Play Station Official Magazine - UK (2019-12)

PREVIEW

ULTRA AGE

Year of the combo

What was the last Korean game you

played? You don’t hear about many big

games coming from Korean developers,

which is bizarre considering the talent

in that country. Well, when this game launches

in 2020, ‘Ultra Age’ will be the answer to that

question for many of us.

In Ultra Age, humanity has abandoned the Earth

to live in space, but lead character Age must return

in order to ensure the species’ continued survival.

Despite all the future tech available, he doesn’t

rely on things like guns, but instead uses multiple

swords, each with its own strengths, weaknesses, and

elemental affinities (his stock of which can deplete

with too much use of strong attacks).

SWORDER OR CHAOS

Earth’s overgrown forests and still-churning factories

are now home to mutants and machines. Some

swords are more effective against certain enemy

types; we have particular fun with a zappy electric

sword that can short-circuit enemy robots. Enemies

are hostile towards each other too, so you can avoid

some encounters by letting them fight it or out, or

you can just let them weaken each other.

But there’s not a lot of reason why

you wouldn’t want to fight it out.

Age is able to hold his own, and has

taken a lot of notes from the likes

of Devil May Cry, Bayonetta, and

Nier: Automata. The fighting system

is an accomplished one that’ll have

you grappling with enemies, dodging

attacks, and laying down some

seriously stylish combos. Putting away

strong enemies with nary a scratch

gives absolutely you the same level of

satisfaction you’d get from the other

giants in the genre.

Collecting crystals throughout the

level will give you energy to pull off

stronger attacks, and there’s quite a lot

of environment in which to find them.

In our hands-on we play through a

forest and a factory, which do end up

feeling a bit samey. But we’re also told

Ultra Age will have roguelike elements.

We’ve yet to see how this will work,

but we’re happy to keep coming back

for more tastes of the fresh, stylish

action, and sharing it with you.

FORMAT PS4 / ETA 2020 / PUB INTRAGAMES / DEV NEXT STAGE, VISUAL DART

Above Co-developer Visual

Dart has collaborated on

Uncharted: The Lost Legacy

and Overwatch.

Even with lots of

enemies in the

way, Age is far

from powerless.

“YOU’LL BE GRAPPLING

WITH ENEMIES, DODGING

AT TACKS, AND L AY ING

DOWN SOME SERIOUSLY

STYLISH COMBOS.”