta will include 16 characters and five stages to try, with early access to it on PlayStation 5 from July 21st to 24th. You’ll also be able to play it on Xbox Series X, and Steam, along with another PlayStation 5 test from July 28th to July 31st.
If you’re interested, sign up for the closed network test here.
Final Fantasy XVI is just under a week away, but what if you can’t wait and want to play it now? Well, while you can’t play the whole thing yet, Square-Enix has got you covered! The game has received a demo that covers the start of the game and is said to take two hours to complete. What’s more, you can then transfer your save file to the full game once it releases.
Final Fantasy XVI launches exclusively for PlayStation 5 on June 22nd.
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
