Even though Nippon Ichi Software is currently facing financial problems, it's still trying its best to deliver us a new roguelike dungeon crawler game. Its name is Void Terrarium, and it's coming for PS4 and Switch this January.
Normally, with a newly-announced game, there will be a new trailer coming with the announcement. However, Void Terrarium doesn't have any trailer at this point, so we can infer that the Disgaea's disastrous launch is decently harming the Japanese publisher.
Nevertheless, we still have some early images of Void Terrarium here, as well as information about the game's features. Without further ado, let's get right into it:
The concept of Void Terrarium
Void Terrarium takes the settings of a post-apocalypse world, as the Earth has been taken over by poisonous mushrooms. Every human being has died, except for Toriko - a little human baby along with her Caretaker Robot. They will have to survive in a small area - the last one that human can live in, called "Terrarium".
Toriko is too small to do anything to survive on her own, so you - the Caretaker Robot - will have to provide everything she needs to keep living. To be more specific, you'll have to maintain the Terrarium by decorating while finding necessary resources such as foods and items.
Furthermore, the Terrarium is not totally safe either. Toriko was already infected by the poison, leaving a mushroom growing out of her right eye. Hence, you'll have to find a cure to get rid of the mushroom and keep her alive.
Will you be able to keep human's last hope alive?
Special gameplay features
From the early description of Nippon Ichi Software, Void Terrarium is a roguelike dungeon crawler with some RPG elements. You'll take control of the Caretaker Robot, diving into the ruins to find foods, medicines, and items to keep Toriko alive.
It's very normal at first look, but the game does features some special tricks hiding in its sleeves. First of all, your adventure down the ruins is not totally free, as you'll still have a burden on the ground. Toriko is already ill, so you can't abandon her for too long. Additionally, she will die if you don't bring back medicine to her, so you'd better manage your time.
Secondly, every time you head down this procedurally-generated dungeon, your level will be reset to 1. While this sucks for players craving for a game to grind, this feature actually allows players to try new builds with each travel.
Last but not least, with its cute visuals and soothing music, you'll find yourself enjoying the beautiful relationship with the human and the robot. Maybe it's a great therapy that you're looking for after having to deal with the annoying people in the real world!
Masayuki Furuya - the director of Hotaru no Nikki and A Rose in the Twilight will also direct Void Terrarium. The characters in this game will come from his hands as well. He also invited Hajime Sugie - the music composer for the two mentioned games - to craft some masterpiece BGM of Void Terrarium.
Release date and supported platforms
Void Terrarium is coming for PlayStation 4 and Nintendo Switch in Japan on January 23. Details on worldwide's release are not available yet.
In Japan, the game's price will be 6407 Yen at launch, which's equivalent to $54.6. It is not a cheap price at all, so I'll keep a skeptical look on purchasing it in the future, maybe after getting more information on the game.