Dusk Diver is an all out action packed, anime fueled, battle sensation! Cross over to a new dimension to fight an endless slew of baddies that are bent on destroying what's yours.
So, the ever magnanimous PQube once again has shone down upon the Backlog Odyssey with a beam of generosity and endowed upon us the highly anticipated Dusk Diver! JFI Games have put their hearts and souls into this cell-shaded, action packed title and I, for one, am looking forward to really sinking my teeth into it. Now, after about 2 hours of gameplay it would seem this backlog blogging team are in for an electrifying escapade!
Upon finishing up the initial tutorial-ish opening where the most important skill I walked away with was how to fight and read at the same time, you are introduced to the main character Yang Yumo. A high school student the “Akihabara of TaiPei” with her best friend, when their food filled excursion is suddenly cut short. Without divulging too much of the story, Yumo now finds herself thrust into a strange other dimension that looks like an altered version of her own. Also, she’s now in possession of a set of powers that mysteriously transferred to her from some “gangster” man who just saved her life. Leo, the aptly named “gangster” now turns into an adorable little lion figure whenever Yumo’s powers are activated and together they have to cull the herds of bad guys that have started appearing in overwhelming numbers. These monsters are weakening the barrier between the mirrored realms of Ximending (Yumo’s world) and Youshanding (dusk world).
The anime inspired art style is very appealing and only gets better as you cross into the Youshanding dimension. The environment of this world takes on a very electrifying color scheme that I really like. Even Yumo’s hair transforms into a ghostly fire blue when she’s in this other world. It’s all very alluring and dynamic feeling.
The gameplay is very much in the vein of games like Bayonetta and Devil May Cry where you have a fast, weak attack and a slower, strong attack. The more you use the weak attack (max of 5 hits in one combo) the harder your strong attack will hit. Also, your combo level will greatly increase not only your attacks, but also the speed at which you refill your SP gauge. You use your SP to summon Leo and he will join in the fight for a few seconds. His summon also has practical uses like breaking certain barriers you encounter while exploring the map. My guess is that Yumo will acquire more allies to summon as the game progresses.
So far I find Dusk Diver to be very reminiscent of games like Akiba’s Trip and Akiba’s Beat where the Ximending map is open and you can enter the various shops and listen in on passerby conversations. But so far you can only buy items from the main convenience store. I have a feeling that going further into the game that comparison will ring more and more true.
Exploring the various menus, it seems that there will be lots of things to unlock like artwork and music. Extra features like that are always highly appreciated by any blogger who gets too wrapped up in actually playing and enjoying the game to remember to take the necessary screenshots and videos to accompany said blog!
The game so far appears to have lots to offer and I know we of the Backlog Odyssey household are already enjoying our time immensely. If you want to join in on the fun and dive into the dusk along with us, the localized version of the game will be released for Steam worldwide on October 24th, the Switch and PS4 in Europe on the 25th and finally the Switch and PS4 in North America on October 29th. Also, PQube has informed us that a Day 1 patch will be available for download to fix some of the translation errors, as well as, various quest and UI bugs.
So, keep a look out for this electric anime brawl extravaganza! For more information about Dusk Diver check out the game's website here and be sure to come back for our full review when it drops soon!
Originally posted on TwosomesUP. Hive blog powered by ENGRAVE.
