I don't know why the hell it's taken someone this long to say «What if we Sailor Moon'd the hell out of an ARPG?» but Pahdo Labs has only gone and done it with its upcoming game Starlight Re:Volver. With a delightfully colourful cast rooted in old-school magical girl vibes, it's a welcome change from the usual dark and gritty aesthetic that's so prevalent among the genre.
It's a striking career turn for Pahdo Labs founder Daniel Zou, who spent several years as a software engineer in the financial industry. But as he tells PC Gamer, «my main interest growing up was videogames.» Zou ran TeamSpeak and Minecraft servers for his pals, as well as founding his high school's esports team. «Trying to make games is actually what first got me into technology and computer science,» he says. «I loved making games in Flash and RPG Maker and sharing them with my friends.»
Zou's love for games and keen business eye led him to anime games and their «deep and passionate» communities. «I actually left my job around the time Genshin Impact first came out,» he reveals. «I understood the hype, because I've been a big anime fan since I discovered Bleach in middle school. It felt like perfect timing for someone to create a new multiplayer anime game, the kind of game I always wanted to play as a kid.»
As someone who also got their weeb wings by becoming utterly enamoured with Bleach, I'm already here for Zou and the team's vision. Starlight Re:Volver's trailer hits all the nostalgic notes for me: The delicate anime intro style song that would have been on loop on my iPod Nano, a group of protagonists that look like they've just stepped off the runway in their extravagant outfits, and even the classic magical girl transformation sequences that I love so dearly.
Starlight Re:Volver puts its sugary sweet looks on top of some good ol' ARPG combat, with up to four players being able to battle their way through the world's dreamscapes. It seems like players can synergise their abilities for
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Mollie Taylor