MyDearest, the Japan-based developer behind the Tokyo Chronos VR series, has unveiled its upcoming VR sci-fi adventure game for Meta Quest 2, Dyschronia: Chronos Alternate.
The game, which MyDearest says distances itself from the team’s previous visual novel games, will be the developer’s first adventure game.
The studio says in Dyschronia: Chronos Alternate players take on the role of Hal, a Special Supervisor in Astrum Close City. A futuristic marine location, Astrum Close City is a place where crime has been eradicated. When the founder of the city is suddenly murdered, Hal must step in and bring the suspect to justice.
“Able to access the memories of objects around him and alter the past using an ability called Memory Dive, Hal will have to back up what he discovers with evidence and theories in order to convince others and push the narrative forward,” the studio says in a press statement. “Everything players see could be a potential clue so paying attention and taking in every detail is paramount.”
This is only the first episode of the series, MyDearest says, as subsequent installments to follow at a later date. ‘Episode I’ of Dyschronia: Chronos Alternate is slated to initially launch on Meta Quest 2 sometime in 2022 followed by a flatscreen version of the game for Nintendo Switch.
The announcement of Dyschronia follows the reveal of Project: Gathering in April, three concept trailers that could see one of the proposed games start production and arrive sometime in 2023. Dyschronia was already announced before the three concepts presented in April though, which just goes to show that MyDearest is amping up production likely thanks to the successful launches of its most recent titles, Tokyo Chronos (2019) and ALTDEUS: Beyond Chronos(2020).
MyDearest, developer of the Chronos series, wants you to choose its next VR project.
The Tokyo-based studio this week announced Project: Gathering, an initiative that asks fans to vote on one of three concepts for its next game. Each title is a multiplayer game but the ideas range from camping to a VR MOBA. Those interested will need to share their thoughts over on the developer’s official Discord server. The titles would likely come to Quest 2.
MyDearest has even gone to the effort of making concept trailers for each game. The three projects are as follows.
Code: Camp
This would be a multiplayer adventure game that lets you explore a fantasy world with friends. Activities would include cooking and dragon riding.
Code: Gauntlet
A VR action game in which you play as a ninja with the powers of kinesis. You’d throw objects at opponents in 3 vs 3 battles.
Code: Bell
Similar to Dead by Daylight, this is a 4 v 1 multiplayer game in which teams are hunted by a gruesome executioner.
Casting your vote will secure you access to the winning idea’s closed beta program, and MyDearest also says it’s offering up limited rewards like a Quest 2 for taking part.
MyDearest aims to release the chosen project in 2023 but, currently, the studio is still working on the latest installment in the Chronos series, Dyschronia: Chronos Alternate. That’s due for release sometime this summer.
Which of the three concepts for Project: Gathering would you like to see get made? Let us know in the comments below!
MyDearest, the Japan-based studio behind the Tokyo Chronos VR series, announced it’s holding a community vote to determine which game it’s going to develop next. The studio has offered up three choices, all of which notably stray from its usual brand of VR manga with branching storylines.
Called Project: Gathering, the studio released three concept trailers today for three different VR multiplayer games; ostensibly the winning title would move into production and arrive sometime in 2023. You can find full descriptions alongside the trailers below. Here’s a quick rundown:
Code: Camp– an open world fantasy game
Code: Gauntlet – an action MOBA (multiplayer online battle arena)
Code: Bell – a 4vs1 survival game
MyDearest is collecting votes for Project: Gathering via its official Discord Server (invite link). There, the studio says that anyone who shares their thoughts will be entered into the project’s “present campaign” in addition to being able to eventually be entered into the beta of their chosen game.
The so-called present campaign includes rewards which are based on the number of people who join the server, with rewards including things like a Steam Gift card, a Logitech G Pro X Gaming Headset, a Razer Tactical Pro 17.3 Backpack V2, a Meta Quest 2 and a Secretlab Titan Evo 2022.
Check out the trailers for each below:
Code: Camp
Description: “Everything starts from this tent” It’s a huge world. Explore it with your tent! Start a campfire with other campers and cheer for the adventure that’s coming. This is the beginning of a new life and new friendships.
1. Get your tent ready for the adventure! Ride a dragon and explore the world, go into the dungeon’s depth, use those huge pieces of meat and mix them to make a hamburger. Watch the Aurora Boraelis from the mountain, or just chill out and have a break. New adventures are waiting for you.
2. Mix items and craft new ones! Craft items to explore the dungeons, to cheer with your friends or to decorate your tent. You’ll get the tools to craft everything you need exploring the world. Exchange items with other campers and enjoy the adventure!
Code: Bell
Description: “Can you escape from your sins?” An invitation letter with something nobody should know, your sin. “Hunt your friends as the Executioner”, “Survive with friends as a sinner” Which one do you choose?
1. Pick up a role You can play as the Executioner (1 player) or a sinner (4 players). The sinners have to run away from the Executioner, hide and work together to “ring the bells” and escape.
2. Every character is different Every character has different skills so you’ll have to work as a team with other sinners to escape from the Executioner. But don’t forget, the sinners aren’t the only ones with special skills…
Code: Gauntlet
Description: “Get ready, unchain yourself!” The ninja academy is gathering the strongest fighters the world can offer. Powerful warriors with extreme powers, ready for victory, ready to become legends. 1. Throw objects with Ninja Kinesis in 3vs3 team battles! All the characters can use Ninja Kinesis to levite objects and throw them. Make fly that rock against the rival! All the characters and teams are different. Use them wisely to win and become a legend. 2. Different characters, different guantlets. Create a light sword to attack or a force shield to protect yourself. Every character has their own guantlet with different powers, changing the game experience and strategies.
MyDearest is known for developing Tokyo Chronos (2019) and ALTDEUS: Beyond Chronos(2020). In addition to Project: Gathering, the studio is also currently working on their third ‘Chronos’ title, Dyschronia: Chronos Alternate.
Altdeus: Beyond Chronos and Tokyo Chronos developer MyDearest isn’t going anywhere; it’s just raised $8.2 million in a new round of funding.
The funding round was lead by Globis Captial Partners, and brings the Japanese studio’s total funding to around $11.1 million to date. In a press release, the studio noted these funds would be used to expand the studio, start an online community for its fanbase and bring “deeper and richer adventures to gamers” in the future.
In a prepared statement, MyDearest CEO Kento Kishigami said the studio “will serve as the vanguard of Japanese VR game developers making an impact in the global market.”
MyDearest’s two VR games are both unique takes on the visual novel genre for headsets. Tokyo Chronos featured a lengthy story-driven experience when it released in 2019 and the developer followed up a year later with Altdeus, which was set in the game world as the original game but flung far into the future.
We thought Altdeus in particular was a big improvement for the developer’s formula, awarding it 4/5 in our review. “Having added new language options and some much-needed immersion to the core gameplay, I found myself completely immersed in ALTDEUS’ story overall,” we said. “Despite interactivity remaining minimal compared to other VR games, this one comes highly recommended for visual novel fans.” The game got a story expansion recently, but MyDearest is yet to announce its next project.
What do you hope to see MyDearest work on next? Let us know in the comments below!
Japanese developer MyDearest, best known for its two virtual reality (VR) visual novels Tokyo Chronos and Altdeus: Beyond Chronos has announced the successful completion of a new funding round this week. This saw the studio close an $8.2 million USD (900 million yen) Series B funding round to help continue building new VR adventures.
The round was led by Globis Capital Partners, a Japanese VC firm, alongside DBJ Capital and DG Daiwa Ventures. This has brought MyDearest’s total funding to date to $11.1 million (1.2 billion yen). MyDearest has said this new investment will be used to expand its team whilst developing an online fan community for its growing videogame roster.
“The serial successes of our games, and the expansion of the VR market thanks to Oculus Quest 2, have allowed us to close one of the largest funding rounds ever for a Japanese VR game company,” said Kento Kishigami, CEO of MyDearest in a statement. “Our fans have lauded us for our powerful storytelling, and we intend to complement that strength by further evolving the gameplay and interactivity of our games, appealing to an even wider audience. MyDearest will serve as the vanguard of Japanese VR game developers making an impact in the global market.”
Founded in 2016, by Kento Kishigami, Yosuke Kori, and Shotaro Chida, the team’s first title was Tokyo Chronos (2019) following a group of eight students who suddenly wake up in “Chronos World”, a sort of mirror world based in Shibuya, now an empty, deserted district of Tokyo, Japan. Described as a visual novel, the interaction was limited as you mainly followed the story with Japanese voice acting and English subtitles.
2020’s Altdeus: Beyond Chronos was the sequel, set 200 years after the events in Tokyo Chronos. The follow-up was a far more advanced adventure with greater interaction and a multitude of decision points to vary the story and endings. This time the world has been decimated by an alien race called the Meteora with humanity now surviving by living underground. But there is a way to fight back, using giant mechs called Makhia. The narrative puts you in the shoes of a Makhia pilot, being able to control giant rail guns or huge swords.
As MyDearest expands the team and when it reveals its next VR project, VRFocus will let you know.
Sci-fi anime VR visual novel experience ALTDEUS: Beyond Chronos launched on Oculus Quest in December and quickly rose to become one of the best rated titles on the headset. Now the app has launched on SteamVR for PC VR users to enjoy.
As an anime experience featuring “robot battles, pop music, and emotion,” Altdeus might not be everyone’s cup of tea, but those looking for this kind of experience have given the game top marks on Oculus Quest. Currently the game ranks as the 2nd best-rated paid app on Quest, with an average rating of 4.9 out of 5 against more than 650 reviews.
Now Altdeus has launched on SteamVR, opening the door to players across the PC VR landscape. Interestingly, the experience is being sold for $30 (which is $10 cheaper than the Quest version), plus an additional launch discount of 10% (ending soon).
Altdeus promises 15–20 hours of gameplay with “one of the largest branching storylines ever in a VR game.” Here’s the trailer and premise straight from developer MyDearest Inc.
Become Chloe, a mecha pilot who will have her revenge and annihilate the Meteora once and for all. Pilot a giant mecha and make the decisions to determine humanity’s future. Explore new choices to uncover new branches of the story and discover all of ALTDEUS’ endings! Discover the truth, destroy the enemy, and enjoy the cyberspace pop concerts!
The studio also says the experience is heavily designed around player comfort and “highly recommended for people who don’t have a high tolerance against motion sickness.”
Though it takes place 300 years in the future, Altdeus is actually a sequel of TOKYO CHRONOS (2019), a previously released VR experience by the same studio. With both titles now available on Steam, the developer is selling both games in a bundle with a 24% discount.
Altdeus: Beyond Chronos is also available on Oculus PC and due to launch on PSVR on April 15th.
ALTDEUS: Beyond Chronos is a VR visual novel that found some success on Oculus Quest when it first released late last year. Even though that’s not the type of game you’d typically expect to see in VR, it’s now expanding with releases slated for PSVR and PC VR this year.
ALTDEUS: Beyond Chronos
Today ALTDEUS developer MyDearest announced the game would release on PC VR next month on February 19th and then PSVR two months later on April 15th for $29.99 on both platforms.
Last month we reviewed ALTDEUS, which is a spiritual follow-up to a preview VR visual novel game, Toky Chrono, from the same developers. For all intents and purposes, ALTDEUS improves on its predecessor in every notable way.
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.
ALTDEUS boasts a 15-20 hour story with branching narrative points and even includes both English and Japanese voice acting options. The game also includes mech battles for moments of actual interactive gameplay and even lets you attend 360-degree virtual J-Pop concerts.
Do you think you’ll check this one out on PC VR or PSVR this year once it makes its way over from the Quest? Let us know your thoughts down in the comments below!
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.
