Yesterday, VRFocus reported on a possible Japanese PlayStation VR launch date for visual novel ALTDEUS: Beyond Chronos. Today, developer MyDearest Inc. has confirmed the release dates for both PlayStation VR and Steam editions.
Initially released last month for Oculus Quest and Rift platforms, the studio always indicated that wider platform support would follow. So how long do you have to wait? Well, that 15th April date for PlayStation VR was correct, at least now we know that’s a worldwide date. As for Steam, ALTDEUS: Beyond Chronos will support HTC Vive and Valve Index a little sooner, on 19th February.
“Bringing the ALTDEUS experience to Steam and PSVR means that more players can see this amazing world we spent so much time making,” said Haruki Kashiwakura, game director, MyDearest Inc., in a statement. “After Oculus Quest players made ALTDEUS the highest-rated game on the Oculus Store with so many great reviews, we’re confident VR fans of all kinds will enjoy diving into the future for themselves.”
Set 200 years after MyDearest’s first VR visual novel Tokyo Chronos, ALTDEUS: Beyond Chronos goes even bigger and more interactive. There’s a 15+ hour storyline involving giant alien beings called Meteora, giants mechs to fight them and humanity’s bid to survive in underground cities. The sprawling narrative offers plenty of alternative routes for multiple endings to keep players coming back.
Offering both English and Japanese voice acting, ALTDEUS: Beyond Chronos includes songs from J-Pop stars like ASCA (Fate/Apocrypha, Sword Art Online, TOKYO CHRONOS) singing “DESIRE.” and R!N Gemie (PROMARE, Attack on Titan Season 2).
VRFocus reviewed the Oculus Quest version of ALTDEUS: Beyond Chronos, saying: “ALTDEUS: Beyond Chronos is the interactive visual novel Tokyo Chronos needed to be. It definitely can’t be classed as a videogame but there’s now enough player input to make you feel like part of the narrative, rather merely looking on.”
In December 2020 Japanese developer MyDearest Inc. launched its follow up to Tokyo Chronos in the form of ALTDEUS: Beyond Chronos for Oculus Quest and Rift. The interactive visual novel was slated to come to further headsets and now the first indication of that has arrived, with a listing for PlayStation VR via Amazon Japan.
Spotted by Gematsu, there are two listings which both have a released date of 15th April 2021. There’s a standard version for ¥5,478 as well as a limited edition for ¥9,878. This latter version will be restricted to 2,500 copies worldwide, featuring goodies like a two-layer acrylic stand.
Currently, the PlayStation VR version of ALTDEUS: Beyond Chronos doesn’t seem to appear on Amazon’s UK or US websites. So there’s no indication just yet whether that launch date is purely for Japan or if MyDearest Inc. is planning a global rollout.
ALTDEUS: Beyond Chronos is set several hundred years after Tokyo Chronos, where mankind has been forced to live in underground cities because of giant creatures known as Meteora. You play Chloe, a genetically enhanced soldier who is part of a team called Prometheus which battles the Meteora in mechs called Makhia.
As an interactive visual novel, ALTDEUS: Beyond Chronos gives you the ability to control the Makhia’s various systems. You can then make decisions to influence the story arc with multiple endings to discover.
VRFocus reviewed the Oculus Quest version of ALTDEUS: Beyond Chronos, saying: “ALTDEUS: Beyond Chronos is the interactive visual novel Tokyo Chronos needed to be. It definitely can’t be classed as a videogame but there’s now enough player input to make you feel like part of the narrative, rather merely looking on.”
Available on Oculus headsets, ALTDEUS: Beyond Chronos supports English and Japanese voice acting with Chinese (Simplified), German, and French subtitles. For further updates on the PlayStation VR version, keep reading VRFocus.
It’s highly likely that the last piece of virtual reality (VR) content you dived into was a videogame, whether that’s thrashing around in some rhythm-action title or fighting through hordes of enemies saving the day. Look a little deeper and there’s plenty of alternative content to enjoy, and VRFocus recommends exploring some of the excellent animated titles that are available.
Animated VR not to miss
When it comes to animation in VR most will fall into one of two categories; short films or interactive pieces. Narrative is art the heart of either of these two but the former takes a more traditional viewing approach, wrapping you in a virtual world where the story plays out. The latter, on the other hand, actively encourages your involvement.
This interactivity can range massively from simple elements to move the story like turning a page to fully-blown control where decisions will offer alternative endings. These tend to blur the lines between what’s considered a animation and an actual videogame.
So what should you be spending your hard-earnedmoney and valuable time on? Well, VRFocus has a few suggestions…
Battlescar
Released only a few short days ago for Oculus Quest and Rift – a Steam version is coming – Battlescar is a 30-minute film based in New York City’s emerging punk subculture during the late 1970’s.
A glorious mix of visuals and audio, the VR short is split across three chapters following Lupe, a young Puerto Rican American teenager who leaves home and meets Debbie in a juvenile detention centre. Together they decide to form their own punk band whilst trying to navigate and survive the mean city streets.
Narrated by actress Rosario Dawson in English and rock singer/actress Jehnny Beth in French, it doesn’t pull any punches, switching between first and third-person viewpoints whilst throwing in tunes from the era by Screamin’ Jay Hawkins, Death and Lydia Lunch. Exploring a range of topics such as identity and mental health, Battlescar is pure punk animation, short, sharp and in your face.
Baba Yaga
From prolific animation house Baobab Studios, Baba Yaga is an interactive experience exclusive to Oculus Quest, inspired by the Eastern European legend.
Another 30-min experience, rather than simply viewing Baba Yaga you’re cast as Sacha, who alongside her younger sister Magda are the daughters of the village chief. When your mother becomes gravely ill you and your sister enter Baba Yaga’s enchanted forest to seek the cure.
Voiced by an all-star cast including Kate Winslet, Daisy Ridley, Glenn Closeand Jennifer Hudson, Baba Yaga provides plenty of interactive elements along the way. Thus encouraging you back to take another peek at this wonderfully engaging experience.
A beautiful synergy of music and visual design, Paper Birds tells the story of young musician Toto (played by Jojo Rabbit star Archie Yates) as he searches for his lost sister.
As an Oculus Quest title Paper Birds is one of a select few on the platform which utilises the headset’s hand tracking functionality, so you don’t need the controllers to interact with this magical world. Paper Birds might only have very light interactivity in comparison to others on this list yet it still provides an enchanting experience. Plus, the second (concluding) part will arrive later in 2021.
The Line
There’s a reason ARVORE’s The Line has won numerous awards and that’s thanks to its heartwarming narrative, visual layout and interactive elements; almost like you’re playing with a train set.
Compatible with multiple headsets including Oculus Quest, Rift and HTC Vive, The Line is a love story of two miniature dolls, Pedro and Rosa, set within a scale model of 1940s São Paulo. The characters follow tracks which wind through the environment and at certain points you have to push a button or spin a lever to help the tale proceed. If you’re using an Oculus Quest you can swap to hand tracking.
Clocking in at under 20 minutes The Line is a very sweet VR title that pulls on the heart strings. It showcases how these two mediums can work so perfectly together, great for introducing newcomers to the technology.
Gloomy Eyes
Now back to some pure animation with Gloomy Eyes, written and directed by Fernando Maldonado and Jorge Tereso and co-written by Santiago Amigorena, published by ARTE.
Inspired by Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas, Gloomy Eyes is a three-part poetic love story between a zombie boy and a human girl in a town devoid of sunlight. There doesn’t seem to be any shortage of prime voice actors willing to work on VR projects, with Gloomy Eyes’ English version narrated by Hollywood actor Colin Farrell.
The entire short just looks stunning, being a joy to watch from start to finish. Much like The Line, thanks to the miniature worlds and characters it’s all too easy to get drawn in, peering deep into this imaginative fantasy world.
Spice and Wolf VR (1 & 2)
Time for two titles from further afield, Japanese creator Spicy Tails’ Spice and Wolf VR series. Based-on Isuna Hasekura’s original novel and brought to life thanks to crowd-funding campaigns, both of these provide a nice intro into VR anime.
Spice and Wolf VR is the story of travelling merchant Kraft Lawrence who meets a 600-year old wolf-deity named Holo on his travels. The sequel then sees them both settling down, welcoming their daughter Myuri into the world.
The main draw here is the finely detailed animation which looks stunning in VR, just be aware that it is all in Japanese with English subtitles and they’re quite expensive in comparison to other on this list. If you do love Japanese anime they’re well worth a look, plus they both have light interactive elements which add further depth.
ALTDEUS: Beyond Chronos
The one title on the list which really skirts the line between animation and videogame, ALTDEUS: Beyond Chronos is Japanese anime with a massive amount of replayability.
ALTDEUS: Beyond Chronos is by far the grandest title on this list, a visual novel with hours and hours of content depending on how far you wish to delve. It’s kind of like watching a comic book rather than a film, so all the characters jump between frames and you can set the dialogue to autoplay or select through when you choose to. You also have the choice of English voice over if subtitles aren’t your thing.
Set 200 years from now, the Earth has been decimated by giant alien beings called Meteora with mankind now living underground. You’re part of an elite squad who pilot giant mechs called Makhia to defend what’s left of mankind. These encounters are where most of the interactivity takes place, where you can activate shields and fire railguns. These sequences tend to be where the storyline splits, revealing more of the narrative should you return. ALTDEUS: Beyond Chronos is big, bold, and the most definitive VR visual novel from Japan yet.
Agence
Described by creators Transitional Forms and the National Film Board of Canada (NFB) as a ‘dynamic film’, Agence is possibly the most unusual of all these here as it marries a basic story with AI to provide a piece of content with endless possibilities.
Each time you step into Agence it’ll be different, viewing a digital realm where five ‘Agents’ run around a small world. But Agence employs two thought processes for the Agents which can be switched on and off. A gameplay AI which follows certain patterns or Reinforcement Learning AI which Transitional Forms has built over years, where the Agents will interact in unknown ways.
You can also affect the world by picking the Agents up or planting a flower for them to investigate. Each run-through will only last about 5 minutes but captivating enough to keep returning and experimenting with their existence.
There are plenty of other excellent VR animated titles out there, all of which VRFocus encourages you to see.
Tokyo Chronos was a good attempt to bring visual novels into virtual reality last year, presenting an entertaining story but minimal VR use. Now developers MyDearest have brought us a sequel, promising greater interactivity within a similar gameplay premise. Read on for our full ALTDEUS: Beyond Chronos review.
You don’t need to play Tokyo Chronos to understand ALTDEUS’ plot. Whilst that entry took place in modern-day Shibuya and focused on a group of high school students, this sequel takes us 300 years into the future instead. Earth’s surface has been decimated by the mysterious Meteoras, causing humanity to flee underground to A.T. City, a place filled with holographic illusions to escape their dreaded reality. It wouldn’t be entirely accurate to describe this dystopia as Cyberpunk but it’s not far off either.
You play as Chloe, a “Designed Human” augmented to the peak of her abilities. Working for a military organization called Prometheus, you pilot a mech named the Alto Makhia, and it comes down to you to protect A.T. City whenever Meteoras come close.
ALTDEUS: Beyond Chronos Review – The Facts
What is it?: A VR visual novel adventure with branching paths Platforms: Quest, Quest 2, and Oculus Rift platform Price: $39.99
Haunted by the memories of Coco, a blind girl she was once sworn to protect, the two became close friends but soon after, Coco is devoured by a Meteora, leaving Chloe felling guilt with a vengeance. Unable to move on, matters are made worse by Noa, a virtual idol designed to look like Coco, one that also assists her in the Makhia.
You’ll be joined by several characters, each playing a key role and there are no minor characters here. Your immediate colleagues include Yamato, a fellow Makhia pilot with an impulsive nature and Aoba, a cooler head who takes charge of communications during missions. All of them are led by the stern General Deiter, who carries out mission planning, and there’s also the eccentric Professor Julie, head of research at Prometheus that created Chloe and Noa. Most curiously, rounding off this cast is Anima, a mysterious Meteora that’s taken human form.
Your decisions surrounding battles and each character affect how your playthrough unfolds. All communications are officially monitored by the Libra system, which suggests multiple dialogue choices when prompted. Some are less consequential and just affect people’s perception of Chloe, such as choosing whether to compliment Yamato’s swordplay or ignore his boasts. Others have a more meaningful impact that directly determine the following events, like choosing to scan a Meteora mid-battle instead of attacking it.
You’ll never get to ALTDEUS’s true ending within the first playthrough, this game is designed for replayability and multiple endings are present. Bringing a campaign that’ll keep you busy for twice as long as Tokyo Chronos, specific routes need completing before additional options appear in those original scenes. You won’t have to replay it in full either, as events can be jumped between within the Ariadne, a space bound area which lets you go back to particular story segments once unlocked.
Without spoiling the larger mysteries, I found myself thoroughly drawn into this mysterious world across these multiple playthroughs. Despite bringing the usual anime cliches like everyone having different hair colour, it kept me intrigued about the wider world too, tapping into social commentary about the surveillance state. ALTDEUS also plays into Greek mythology quite significantly and whilst both games are named after the god of time, it makes frequent references to other legends too. Between Chloe telling Coco stories about Apollo and Daphne, Noa praying to Artemis’ before battle or the A.T. City rebel group called “Organisation Patroclus”, this proved a nice touch.
Compared to its predecessor, ALTDEUS makes several improvements to gameplay while retaining a vibrant art style. A lot of this revolves around mech combat and although these scenes are scripted, you can interact with various UI elements, like booting up the Makhia or lining up your rail cannon shots. Much of the VR functionality though is just looking around a 360° environment or pressing buttons to scan/interact with objects, so it is disappointing when compared to other experiences, but does just enough to justify its own existence.
ALTDEUS: Beyond Chronos Review – Comfort
Altdeus has minimal VR interaction, so you can play this sitting down and there’s no locomotion to consider. You’ll interact with the environment by scanning objects, piloting your mech, or choosing dialogue options; that’s basically it though. You just watch events unfold at other points in the story and click through text. Subtitles move with your head tracking, which can make it unsettling to focus on, but these can be turned off if it gets irritating.
One of the biggest gripes with Tokyo Chronos was the Japanese-only voice acting. Undoubtedly this would please the “subs over dubs” crowd but in VR, that doesn’t work nearly as well when compared to watching anime on a flat screen. So, it was quite pleasing to see that MyDearest have included English voice acting this time around and even though performances felt uneven in places, it works for the most part. Chloe’s VO felt flat at times but honestly, this leans into her character quite well. After all, we have a soldier who was designed to fight, not to feel, and it took a blind friend to change her perspective.
ALTDEUS: Beyond Chronos Review – Final Verdict
MyDearest have done a great job on ALTDEUS: Beyond Chronos, proving that visual novels can work in virtual reality and it’s clear they took onboard feedback from Tokyo Chronos. Having added new language options and some much-needed immersion to the core gameplay, I found myself completely immersed in ALTDEUS’ story overall. Despite interactivity remaining minimal compared to other VR games, this one comes highly recommended for visual novel fans.
Tokyo Chronos was a good attempt to bring visual novels into virtual reality last year, presenting an entertaining story but minimal VR use. Now developers MyDearest have brought us a sequel, promising greater interactivity within a similar gameplay premise. Read on for our full ALTDEUS: Beyond Chronos review.
You don’t need to play Tokyo Chronos to understand ALTDEUS’ plot. Whilst that entry took place in modern-day Shibuya and focused on a group of high school students, this sequel takes us 300 years into the future instead. Earth’s surface has been decimated by the mysterious Meteoras, causing humanity to flee underground to A.T. City, a place filled with holographic illusions to escape their dreaded reality. It wouldn’t be entirely accurate to describe this dystopia as Cyberpunk but it’s not far off either.
You play as Chloe, a “Designed Human” augmented to the peak of her abilities. Working for a military organization called Prometheus, you pilot a mech named the Alto Makhia, and it comes down to you to protect A.T. City whenever Meteoras come close.
ALTDEUS: Beyond Chronos Review – The Facts
What is it?: A VR visual novel adventure with branching paths Platforms: Quest, Quest 2, and Oculus Rift platform Price: $39.99
Haunted by the memories of Coco, a blind girl she was once sworn to protect, the two became close friends but soon after, Coco is devoured by a Meteora, leaving Chloe felling guilt with a vengeance. Unable to move on, matters are made worse by Noa, a virtual idol designed to look like Coco, one that also assists her in the Makhia.
You’ll be joined by several characters, each playing a key role and there are no minor characters here. Your immediate colleagues include Yamato, a fellow Makhia pilot with an impulsive nature and Aoba, a cooler head who takes charge of communications during missions. All of them are led by the stern General Deiter, who carries out mission planning, and there’s also the eccentric Professor Julie, head of research at Prometheus that created Chloe and Noa. Most curiously, rounding off this cast is Anima, a mysterious Meteora that’s taken human form.
Your decisions surrounding battles and each character affect how your playthrough unfolds. All communications are officially monitored by the Libra system, which suggests multiple dialogue choices when prompted. Some are less consequential and just affect people’s perception of Chloe, such as choosing whether to compliment Yamato’s swordplay or ignore his boasts. Others have a more meaningful impact that directly determine the following events, like choosing to scan a Meteora mid-battle instead of attacking it.
You’ll never get to ALTDEUS’s true ending within the first playthrough, this game is designed for replayability and multiple endings are present. Bringing a campaign that’ll keep you busy for twice as long as Tokyo Chronos, specific routes need completing before additional options appear in those original scenes. You won’t have to replay it in full either, as events can be jumped between within the Ariadne, a space bound area which lets you go back to particular story segments once unlocked.
Without spoiling the larger mysteries, I found myself thoroughly drawn into this mysterious world across these multiple playthroughs. Despite bringing the usual anime cliches like everyone having different hair colour, it kept me intrigued about the wider world too, tapping into social commentary about the surveillance state. ALTDEUS also plays into Greek mythology quite significantly and whilst both games are named after the god of time, it makes frequent references to other legends too. Between Chloe telling Coco stories about Apollo and Daphne, Noa praying to Artemis’ before battle or the A.T. City rebel group called “Organisation Patroclus”, this proved a nice touch.
Compared to its predecessor, ALTDEUS makes several improvements to gameplay while retaining a vibrant art style. A lot of this revolves around mech combat and although these scenes are scripted, you can interact with various UI elements, like booting up the Makhia or lining up your rail cannon shots. Much of the VR functionality though is just looking around a 360° environment or pressing buttons to scan/interact with objects, so it is disappointing when compared to other experiences, but does just enough to justify its own existence.
ALTDEUS: Beyond Chronos Review – Comfort
Altdeus has minimal VR interaction, so you can play this sitting down and there’s no locomotion to consider. You’ll interact with the environment by scanning objects, piloting your mech, or choosing dialogue options; that’s basically it though. You just watch events unfold at other points in the story and click through text. Subtitles move with your head tracking, which can make it unsettling to focus on, but these can be turned off if it gets irritating.
One of the biggest gripes with Tokyo Chronos was the Japanese-only voice acting. Undoubtedly this would please the “subs over dubs” crowd but in VR, that doesn’t work nearly as well when compared to watching anime on a flat screen. So, it was quite pleasing to see that MyDearest have included English voice acting this time around and even though performances felt uneven in places, it works for the most part. Chloe’s VO felt flat at times but honestly, this leans into her character quite well. After all, we have a soldier who was designed to fight, not to feel, and it took a blind friend to change her perspective.
ALTDEUS: Beyond Chronos Review – Final Verdict
MyDearest have done a great job on ALTDEUS: Beyond Chronos, proving that visual novels can work in virtual reality and it’s clear they took onboard feedback from Tokyo Chronos. Having added new language options and some much-needed immersion to the core gameplay, I found myself completely immersed in ALTDEUS’ story overall. Despite interactivity remaining minimal compared to other VR games, this one comes highly recommended for visual novel fans.
Tokyo Chronos was a tricky one. By traditional Japanese visual novel standards, it was perfectly well-made, I just never really understood why it needed to be in VR. Upcoming sequel, Altdeus: Beyond Chronos, thinks it has the answer.
Now, don’t get me wrong, there was a lot to like about the first game in the Chronos series. MyDearest’s VR debut had vibrant visuals and a compelling story, but I spent too much time reading reams of subtitles (which, in VR, is very distracting) and standing around idly. It simply didn’t make the case for why this genre of gaming needed to be inside a headset.
A lot has changed since then, though. For starters, Altdeus’ links to its predecessor are pretty minimal, set hundreds of years after the events of the first game. There’s an all-new cast in a radically different world in which giant robots do battle with an invasive alien species – quite different from the humble beginnings of a group of high school students exploring a deserted Shibuya.
MyDearest uses this distance to introduce some major overhauls to the Chronos series, too, some of which are hugely promising. It’s still very much a visual novel and I’m yet to be convinced I could spend 20+ hours with it, but here’s three ways the developer is going a step beyond.
Interactivity
One of my big problems with Tokyo Chronos was that large swathes of the experience gave you practically no control other than to skip through the dialogue. What’s the point of putting something in VR — especially something as long as a visual novel — if you’re not going to ask players to do anything other than sit and read as if it were on a screen anyway?
Though short, my demo for Altdeus suggests this is a key area MyDearest is tackling for the sequel. The 10-minute slice puts me in the heart of a city-wide battle, with protagonist Chloe commanding one mech and joining a companion to fight an orb-like alien. What action is here is light, but it does go some way to giving you a sense of being inside the story. Panels are activated with smartphone-style sequence unlocks and you can flail your giant mechanical arms by moving your real ones. At certain points, you’re asked to execute specific gestures to prepare attacks, giving the entire sequence a Saturday morning cartoon vibe.
In comparison to other VR experiences, it’s still fairly static, but stacked up next to Tokyo Chronos it’s a very different approach.
Story differences aren’t the only reasons for these changes. Game Director Haruki Kashiwakura told me that hardware upgrades played a part too. “On Tokyo Chronos we were focusing on how to show tech use and how we should communicate with similar characters in the VR world how to convey the story,” he told me. “These were the main focusing points. And of course we’re trying to value these points for Altdeus as well. But, basically Tokyo Chronos was made for Oculus Go, but Altdeus is made for Oculus Quest and trying to be more interactive and even like, you know, we are putting English dubs. So it has huge differences.”
It seems like everything in the demo is pre-determined. There’s no penalty for taking too long, but Kashiwakura says there will be times you can fail and times where different actions will create different branches in the story.
English Dubs
Look, I know any anime die-hards are probably grabbing their pitchforks at the idea of an English dub, but hear me out. As someone who watches plenty of shows and movies with subtitles on, VR subtitles for foreign language games… don’t work. Or at least I haven’t yet seen an implementation that doesn’t have me craning my neck down and actually missing what’s going on in front of me so I can follow the story.
Altdeus is taking an important step to combat this with full English voice over. Ask you might expect, the voice acting on display in the demo is deliciously hammy but, in a game in which giant creatures duke it out, I wouldn’t really have it any other way. If you’re a purist, you can still enjoy the game with subtitles like last time around, but English VO will instantly make Altdeus a more palatable experience than its predecessor for many.
That said, I couldn’t see an option to altogether remove the subtitles if you’re using the English dub. Without the option to turn them off, or at least resize them, I still found them very distracting, so I’m hoping those features get added in before launch.
Inspirations And Expectations
But rest assured that, even with these changes considered, Altdeus is still very much a visual novel. Yes, you’re carrying out some actions between the lines, but the core of the experience is still developing connections with the game’s cast and experiencing the story through them. Like Tokyo Chronos before it, Altdeus does mine gold from having these characters appear as fully 3D models you really believe are in front of you. It’s hard to get a sense of what’s what and who’s who when thrust into my short demo, but Chloe clearly isn’t making friends with everybody in the game’s cast and I’ll be interested to see how MyDearest pushes those relationships forward.
And it’s still going to be a long experience. In fact, MyDearest estimates Altdeus is at least double the length of the original, if not three times as long. Plus, even in this demo, there are some clear throwbacks to other legendary Japanese media. This scene in particular evokes Evangelion, depicting wide-spread destruction and mech designs that wouldn’t look out of place in the classic anime. It all feels right at home.
Altdeus: Beyond Chronos hits Oculus Quest on December 3rd, with a release on other platforms planned for later down the line.
Nine months on from its initial announcement, we finally have more details about Tokyo Chronos sequel, Altdeus: Beyond Chronos.
The game, developed by MyDearest, is coming to the Oculus platform first in Q4 2020. It’s a full sequel to Tokyo Chronos which, you may recall, was a stab at adapting the visual novel genre popular in Japan to VR headsets. We didn’t think that attempt was entirely successful, but Altdeus is making some intriguing changes, as the trailer below shows.
First up, the sequel is set 300 years after the events of the first time, casting players as a survivor in post-apocalyptic Tokyo. You follow Chloe, a supersoldier that fights to protect humanity while hiding secrets of her own. Standard visual novel stuff, then.
Here’s the two key changes, though. First, there’s more interactivity in this sequel. The trailer shows cockpit mech battles that could well still play out in a scripted way, but at least get players interacting with some UI elements. The original game had you simply tapping through text, at least for its opening few hours.
A press release also confirms that Altdeus will release with English voice acting as well as Japanese. Now, normally, I prefer to watch anime and Japanese movies in their native language, but in VR glancing down at subtitles before looking back up to see their context 20 times in a minute can be a real chore. English voice acting for Altdeus does away with one of my main gripes about Tokyo Chronos. Let’s just hope it’s good quality.
Consider me slightly more optimistic about this one again, then. There’s no specific confirmation of exactly when the game will launch, but it’s coming to Quest and Rift first, with more headsets to be announced. You can keep up with the game on its official website, too.
At the end of 2019 Japanese developer, MyDearest Inc. announced work had begun on Tokyo Chronos sequel ALTDEUS: Beyond Chronos. Today, a new trailer has arrived alongside more story details and a release window.
ALTDEUS: Beyond Chronos takes place 300 years after the events in Tokyo Chronos, set in a world where humanity seeks refuge underground from deadly creatures known as Meteora. “Earth’s last hope lies within Chloe, a genetically enhanced soldier who seeks to deliver humanity from their end, while out for vengeance against the monstrosities that took her only friend,” notes the synopsis.
From the cockpit of giant mechs, you’ll go head-to-head with these creatures in epic battles, aided by cyber diva Noa, who helps Chloe through song. Noa happens to be a new symbol of hope for humanity, performing vibrant live concert sequences for fans. She also happens to look familiar to Chloe’s lost friend.
An interactive experience like before, ALTDEUS: Beyond Chronos will offer multiple endings depending on the choices you make as Chloe, trying to unravel the mysteries behind the hellish behemoths and the beloved diva.
“The response to Tokyo Chronos was incredible, but our community felt like we couldn’t stop there. We had to continue exploring that world,” said Haruki Kashiwakura, director in a statement. “ALTDEUS propels us into the future with an all-new cast, taking us to brand new highs in VR storytelling. We think this new saga is even more ambitious and only improves upon the formula from Tokyo Chronos.”
To catch up with the saga, Tokyo Chronos is available through Oculus Store and Steam, supporting Oculus Rift, HTC Vive and Windows Mixed Reality headsets.
ALTDEUS: Beyond Chronos is currently slated for a Q4 2020 launch on Oculus platforms, available with English and Japanese voice acting and Chinese (Simplified), German, and French subtitles. For further updates on the sci-fi anime keep reading VRFocus.
Japanese developer MyDearest Inc. launched its anime-style virtual reality (VR) mystery novel Tokyo Chronosearlier this year, offering a unique experience for VR fans after something different. Today, the studio has revealed the first details of its followup title ALTDEUS: Beyond Chronos.
MyDearest Inc. had previously mentioned the videogame under the guise of Project MEGALiTH, the next entry into this VR murder mystery. Apart from a very teasing trailer, details are a little sparse at present, with Director Haruki Kashiwakura and character designer LAM (Persona 5, Fate/Grand Order) returning.
“Tokyo Chronos marks my first leap into VR and with the release of ALTDEUS, I want to showcase a new side of my work,” said LAM in a statement. “It is my most ambitious project to date, and I think my work with MyDearest will continue to breath vibrant new life into the VR scene.”
ALTDEUS: Beyond Chronos will offer a similar framework to Tokyo Chronos, a twisting tale that branches out into multiple, unexpected paths.
Tokyo Chronos arrived initially on 20th March 2019 via Steam for Oculus Rift and HTC Vive, followed by Oculus Go, PlayStation VR and Oculus Quest. As mentioned, the title is a visual novel rather than a videogame, involving an eerie story where time has stopped and eight students suddenly wake up in the “Chronos World”, set in Shibuya, an empty, deserted district of Tokyo, Japan.
If you’re a fan of Japanese animation then you might also want to take a look at Spice & Wolf VR. Based on a novel, the experience is the tale of a 25-year-old travelling merchant who comes across a wolf-deity named Holo who is over 600 years old. She then joins him to see the world. Supporting headsets including Oculus Quest and PlayStation VR, developer Spicy Tails has also confirmed a sequel is in the works.
ALTDEUS: Beyond Chronos is slated for release in Q4 2020 for various VR platforms, none have been confirmed just yet. Check out the video below and for further updates keep reading VRFocus.
Personally, I didn’t take to VR visual novel experiment, Tokyo Chronos. But I know plenty of other people did, so I’ve got news for them; a follow-up is on the way.
Developer MyDearest last week announced Altdeus: Beyond Chronos. There’s very little known about the game thus far other than that Tokyo Chronos director Haruki Kashiwakura is returning and it will release in 2020. The description for the game’s early teaser trailer (which you can watch below) also confirms that it will be a ‘VR Adventure Game’, though other platforms haven’t been announced.
The teaser trailer doesn’t give us much other than some ambiguous imagery. Based on the name, though it could be that Altdeus is a direct sequel to Tokyo Chronos, or at the very least connected to the original in some way.
Tokyo Chronos itself was a fairly traditional visual novel adapted into VR. The game had you following along with its story subtitles, in which a group of school friends find themselves stranded in a deserted rendition of Tokyo. I thought the game was visually striking and included some curious moments of VR intimacy. But the reliance on subtitles really killed the immersion and overall I’m not sure the genre suits VR so well, at least when translated to directly.
I’ll be interested to see it Altdeus changes my mind, though. Tokyo Chronos came to basically every VR headset under the sun, including, Quest, Go, PSVR and PC VR devices. There’s a good chance this ends up on a platform you own at some point in 2020, then.
