This past week, Square Enix released a new press release on two new characters in the game, the mysterious ruler Lobelia, and her son Leo. Additionally, there is new information on how the Living World and the Beyond will interact, and how it can be utilized in the game. [Thanks, 4Gamer!]
Check out the info below:
Lobelia (CV: Atsuko Tanaka)
“You have a duty to protect this country. You ones of the living have the duty of connecting life and blessing the birth of people.”
A sovereign who lives in isolation, only trusting herself. Apart from remaining at distance from others, she barely shows herself, to the point where some of her subjects don’t recognize her appearance. Lobelia will uphold the reincarnation cycle above all else, to the point of obsession.
Leo (CV: Hiroshi Shirokuma)
“Resisting against me means resisting against the sovereign. Which means resistance against the country.”
Lobelia’s loyal right-hand man, and trueborn son. The sovereign is the only one he trusts, and he has respected her as a leader rather than a mother since his childhood. He does not have any friends, nor any other people he trusts, but he has never felt anguish over that. With his blind faith in the sovereign, Leo takes upon an antagonistic position against the Watchers, who heed the words of other beings.
Two Worlds
The world in the game is split into two planes, the Living World and the Beyond, where dead souls live. While Watchers can go into both worlds with their own will, the first time they visit certain parts of the Beyond, it will be masked in darkness, making it hard to fight. By defeating certain enemies that are linked to the Beyond, they will be able to return the Beyond to an explorable state.
The two worlds have different rules, with the general rule being that Living World objects are breakable and interactable, while the Beyond’s versions are not. This means that you can use tactics like going into the Beyond to use the unbreakable gravestones as cover, while some places will require you to pass over in the Living World, as things like levers don’t function in the Beyond.
The Beyond also has treasure chests that contain items left behind from an unknown era, and spacequakes that warp Kagachi to places unreachable in the Living World.
There are also the ‘Rules of the Beyond’, which can affect battle by installing various conditions onto both Kagachi and the enemies. For example, one Rule that has been activated here is that every attack becomes a critical hit, which can be helpful but also very dangerous when against strong monsters.
The Watchers have the ability to detect the presence of lost souls wandering around with lingering regrets, and their task is to guide them back towards reincarnation by helping solve the reasons for their lingering will. There are also encounters with Daemons awaiting Kagachi, who will lend their power to turn the tide in his favor.
Quick Travel
You are able to quick travel between areas in the world that you have been to.
Oninaki releases in Japan on August 22, 2019 for PlayStation 4 and Nintendo Switch. The game will release in the West in Summer 2019 along with a PC version coming via Steam. Previously, we reported on an interview with the key developers, which you can read here.
