Sekai Project’s foray outside of cutesy visual novels on Steam continues this year, and after the successful release of M.A.S.S Builder for mecha fans, they now turn to the magical girl genre with the announcement of Mahou Arms.
Developed by Dischan Media, Mahou Arms, is set to be released later next week via Steam’s Early Access program, very much like M.A.S.S Builder. Mahou Arms is a hack and slash action title inspired by magical girl anime tropes, while also taking heavy inspiration from the gameplay of Nier Automata. Check out the early access trailer below.
The trailer shows incredible promise, featuring sharp and fluid animations as well as weight behind the combo-chaining attacks. There’s also a scoring system going on much like Bayonetta or Devil May Cry, which means that Mahou Arms will probably go for that same fast-paced and combo-centric action that relies on proper presses rather than mashing techniques.
The trailer also shows off some cutscenes which made use of storyboarded techniques akin to what you’d find in a manga, which is a nice change of pace to what we’d usually see from anime-influenced games. It also showed off some top-down battles that deviates from the third-person combat first shown, which just goes to show how influenced Mahou Arms is by Nier Automata. That’s not to put Mahou Arms down whatsoever, though, as the game really delivers its own identity thanks to a well-designed protagonist that sticks out against the somber backdrop of the game.
The game’s Steam page is now up as well, which provides more information. Mahou Arms takes place in a world where the human race is on the brink of total subjugation from an invading alien force commonly known as the ‘Locks. A global paramilitary organization called GARDA, in turn, discovers that the only way to fight back is through their most effective means – magical girls.
The Early Access details also state that there are three playable magical girls planned, with the one in the trailer the first to be released. Base building and socialization components are also planned, in addition to more boss battles that will serve as key hindrances to your journey.
Mahou Arms is set to be released on PC via Steam Early Access this April 28.
