On this edition of RPGs Coming This Week, we’re bringing three atmospheric, dialogue-heavy RPGs/adventure titles with distinct art styles. Ugh, I love it when weeks have themes. Let’s get started!
Loop8: Summer of Gods – June 6th (PS4, XB1, Switch, Windows)
Set in an alternate universe threatened by the invasion of demons called “kegai”, Loop8: Summer of Gods takes place in 1983, in the sleepy Japanese island town of Ashihara. Players take the role of Nini, a teenage boy who has just arrived on the island and must develop their relationships with the town’s inhabitants in order to fight against the kegai.
The game operates on a calendar system, much like the Persona series, but expect to spend much more of your time talking to characters and building relationships than in combat or dungeon crawling. Loop8 was developed by Seig Games as a spiritual successor to Japan-only cult hit Gunparade March on the PlayStation, with series creator Yuri Shibamura returning as director.
by Ben Love
Mask of the Rose – June 8th (Switch, Windows)
You’ve heard of “Kiss From a Rose,” but how about Mask of the Rose? This visual novel has, of course, nothing to do with Seal, and everything to do with murder. “Permanent murder,” per the release date trailer. It does have a lot of romance in it, though, and Failbetter Games have apparently taken special care to make your interactions with each character as detailed and real-to-life as possible.
Oh, yes, I’d be remiss to ignore the fact that Mask of the Rose is a new entry in the universe of Fallen London, a free browser game from 2009 that’s still playable today. Failbetter would put out a spinoff called Sunless Sea in 2015 and a follow-up called Sunless Skies in 2019. We liked it a lot, which bodes well for this romance-mystery VN.
by Gio Castillo
Harmony: The Fall of Reverie – June 8th (Switch, Windows)
DON’T NOD’s Harmony: The Fall of Reverie is a choice-heavy visual novel focusing on a woman named Polly. She returns home from a lengthy absence to help find her missing mother with whom she has a tense relationship. Polly’s life becomes even more complicated when she’s pulled into a supernatural realm where godlike beings known as Aspirations preside over different aspects of the human world.
The secrets hidden in the world of Reverie and behind the mega-corporation taking control of practically every facet of life on the Mediterranean island of Atina seem to be converging, with Polly standing at the crossroads. What she decides to do could spell either salvation or doom for the two interconnected worlds. I was quite impressed with the preview build of Harmony when I got the chance to play it, so I’m eager to see the entire story when Harmony: The Fall of Reverie releases in full!
by Audra Bowling
It’s finally June, which means it’s game announcement season! I can’t be the only one left a little cold by the PlayStation Showcase, right? And with Nintendo rumored to be AWOL this year, it’s been kind of a slow start. Still, I’m excited to see what Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio and others have in store. You’ll want to stay tuned to RPGFan for details on all the RPG-related announcements in the coming weeks.
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