During a studio event from Tokyo Game Show, Square Enix revealed the first gameplay footage of the upcoming Front Mission spin-off Left Alive.
The gameplay was introduced by Executive Producer Shinji Hashimoto and Game Director Toshifumi Nabeshima, and it’s the footage that I was shown behind-closed-doors at Gamescom in Cologne (besides the third video. I was shown an equivalent dialogue scene, but a different situation involving a father and a daughter).
We get to see a fight against foot soldiers with heroine Olga Sergeevna Kalinina as she uses traps and crafted items to get through while seriously outgunned.
The second video shows a battle among wanzers as the player pilots a Volk-type stolen from the enemy Garmonian army.
The third video shows a dialogue scene with one of the two male protagonists Mikhail Alexandrovich Schwarov. Dialogue choices change the outcome of each mission and of the story.
The fourth and last video is still focusing on Mikhail, as he tries to save three civilians that are being executed by Garmonian soldiers. Since he hesitates, he manages to save only one out of three, but the player can decide to try and save them all, or none. What happens to those characters can also influence the story.
It’s worth mentioning that you’ll notice a strange flicker in the videos. This is likely due to a discrepancy in frame rate between the videos (the gameplay showcased here is recorded and not live) and the livestream itself. I have seen these videos running natively on a TV and the flicker was completely absent, so don’t worry about it.
In the gallery we also get to see the Collectors’ Edition, the beautiful artwork showcasing art by Metal Gear Solid character designer Yoji Shinkawa and more, and the plastic model of the Volk wanzer.
If you want to learn more about Left Alive, you can enjoy the latest trailer, a large batch of screenshots and story details, and a lot of new details from Gamescom 2018 (which explain what you see in the videos below),You can also read more about how Square Enix managed to recruit legendary Metal Gear Solid artist Yoji Shinkawa to work on the game’s character design, and how the game is intended to be a solid single-player experience.
The game will releasse in Japan on February 28th, 2019 for PS4 and PC, and it’ll come west in 2019 for the same platforms. Yet, Producer Shinji Hashimoto himself told us that other platforms might be considered after launch.
