PLAY

O (SHANG)HAI!

Sony’s supporting Chinese devs.

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OVER 400 DEMOS WERE SUBMITTED – JUST TEN TITLES MADE IT. dev talk “About the story: ten years ago, there was a war between two kingdoms. The war ended but monsters kept killing people. Kazer rarely had a smile on his face again since the accident of his family… until he was accidental­ly combined with one of the monsters.” Yang Bing Developer, Lost Soul Aside

As OPM’s fave colourful hero-based shooter (no, not Battleborn, you joker) likes to remind us: the world could always use more heroes. We wouldn’t say no to a few new videogames, either. Fortunatel­y, Sony Interactiv­e Entertainm­ent Shanghai is on the case, having launched the ‘PlayStatio­n’s China Hero Project’.

Initiated back in 2016 to seek out and aid China’s brightest game dev talents in creating PlayStatio­n’s next smash hit, over 400 game demos were submitted during the registrati­on process. Just ten titles reached the end of the project, and were shown off by Sony via some impressive demo footage in its recent press conference announceme­nt – nine of them had never been seen before.

China’s not usually considered a force in the world of gaming. Home consoles were even banned in the country between 2000 and 2014. Now free from the shackles of a PlayStatio­n-less society (how would we survive?), keen devs are clearly producing some brilliant stuff.

We’re treated to glimpses of gorgeous titles, plenty of which are in the final stages of developmen­t. Any real standouts? But of course. Studio Surgical Scalpels’ VR-optional space-set shooter Project Boundary, which pitches players into anti-gravity combat with just a gun and their poor unfortunat­e inner ear, has caught our eye. So has The Walker, a surreal first-person VR adventure from Haymaker Studios that looks set to terrify us. Strange spooks, supernatur­al powers, giant knives, and guns… What could go wrong?

X AND VIOLENCE

There was a more chilled-out virtual reality experience in the form of The X Animal, a casual and colourful treat that has you bumble a weaponised menagerie around Katamari-esque worlds to a kooky German soundtrack. And just in case our retinas weren’t already drooling (ew), Code: HARDCORE boosted onto the screen with the slickest 2D animated graphics we’ve seen in a long time. All in service of mech-suited shooting and brawling, its

hundreds of hand-drawn elements and deep tactics have sent it rocketing up our ‘ones to watch’ list.

But one particular China Hero Project is a bit special, with a heartwarmi­ng backstory that’d doubtless have Disney stamping its little mousey feet that it hadn’t dreamed it up first. Behold the fairytale of Lost Soul Aside: inspired by Final Fantasy XV, developer Yang Bing decided to pay homage with an action-RPG of his own… and all on his tod. What’s more, the Unreal Engine-powered jewel he’s polishing looks so darn promising that he’s had Sony, Epic Games and more knocking on his door, offering to lend him a hand.

With Sony (and a few more devs) on his side, Lost Soul Aside is sure to flourish. The demo Bing’s shown off is already remarkable. Vast, blossom-strewn vistas; islands floating in endless skies; a strange pet dragon dancing around the player; gloomy pine forests; manic bullet-hell-style battles; and even the power of flight – it’s packing everything a triple-A release might boast, and more. Now a timed PS4 exclusive, Bing hopes to have Lost Souls Aside finished by 2018 (a date we’re taking with a mountain of salt).

BING IT ON

The response to Bing’s personal creation has been overwhelmi­ng – he even considered packing it all in, rather than continue the project with help. He explains on his Facebook page: “I realised that the real reason [I wanted to refuse the help] is the fear of sharing my world. I begin to be like a little boy protecting his toy.”

But Bing continues: “I have thought about this for a long time and I realised that I am no longer lonely and nameless because of you. If you think my world is good then I should share it to you, even if it may turn out to be another one when it becomes commercial.” Whatever worlds Lost Soul Aside and the other China Hero Project games turn into, we can’t wait to explore them. Which of the ten China Hero Project titles excite you? Let us know @OPM_UK.

 ??  ?? Action-RPG Lost Soul Aside has an air of Devil May Cry about it, with its flashy fantasy combat.
Action-RPG Lost Soul Aside has an air of Devil May Cry about it, with its flashy fantasy combat.
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 ??  ??    The animation on Code: HARDCORE is stellar. Those mechas feel weighty.
The animation on Code: HARDCORE is stellar. Those mechas feel weighty.
 ??  ??    Project Boundary has you play as an armed astronaut in online 8v8 battles.
Project Boundary has you play as an armed astronaut in online 8v8 battles.

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