Blue Protocol brings an anime world to life | hands-on preview

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Amazon Games is planning to launch Bandai Namco’s massively multiplayer online game Blue Protocol to the West in 2024.

Already on the market in Japan, the MMO is coming to Western markets on the PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S and PC. At the recent Summer Game Fest Play Days, I was able to play with the game, which has a cell-shaded art style that is like “anime come to life.”

I started out playing Blue Protocol by customizing my player character ahead of a mission across the war-torn continent Regnas.

When you’re “born,” you start as a purple and white crystaline figure, kind of like a soul looking for a body. You fight with some creatures with your sword until a human warrior takes you down. Then you’re treated to a cutscene of the beautiful anime world of Blue Protocol. You get a taste of a wide variety of combat, characters and adventures that await. A half-dozen heroes band together. A bad guy makes an appearance, as do all sorts of creatures — and then you go directly into customization.

You can choose from a bunch of classes that will be available at launch: Blade Warden, Twin Striker, Keen Strider, Spell Weaver and Foe Breaker. You get to build your own heroes.

Then you enter a world full of animated characters with very big eyes. A young girl wants to join you in an adventure and you head off into the woods and mountains.

A few creatures with lizard-like heads ambush you and you get to go crazy with your spinning ax or sword attacks. You have to watch out for their counter-blows and make sure you keep getting hits in to bring down their health meters.

Fighting solo can be dangerous, and I died a few