As announced earlier, Tencent has announced that a new Dengeki Bunko: Crossing Void beta will be released on 7th August in China! Just before the beta is available, a new demo was available at ChinaJoy 2018 for visitors to try the new game first hand. If you’re interested in the upcoming beta, read more about it here.
… and now, a hands on review on Dengeki Bunko: Crossing Void!
▍What is Dengeki Bunko: Crossing Void?
Crossing Void is a mobile turn-based game created by Tencent, Sega, and Dengeki Bunko. The game includes iconic characters from series under Dengeki Bunko, including DuRaRaRa!!, Shakugan no Shana, Sword Art Online, A Certain Scientific Railgun, and more!
Characters are split into two major categories, Main Characters and Support Characters. Main Characters are characters that will appear in the bulk of the combat, and Support Characters are characters that will add to the list of available skills your Main Characters has in combat. Pairing specific characters together will make special skills available to that main character.
▍Characters Footage
▍Graphics
Without a doubt, this game rocks some insane graphics. Each of the characters are represented true to their anime appearance with improvements on details to suit modern mobile game expectations.
Whilst the game doesn’t blow your mind away with fancy 3D skill effects, it brilliantly recreates the anime-feel with illustrated skill effects that stay true to each character’s original appearance in their respective series! If you’re a fan, or have even seen parts of any of the Dengeki Bunko series’ then you’ll definitely be able to appreciate the amount of attention the creators have put into nailing each and every small detail for the characters in the game to make them as true to their heritage as possible.
▍Combat
As mentioned before, the game features a turn-based combat system where players will be able to choose which skills to use depending on the character, their respective Support Character, as well as the amount of “mana” they have. yes, this type of combat isn’t anything new, the game’s main selling point isn’t really an incredibly deep gameplay, but instead a collection of elements from different Dengeki Bunko series, and I really think the game has done a great job at putting that into the combat.
Each character’s skill is completely in tune with the original anime series. Most Notably, Shizuo Heiwajima from the DuRaRaRa!! series. almost every one of his skill recreates notable moments from the anime series in which he throws around common items/objects seen on the streets of Japan!
▍Thoughts
If I were to name a bad thing about the game, it would definitely be the overall pace of the game. The turn-based system isn’t known for having entertaining fast-paced action, so the flaw isn’t with the game itself, but with the genre.
Although certain aspects of the game is slow, there wasn’t really a moment during the demo which made the game seem gruelling. As fan of many of the series that appears in the game, simply being able to see some of the iconic characters use their signature skills, was enough to make the game entertaining.
If you were to compare this with IP-based games from Bandai Namco, this will without a doubt come out on top. Just the amount attention put into the small details of the game is enough to make an wonderful difference. Dengeki Bunko: Crossing Void is definitely a step in the right direction for mobile IP-based games!
▍Combat Gameplay
At the end of the day, Dengeki Bunko: Crossing Void is an surprisingly well-made game that doesn’t let down ay of the original series involved.