Ah, yes. The rare ‘good videogame’.
Image credit: NEKCOM
Some days, I wonder if every word written before a trailer is actually superfluous. It’s a visual medium, after all. What can a description achieve save to clumsily gesture at the true shape of something; a dog-eared tour brochure for a thrilling weekend spelunking in Plato’s cave? I can usually shake this feeling, but gory zombie action game Showa American Story is my breaking point. There is nothing I can impart about this thing that will not be conveyed better by allowing its new trailer to wash over you like a tide of sheer videogame. Here’s it:
It’s so wonderful, somewhere between RGG and Grasshopper Manufacture, with a little bit of one of my all time favourite films, Tokyo Gore Police, thrown in for good measure. It’s “a brand new RPG and an enthusiastic love letter to the 80s’ pop culture that features a strong taste of B-Movies,” says Steam. “Follow Choko’s journey of truth and revenge across North America as she grows stronger.” It’s from Nekcom, who previously put out the confoundingly named DYING: Reborn – a gory escape room. Here’s the setup:
Showa 66, Japan has bought out most of the United States with its strong economic power. A surge of immigration has firmly planted Japanese culture within the American continent. Two cultures are rapidly amalgamated, although conflicts are inevitable, citizens gradually adapt to a life never imagined as time goes by.
However, a mysterious catastrophic incident changes the world drastically. The social order is long gone. An unknown amount of time passes, a teenage girl mysteriously revives from the dead, only to find a brand new wild post-apocalyptic world with zombies, monsters, and human survivors of different backgrounds and beliefs.
As well as combat, you’ll be travelling around the US in a “big” RV. It’s big! You’ll be able to customise it, as well as “enhance Choko’s status and unlock abilities through various enjoyable “Living Activities”. Finally, the enjoyable living activities I crave. No release date on this one yet, but you can bet I’ll be shouting loudly about it as soon as we get one.
