Tokyo 42 was released on the PC and Xbox One on May 31, according to the Tokyo 42 webpage on Steam.
The official trailer, available on Mode 7’s official YouTube channel, features some of the action-packed gameplay. Most of the action, besides shooting guns at enemies, focuses on the player’s ability to rotate the camera, which will cause the bullet’s trajectory to change. The settings include heavily-colorful, bubblegummy, Japanese inspired isometric landscapes. Little pieces of Japanese culture are shown in the trailer, including light-up dragon wall art, cherry blossoms, luminous signs with Japanese words, and the unusual but interesting art that makes Japan unique to the rest of the world. The background music for the trailer is the game’s original soundtrack created by Beat Vince; a techno-electro pop track that includes repeating the words “go” and “forever.”
While also being able to attack and shoot enemies, players will have the opportunity to go into a stealth mode. In stealth mode, the character has to wander around (the example shown in the trailer is of a garden maze, a Japanese shrine and a building) through enemies without being seen, otherwise a red eye icon will pop up over an enemy’s head. The player can also silence enemies by striking them with what seems to be a katana. Another feature in the game is the ability to control cats to use for your own benefit. If this game can’t sell you with its action and stealth, it can definitely sell you with cat control. Because who doesn’t want the ability to control cats?
The game has both single player and multiplayer options. The story for the single player is “Set in a future Tokyo, the game will see you become an assassin and uncover a dark conspiracy that will affect everyone,” according to the official Tokyo 42 website. The multiplayer mode will allow players to fight against their friends to the death. Tokyo 42 is an open world game, giving players the ability to seamlessly travel between different environments.
Tokyo 42 was created by SMAC Games and published by Mode 7. Both seem to be fairly new at creating and publishing games, since this seems to be SMAC Games first game, according to the SMAC Games official website. Only Tokyo 42 is listed as a game they have created. Mode 7 is also publishing a game named Frozen Synapse 2, which will be coming sometime in 2017, according to the official Frozen Synapse 2 website. A trailer for Frozen Synapse 2 can be found on Mode 7’s official YouTube channel, and a link to Mode 7’s official Twitter can be found here.
Tokyo 42 received scores of a 74 for PC and a 70 for Xbox One on Metacritic. PC Invasion gave the game a score of a 70, saying “Its issues and occasional shortcomings didn’t hugely detract from my enjoyment, and instead just left me with a longing sense of ‘what if.’ Tokyo 42 is still a good game. It’s just one that comes close enough to being a great one that its flaws sting a little bit more than they probably should.” A full review of Tokyo 42 can be found on PC Invasion’s official website.
While Tokyo 42 didn’t get the highest scores on Metacritic, it did rank 49 in Best PC Game of 2017, 80 in Most Discussed PC Game of 2017, and 67 in Most Shared PC Game of 2017. Its rankings for Xbox One were even higher; it ranked 50 for Best Xbox One Game of 2017, 35 in Most Discussed Xbox One Game of 2017, and 47 in Most Shared Xbox One Game of 2017. This proves that the hype for this game hasn’t died, despite the mixed reviews.
Tokyo 42 is currently available for purchase on Steam and on the Microsoft store official website for $19.99. A PlayStation 4 version of the game will be coming soon.
Featured image via Tokyo 42 official website.
