was a

role-playing video game Role-playing video games, also known as CRPG (computer/console role-playing games), comprise a broad video game genre generally defined by a detailed story and character advancement (often through increasing characters' levels or other skills) ...

developed by Pokelabo for Android and

iOS Ios, Io or Nio (, ; ; locally Nios, Νιός) is a Greek island in the Cyclades group in the Aegean Sea. Ios is a hilly island with cliffs down to the sea on most sides. It is situated halfway between Naxos and Santorini. It is about long an ...

. The game was directed by

Yoko Taro is a Japanese video game director and scenario writer. Starting his career at the now defunct game developer Cavia, his best-known work is on the action role-playing video game series '' Drakengard'', and its spin-offs, '' Nier'' and '' Nie ...

, better known for his work in the ''

Drakengard ''Drakengard'', known in Japan as is a series of action role-playing video games originally developed by Cavia (company), Cavia and published by Square Enix. The Drakengard (video game), eponymous first game in the series was released in 2003 ...

'' and ''

NieR ''Nier'' is an action role-playing video game developed by Cavia and published in 2010 by Square Enix for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. In Japan, the game was released as for the PlayStation 3 with a younger main character, while an alterna ...

'' series. The game was released in Japan by

Square Enix is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational holding company, video game publisher and entertainment conglomerate. It releases role-playing video game, role-playing game franchises, such as ''Final Fantasy'', ''Dragon Quest'', and '' ...

in June 2017, and worldwide by Pokelabo in July 2020. The global version of the game shut down its servers in November 2023, while the Japanese servers on

DMM.com is a Japan-based electronic commerce and Internet company with a diversified group of businesses that includes online shopping, eikaiwa, and video on demand service. The company manages DMM.com, an online entertainment site that allows users to ...

were shut down in December 2023, and the mobile servers shut down in January 2024.

Plot

In a world called Library filled with countless stories, the Characters within each story wish to revive their author for their desired future. To do so, they work together to gather inochi and fight the Nightmares that devour stories, knowing they will inevitably have to kill each other to get their wish.

Development

The game was originally supposed to be published by

Nexon Nexon Co., Ltd. (formerly ) is a South Korean video game developer and publisher. It develops and publishes titles including ''MapleStory'', ''Crazyracing Kartrider'', ''Sudden Attack'', ''Dungeon & Fighter'', ''The First Descendant'', and ''Bl ...

outside of Japan but was delayed indefinitely due to localisation reasons. The game's publishing was then handed over to Pokelabo. The game's soundtrack was scored by

Keiichi Okabe is a Japanese composer and arranger, best known for composing music for the ''Tekken'' and ''Drakengard'' series. He started his career at Namco in 1994, where he primarily composed for arcade games. Outside of video games, he has composed for a ...

, Keigo Hoashi, and Shotaro Seo.

Reception

The game received a "mixed or average" rating according to

review aggregator A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews and ratings of products and services, such as films, books, video games, music, software, hardware, or cars. This system then stores the reviews to be used for supporting a website where user ...

Metacritic Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...

. ''Hardcore Droid'' said that "Amazing visuals and audio can’t make up for the stale story lines and over-complicated class system. However, the wave style combat mode saves the day with its unique monsters and stylish attacks."

Manga adaptation

manga are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long history in earlier Japanese art. The term is used in Japan to refer to both comics ...

adaptation, illustrated by himiko, started serialization on the ''MangaUp!'' service in 2019. In July 2021, Square Enix announced they had licensed the manga for English publication. The manga ended with the release of its sixth volume on January 6, 2024.

Notes

References

External links

* {{Manga UP! 2017 video games 2019 manga Android (operating system) games Inactive online games IOS games Gacha games Gangan Comics manga Joker (character) in other media Manga based on video games Multiplayer and single-player video games Role-playing video games Square Enix games Products and services discontinued in 2024 Video games based on fairy tales Video games developed in Japan Video games scored by Keiichi Okabe