Aksys And Idea Factory Are Bringing The Games In 2021

9 March, 2021 - 12:57 pm by Joseph Whitfield
About 9 mins to read

Over the last few days, popular localisation specialist and publishers; Aksys Games and Idea Factory announced a slew of video games at the NGPX digital expo that will be released in 2021. Some they will be teaming up for, some will be released independently of each other. Wouldn’t you know it, we’ve only gone and complied both sets of announcements!

We’ll be starting with Aksys Games for no other reason that they are first alphabetically, then move on to the join collaborations and finally finish on Idea Factory’s sole announcements.

Aksys Games

First up we have RICO London. A crime fighting, slow-mo shooter. London, 1999 is the setting and it’s all about smashing doors and killing bad guys to take care of business.

We’re fans of the highly saturated and vibrant cell-shaded look, and there’s nothing quite like saving a hostage and making a headshot all while in slow motion. RICO London looks like a combination of a Guy Ritchie film mixed with all of the style from The Matrix and we’re all for it. It’s coming to PlayStation 5, PS4, Xbox One & Nintendo Switch sometime in summer.

On the other end of the spectrum, we have Pups & Purrs Animal Hospital coming to the Nintendo Switch at some point in summer. As the name suggests, you have to take care of poorly puppers and floofs in this veterinarian simulator. Clearly aimed at the younger audience, you have to examine the virtual pets in order to prescribe the best treatments available.

On your days off, you can spend the time shopping to make sure you look the best for the animals. We think it’s a cute concept although we’re not 100% sure why you’d have to go shopping for yourself. Perhaps it’s to enhance the realism of being a vet?

Also heading to the Nintendo Switch this summer is Fishing Fighters. A party game where you compete against “fierce fish-offs” of up to 8 players. If the action gets too much there is a casual play where you can fish in peace.

Anglers will also be able to participate in a Story Mode where you take on challenging rival battles in search of the elusive legendary fish across the ocean, rivers and lakes. We can see the game appealing to anglers who are missing out on the fishing experience while various lockdowns are in effect. Hopefully there is an online mode so that virtual meetups can take plaice.

Later in the year, we’ll have Undernauts: Labyrinth of Yomi for Steam, Switch, PS4 & Xbox One. A massive structure suddenly rises from the ground in 1970’s Tokyo. Joining an elite group of underground explorers employed by Cassandra Company, you quickly find that there are monsters lurking everywhere. It’s up to you to fight for survival.

Very little is shown in the teaser trailer, but we do know that this dungeon crawler will let you create your own paths throughout the tunnels to progress. It’s not just monsters you’ll come up against. The criminal underworld, a literal meaning in this case, are also scouring the depths for treasures. We’re going to keep an eye on this one as Undernauts: Labyrinth of Yomi certainly looks intriguing.

Aksys & Idea Factory Team Up

If there’s one thing Aksys and Idea Factory can produce when they get their heads together are visual novels. We’ve covered the next 3 games on the site previously (Here’s the link), but there have been a few updates including some new trailers.

Olympia Soirée is first up. Coming to the Nintendo Switch towards the end of 2021, you’ll be able to experience a beautiful story and gorgeous visuals. Playing as Olympia, you are tasked with restoring light to a world shrouded in darkness. To do this, you have to explore Tenguu Island to find your soulmate to open your heart and save the world.

Romance options are always big choices within visual novels, and it looks like Olympia Soirée is following the formula nicely. Since it is being developed by Otomate we’re sure there will be a few surprises to keep the genre fresh.

Dairoku: Agents of Sakuratani still hasn’t had it’s name changed but we’re inching ever closer to a full Western reveal later in the year. Playing as Akitsu Shino, you have a strange power, to see spirits, apparitions, and indescribable creatures. Joining a secret government agency: The Occult Action Department, your assignment is with the Sixth Special Preventions Office, to monitor the powerful beings who travel between her world and the worlds beyond.

If this doesn’t sound like the plot of a Ghostbusters spin-off we don’t know what will. There are multiple paths to explore, and numerous ways to approach the story. The wait for the supernatural novel goes on as Dairoku: Agents of Sakuratani is scheduled for a Winter release on the Nintendo Switch.

Coming at the end of the year, we have Variable Barricade again for the Switch. In this, you play as Hibari. She has learnt that her eccentric grandfather is determined to find her a husband. The game plays out like the TV series, The Batchelor, where four men fight to win Hibari’s hand.

The thing with Hibari and the goal of the game is to shut each one of the men down and refuse to fall for any of them. The question is, will you succeed or will there be wedding bells at all? Variable Barricade looks to not take itself seriously which opens up lots of opportunity for comedy.

Idea Factory

Our final three games are published by Idea Factory and first up we have Mary Skelter Finale for the PlayStation 4 and Nintendo Switch. As the name suggests, this is the final game in the trilogy that started life on the PS Vita. This is a dungeon crawling RPG has you encountering monsters called Marchen. These monsters have madness-inducing Nightmare powers and you have to stop them.

Each of the 6 characters have rich and deep backstories for you to explore and unlock the full story. Mary Skelter Finale comes out towards the end of the year and if you’ve not played the other entries, the game will come with a catch up mode. Alternatively, if the game interests you, Mary Skelter 1 & 2 can be found on either the PlayStation Store or Nintendo eShop.

Idea Factory have announced that Neptunia ReVerse will be getting a release on the PS5 on the 11th June. It may come as a surprise but we’re not always versed on every video game series in existence. Unfortunately some do slip up by. The Neptunia series is one of those. However, in our defence we’re currently playing through the latest game had will have it for review shortly.

Getting back on topic, Neptunia ReVerse is an updated and enhanced version of the Hyperdimension Neptunia Re;Birth1, which originally released for the PlayStation Vita in 2013. This RPG has 4 Goddesses fighting for control over their virtual world of Gamindustri. When Neptune has her powers stripped from her she has to fight to regain them as well as stop an impending threat to the world as a whole. After playing the recent Neptunia Virtual Stars it’s about time we explore where it all started.

Finally, we have Death end re;Quest, which has been announced for release on 27th April for the Nintendo Switch. Originally releasing on the PlayStation 4 in 2019, the game will come included with all of the previous DLC.

Part visual novel, part turn-based RPG, Death end re;Quest puts you in the place of Arata Mizunashi, a video game programmer, who created World’s Odyssey (W.O.D.) along with Shina Ninomiya. After Ninomiya goes missing, work on the game is halted until one day when Mizunashi receives a notification that Shina is in the game. The plot sounds straight out of Jumanji, which isn’t a bad thing.

The trailer shows a brief look at Shina’s fight to get out of the game and questions what happens when there’s a Game Over. There’s not long to wait for this one. Oh and for physical fans, there will be copies of Death end re;Quest to buy from Limited Run Games until 4th April.