HoYoverse has lifted the curtain on its next big project, Varsapura, dropping a massive 31-minute gameplay demo that shows the studio moving into much darker territory.
On November 20, the development team behind Genshin Impact and Honkai Star Rail gave players an early look at Varsapura. Unlike HoYo’s previous gacha games, which focus on bright fantasy worlds, Varsapura’s environments take place in an urban, modern-day setting where shadowy creatures have started appearing and causing chaos.
As a member of SEAL, the Shadow Emergency Alliance, you’re tasked with investigating and resolving “Cognosea disruption events” and eliminating the shadowy entities that threaten humanity.
While details surrounding Varsapura are fairly limited, the gameplay video has given us a glimpse into the game’s themes, characters, and flashy combat.
HoYo announces new game with 31-minute gameplay trailer
During the gameplay trailer, we see the main character creeping through a dimly lit facility, performing stealth takedowns and mixing in melee moves with psychic-style abilities.
Combat is fast and stylish, and players can switch between three characters to chain attacks together, similar to Genshin and Zenless Zone Zero. Each character also has a powerful ultimate, with the protagonist using her umbrella to fire off massive ranged strikes.
There’s also a driving section where players take the wheel and speed through a realistic city, weaving between traffic and narrowly avoiding pedestrians. While we currently don’t know if Varsapura will be open-world, the addition of vehicles certainly suggests the environments are big enough to warrant this new feature.
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