See What's in Store from PLAYISM's Game Show Rebroadcast on YouTube!

TOKYO – Sept. 14, 2022 – PLAYISM GAME SHOW - TGS 2022 Preview, the newest edition of the digital showcase highlighting the latest games from Japan’s oldest indie game publisher renowned for titles Bright Memory: Infinite, Gnosia, and DEEEER Simulator, featured six new reveals including a world premiere. Rewatch PLAYISM’s pre-Tokyo Game Show broadcast now on YouTube.

PLAYISM announced that it will localize and publish Rusted Moss, the physics-based metroidvania that replaces double jumps with a bouncy grappling hook from developers, faxdoc, happysquared, and sunnydaze for PC in 2023. Learn to master the physics-driven bungee movement tech to skillfully navigate interconnected environments while blasting away at foes magical and mechanical alike in 360-degree combat.

PLAYISM will bring to Steam worldwide Valkyrie of Phantasm, the aerial action game filled with barrages of bullets set in the Touhou Project universe, available in Early Access beginning Sunday, October 23. The newest game from Touhou Sky Arena developer Areazero, Valkyrie of Phantasm was previously only available at Touhou fan conventions but will soon be accessible to Touhou fans around the world.

PLAYISM and Why so serious answer fans’ prayers with the official reveal of a Nintendo Switch version of DRAINUS, the bullet-absorbing side-scrolling shooter from the developer of Record of Lodoss War -Deedlit in Wonder Labyrinth- and Touhou Luna Nights. The show featured the announcement the remake of Ib, the cult adventure game set in an art museum by kouri, will be coming to the Nintendo Switch this winter, following its successful release on Steam for PC.

Additionally, PLAYISM will release console versions of Marfusha, the breakneck card-based shooting side-scroller by hinyari9, and Drago Noka, the village-building simulator from the POV of a dragon-riding city manager by GeSEI unkan.

“We appreciate everyone who tuned in, and we’re excited to continue our mission of bringing amazing games from talented creators to audiences and platforms they would struggle to reach on their own,” said Shunji Mizutani, Executive Producer of PLAYISM. “I will say, our social media manager is relieved they no longer have to keep their lips sealed whenever they see a ‘DRAINUS on Switch when?!’ tweet.”

For more information on PLAYISM, please visit the PLAYISM Game Show official web page or the PLAYISM official website, and follow @PlayismEN on Twitter.

About PLAYISM

Japan’s oldest indie publisher, PLAYISM is known in the West for supporting popular indie games such as Gnosia, Idol Manager, Tasomachi: Behind the Twilight, Touhou Luna Nights, Fight Crab, Record of Lodoss War -Deedlit in Wonder Labyrinth-, the La-Mulana series, Bright Memory, Bright Memory: Infinite, and DEEEER Simulator among other titles.

PLAYISM’s motto is “Bringing a Different Breed of Indie Game to the World”.

To learn more, visit the PLAYISM official website and follow @PlayismEN on Twitter.

Article by: Susan N.

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Watch the Replay of Playism's Preview of The Tokyo Game Show on YouTube!

TOKYO – Sept. 8, 2022 – PLAYISM announces PLAYISM GAME SHOW - TGS 2022 Preview, the newest edition of the digital showcase highlighting the latest games from Japan’s oldest indie game publisher renowned for titles Bright Memory: Infinite, Gnosia, and DEEEER Simulator. The live broadcast, highlighting its Tokyo Game Show lineup and upcoming titles releasing worldwide, takes place Wednesday Sept. 14, 2022 at 8:00 AM EDT / 5:00 AM PDT / 1:00 PM CET / 9:00 PM JST in English and Japanese on YouTube.

PLAYISM GAME SHOW - TGS 2022 Preview will feature the world premiere of a brand new game along with multiple titles the company will localize and publish for a worldwide audience. Tokyo Game Show attendees will be among the first to go hands-on with another one of PLAYISM’s upcoming titles, appearing at the company’s TGS booth. PLAYISM will reveal console ports for multiple games during the broadcast, both previously-released and upcoming titles.

PLAYISM serves as a gateway between the best indie games from both Eastern and Western hemispheres. Since 2011, the studio has brought games from Eastern indie developers to the West, localized western indies for audiences in Japan, Korea, and China both digitally and physically, and worked on console ports for acclaimed PC releases.

PLAYISM’s growing portfolio includes hit titles including Bright Memory: Infinite, DEEEER Simulator, Idol Manager, Mighty Goose, and Momodora: Moonlit Farewell, the anticipated latest installment in the action-packed, lore-rich Momodora series. The studio’s portfolio also includes Independent Game Festival Grand Prize winner Umurangi Generation and BAFTA Award winner Night In The Woods, while its Asian catalog includes acclaimed titles like Doki Doki Literature Club Plus!, Subnautica, Godfall, VA-11 Hall-A, Necrobarista, and more.

“We are thrilled to share these upcoming games from our end of 2022 and 2023 lineup with the world and celebrate alongside our global audience,” said Shunji Mizutani, Executive Producer of PLAYISM. “Our partners and community have shown us incredible support over the past decade-plus, and we plan to return that same support in kind with this new slate of games.”

PLAYISM GAME SHOW - TGS 2022 Preview occurs Wednesday, Sept. 14, 2022 at 8:00 AM EDT / 5:00 AM PDT / 1:00 PM CEST / 9:00 PM JST in English, Japanese, and Chinese on YouTube, Twitter, and Niconico.

For more information on PLAYISM, please visit the PLAYISM GAME SHOW official web page or the PLAYISM official website, and follow @PlayismEN on Twitter.

About PLAYISM

Japan’s oldest indie publisher, PLAYISM is known in the West for supporting popular indie games such as Gnosia, Idol Manager, Tasomachi: Behind the Twilight, Touhou Luna Nights, Fight Crab, Record of Lodoss War -Deedlit in Wonder Labyrinth-, the La-Mulana series, Bright Memory, Bright Memory: Infinite, and DEEEER Simulator among other titles.

PLAYISM’s motto is “Bringing a Different Breed of Indie Game to the World”.

To learn more, visit the PLAYISM official website and follow @PlayismEN on Twitter.

Article by: Susan N.

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Bright Memory: Infinite Review

Bright Memory: Infinite by developer and publisher FYQD-Studio and publisher Playism—Sony PlayStation 5 review written by Pierre-Yves with a copy provided by the publisher.

Estimated Reading Time: 5 minutes. 

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Following up on their one person development team’s fast paced fan-freakin’-tastic Bright Memory, FYQD-Studio is back for more fast paced action with Bright Memory: Infinite. While technically a sequel and starring the same protagonist Shelia, Infinite takes a different direction than the first and again leaves us wanting more of it. A lot more of it.

Quoting the FYQD-Studio off of their Steam page,

"Bright Memory: Infinite is the sequel to the popular Bright Memory. However, the sequel features an all-new world, along with newly created improved battle system and level design.

For Bright Memory: Infinite, I wanted to focus on adding content to give players a more satisfying experience. As a result, development took three times as long as Bright Memory. This process allowed me to learn how to create a strong game while dealing with time and financial constraints. I spent a lot of time thinking of ways to maximize whatever technology and resources available to me in order to deliver an unforgettable experience through the game. As such, Bright Memory: Infinite represents the culmination of FYQD Studio's growth."

So essentially starting off from scratch, this helped me place myself in this new experience without holding out for some of the elements from the first. Set in a first person shooter style, Bright Memory, and now Bright Memory: Infinite, are anything but slow. You're supposed to move around at fast speeds shooting anything that moves and slashing anything that gets close with your sword.

Now here is where I once again find myself torn.

On one hand, you have this stellar high paced action hack & slash shooter which looks fantastic and is all done by a single person. On the other hand, the adventure when all is said and done is less than 2 hours. While 4 times longer than the original, Infinite feels like an introduction session to the main course making you want more even after obtaining the Platinum Trophy on your third playthrough at the highest difficulty.

Now while it would have made more sense to replay the original first, I didn't. Instead, I jumped back into the original after my first run of Infinite to compare and probably the biggest differences are the elements that didn't make it back for an encore. More mythical monsters such as undead warriors and chimera, a combo counter with a grading system and gaining experience like an RPG to level up your skills. Was this a bad thing? I don't think so, no, as Infinite has streamlined various elements making it almost even faster paced than the original.

Instead, you'll generally be facing off against more human-like enemies such as human soldiers and some rather imposing looking ancient warriors that can decently shrug off your standard bullets. So it's a good thing that in Infinite, Shelia is equipped with her sword that can be used all the time instead of having a cooldown. Swordplay has become almost integral to this adventure as not only will you hack & slash at your enemies, but you can also block bullets, send bullets flying back and parry blows from even the largest of foes!

Having access to your sword like this also increases the pace of gameplay as it doesn't matter if you're using your guns or your sword, you don't need to stop. Both have their uses and that's before getting into special abilities that you can unlock such as a lightning punch that once fully upgraded, can launch a fireball once its fully charged burning everything in its path. Your sword also gets some new neat abilities like being able to launch itself forward and auto attack enemies while you worry about dodging out of the way of incoming fire or melee attacks. Finally, you can perform a ground and pound for anyone unlucky enough to stand beneath where you're coming down from a jump.

To not only offer "more" of the same even with the adjustments, there are completely new gameplay elements to Infinite in which one works really well, and the other I would like to see refined if it's to be used in the next iteration. Keeping spoilers out of it, there's now a stealth section that slows down this super fast pace to something more of a walk, not a crawl, as you'll still be moving around quickly enough. This also isn't a choice as if you've been spotted you're pretty much dead. It makes sense in context and also shows that FYQD-Studio are willing to do more than just "more of the same".

The other new gameplay element is a car chase making me think that Shelia could potentially star in her own James Bond movie if that's what her Q can dish out. Super slick to look at though, sadly this is the newer element that didn't work as well for me. While everything inside of the car looked great, it was the responsiveness of the car that didn't work for me. Essentially putting the pedal to the metal didn't feel like it did anything as going from 0-60, whether kilometers or miles an hour, felt like a slow advance when it should have felt like a thrill ride. It was a slow crawl forward and with everything else so fast paced? It didn't fit as well as it could have.

Summary

Because other than that, change in design forward or not, Bright Memory: Infinite is a hell of an experience and a worthy successor to Bright Memory. I just wish it was longer in terms of everything as it does feel more like an appetizer than a main course.

Score: 8 / 10

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First Person Shooter 'Bright Memory: Infinite' is Out Now on Steam!

TOKYO – Nov. 12, 2021 – Bright Memory: Infinite, the high-octane, visually stunning first-person shooter made by indie developer FYQD Studio and published by PLAYISM, begins the fight against the past and for the future via Steam for PC, with an Xbox Series X|S version coming soon.

Unleash futuristic firearms and razor-sharp blades to defeat soldiers and mystical creatures in the sequel to Bright Memory, the FPS enjoyed by hundreds of thousands of players on Xbox Series X|S and PC. Everyone who purchased Bright Memory on Steam prior to Nov. 11 receives a free copy of Bright Memory: Infinite. Dash, slide, wall-run, and hookshot to gain the edge in combat, then brutally dispatch foes with a mixture of weapons and special powers altering time and gravity.

Block bullets with Shelia’s blade, pull enemies in with her psychic powers, then hack away. Gunslingers can deploy special shots with the last bullet in their clip firing off effects like tracking missiles or incendiary bombs. Further customize combat with a deep, branching skill tree unlocking new abilities and upgrades to attacks and powers.

Shelia uses everything in her arsenal to defeat both troops armed to the teeth, and arcane beasts from Chinese mythology, after a black hole opens during Chinese New Year celebrations in 2036. The Supernatural Science Research Organization special agent soon finds herself uncovering the unfathomable truth about two intertwining worlds and timelines, and the mysterious masked man behind it all.

FYQD-Studio worked with partners to help polish the experience, including NVIDIA to support ray tracing, and features like Deep Learning Super Sampling and Reflex. Emperia Sound and Music provides an epic soundtrack, created by award-winning composers Jeff Rona and Cody Matthew Johnson, whose credits include God of War 3, Devil May Cry 5, and Resident Evil 2 (2019).

“It’s hard to believe Bright Memory: Infinite is finally out after years of development,” said Zeng, indie game developer, FYQD Studio. “Thanks to everyone who supported me along the way, especially the players who bought the first Bright Memory. The journey is just beginning!”

Bright Memory: Infinite is now available on Steam for PC for $19.99, and is available for streaming on GeForce Now. It supports English, Simplified Chinese and Japanese voice and text, and Traditional Chinese, Latin American Spanish, German, French, Russian, Brazilian Portuguese, Italian, and Korean language text.

In addition to the main game, the soundtrack featuring tracks composed by Emperia Sound and Music and cosmetic DLC is also available for purchase now on Steam.

For more information, please visit the PLAYISM website, follow PLAYISM on Facebook and Twitter, and search for #BrightMemoryInfinite on social media.

About FYQD Studio

Based out of Guangxi, China, FYQD Studio is a one-man game studio founded by Zeng, with Bright Memory being its first published title.

To learn more, follow @FYQD_Studio on Twitter.

About PLAYISM

Japan’s oldest indie publisher, PLAYISM is known in the West for supporting popular indie games such as Gnosia, The Good Life, Idol Manager, Tasomachi: Behind the Twilight, Touhou Luna Nights, Fight Crab, Record of Lodoss War -Deedlit in Wonder Labyrinth-, the La-Mulana series, Bright Memory, and DEEEER Simulator among other titles.

PLAYISM’s motto is “Bringing a Different Breed of Indie Game to the World”.

To learn more, visit the PLAYISM official website and follow @PlayismEN on Twitter.

Article by: Susan N.

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First Person Shooter Bright Memory: Infinite Gears Up for Battle on November 12th!

TOKYO – Oct. 28, 2021 – Bright Memory: Infinite, the high-octane, visually stunning first-person shooter made by indie developer FYQD Studio and published by PLAYISM, slides into a battle on the homefront on Friday, Nov. 12 at 10:00 AM JST / 2:00 AM CET / Thursday, Nov. 11 at 5:00 PM PDT for Steam, GOG for PC, and later on consoles.

Bright Memory: Infinite expands on the visceral combat experience of its prequel Bright Memory, which thrilled hundreds of thousands of players on Steam and Xbox Series X|S. Utilize guns, blades, and special abilities altering time and gravity to slay mythological beasts and futuristic soldiers in brutal fashion and rack up dazzling combos in the process.

Slice off enemy limbs then deploy new wall-running and blocking techniques. Use each weapon’s new special effect with the last bullet, such as tracking missiles or incendiary bombs, and leave no foe in one piece. Upgrade protagonist Shelia’s weapon proficiency and skills with a detailed skill tree, enabling a highly-customizable combat experience.

Strange phenomena take over the skies of China on Chinese New Year’s Eve in 2036. Shelia, an elite investigator at the Supernatural Science Research Organization, receives orders to investigate the phenomenon. It is soon discovered that these strange occurrences are connected to an archaic mystery - an as-of-yet unknown history of two worlds, about to come to light…

FYQD Studio worked closely with NVIDIA throughout the entire development process of Bright Memory: Infinite after the addition of ray tracing and NVIDIA DLSS to the original Bright Memory, and the release of the Bright Memory: Infinite Ray Tracing Benchmark. Bright Memory: Infinite features DLSS, ray-traced reflections, shadows, caustic effects, and global illumination, along with NVIDIA Reflex to minimize latency for an unforgettable experience.

“Bright Memory: Infinite is the culmination of years of work to prove just what indie developers are capable of,” said Zeng, indie game developer, FYQD Studio. “I look forward to blowing fans away with an experience that’s not just good-looking, but incredibly fun.”

Bright Memory: Infinite will be available on Steam and GOG for PC for $19.99 on Friday, Nov. 12. It will support English and Japanese voice and text, and Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese, Latin American Spanish, German, French, Russian, Brazilian Portuguese, Italian, and Korean language text.

In addition to the main game, the soundtrack featuring tracks composed by Emperia Sound and Music and cosmetic DLC will also be available for purchase at release.

Players who own Bright Memory on Steam or GOG before Nov. 11 will be eligible to receive a free copy of Bright Memory: Infinite.

For more information, please visit the PLAYISM website, follow PLAYISM on Facebook and Twitter, and search for #BrightMemoryInfinite on social media.

About FYQD Studio

Based out of Guangxi, China, FYQD Studio is a one-man game studio founded by Zeng, with Bright Memory being its first published title.

To learn more, follow @FYQD_Studio on Twitter.

About PLAYISM

Japan’s oldest indie publisher, PLAYISM is known in the West for supporting popular indie games such as Gnosia, The Good Life, Idol Manager, Tasomachi: Behind the Twilight, Touhou Luna Nights, Fight Crab, Record of Lodoss War -Deedlit in Wonder Labyrinth-, the La-Mulana series, Bright Memory, and DEEEER Simulator among other titles.

PLAYISM’s motto is “Bringing a Different Breed of Indie Game to the World”.

To learn more, visit the PLAYISM official website and follow @PlayismEN on Twitter.

 

Article by: Susan N.

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