Japanese role-playing game Azur Lane: Crosswave has just received a promotional trailer detailing its gameplay and gunplay. The three-minute clip was released by publisher Compile Heart on their official YouTube Channel. Narrated by Cleveland voice actor Saya Horigome, the video showcases Crosswave's utilization of the Unreal engine to realize its 3D dreams from its humble 2D beginnings.
The shoot’em up action RPG is based on the popular side scroller video game Azur Lane. The original game was launched in 2017 for iOS and Android devices. The story revolves around an alternate universe wherein four of the most influentials countries in World War 2 (the United States, United Kingdom, Empire of Japan and Weimar Germany) joined forces to create the military alliance that came to be known as Azur Lane. A subsequent alien invasion splits this faction into two sides formed by the United States and the United Kingdom against the Empire of Japan and Nazi Germany. The latter two formed an opposing faction called “Crimson Axis” which aimed to invade the Azur Lane countries with the aid of alien-powered technology.
The gameplay is focused on the need to defeat enemy ships. By defeating these ships, you unlock additional characters that improve your chances of winning on the field. Also, customization options are available and can be unlocked by succeeding in combat. Aside from its RPG elements, strategy also plays a huge role as you can customize your character's equipment, your team’s composition, and your team’s formation before the battle begins. Adapting on the fly is also key, as you need to pay attention to aerial bombs, underwater torpedoes, and incoming projectiles. It’s a mish-mash of multiple game genres and elements and based on the trailer, it merges all of them seamlessly.
With its roots coming from China, Azur Lane gained immense popularity during its release for mobile devices due to its innovative gameplay (although fans of the Kantai collection may claim that it’s a clone) and unobtrusive microtransaction elements.
Azur Lane: Crosswave will launch for the Japanese market on August 29, 2019 for the PlayStation 4. A western release will be coming soon in 2020.
