Undead Darlings is a visual novel / dungeon crawler hybrid set to release for PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, and PC on September 28
Publisher Sekai Project and developer Mr. Tired Media have announced that Undead Darlings will launch for PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, and PC (Steam) on September 28 for $29.99. Undead Darlings is part visual novel, part dungeon crawler where you control six zombie girls aiming to deliver a cure for a zombie outbreak.
A trailer, description, and screenshot set can be found below via Sekai Project.
What is Undead Darlings?
Journey with and learn more about a crew of half-zombie girls through visual novel sequences and as you crawl through dungeons, beating up twisted creatures that were born from the fall of society in fast-paced turn-based RPG combat, and ultimately deliver the only known cure for what ails your party members to a place where it can be mass produced!
The visual novel portion contains a multitude of branching dialogue paths that, based on the choices you make, gives deeper insight into the different characters, whereas the RPG portion of the game uses a familiar but refined turn-based battle system with unique twists. Both of these gameplay features are contained within a dungeon crawler, meaning dungeons are explored from a first-person perspective in four cardinal directions, with the dungeon itself built like a maze and filled with traps and hidden paths.
Story
The story of Undead Darlings ~no cure for love~ revolves around Reginald "Reggie" P. Happenstahnce and his journey to take the cure for the zombie plague someplace safe; somewhere it can be mass-produced. His father—one of the scientists purported to be involved in the outbreak's inception—created this cure and left it behind before leaving on his own for the same purpose.
The game opens with Reggie waking up from an alcohol-related coma (courtesy of his own father, no less) and being told by his childhood friend Pearl that society had crumbled due to a virus outbreak that turned most everyone into zombies while he was sleeping. This includes Pearl herself. However, Pearl has managed to hold onto her human conscience, and she relates that she is not the only one this has happened to. As with every half-zombie Reggie will run into, she may be undead, but her heart is still human.
Your role as Reggie is to be the girls’ loot donkey and carry the things they find in dungeons. Since Reggie is a human, the girls will prevent him from getting infected by fighting in the front lines! Go them!
While on this adventure, you will learn more about the undead girls' lives from before the outbreak, but whose tale you will hear is based on the choices you make during the visual novel scenes. Perhaps one of them will connect with you, open up about their hardships, and maybe even develop romantic feelings... The ultimate result of these interactions will determine whether or not any of these girls trust you enough to take the biggest risk of their undead lives—volunteer to be the first test subject for your father's cure!
Key Features
- Explore a multitude of complex post-apocalyptic dungeons—a total of over 20 huge floors to explore! Discover loot, secret event scenes based on your current battle party, and more!
- Become invested in a novel-sized epic adventure—a script of over 300,000 words and more branching dialogue choices than you can shake your boomstick at await! The adventure is filled with comedy, slices of romantic life, and the horrors associated with surviving the zombie apocalypse from a zombie’s perspective!
- All character art has been specifically drawn inverted as well, so you never get pulled from the story because someone's scar magically switched shoulders (inverted art vs. mirrored art—never spoken of because it is hardly ever utilized...until now!)
- Key events give you the chance to grow closer to the girls, and by doing so, you will access specific character story arcs that come with gorgeous HD images of the characters for you to unlock! Over 20 unlockable images in total—gotta collect 'em all!
- Six playable, awesome half-zombie girls lead the charge!
- Nine endings based on your choices and how close you grow with the characters!
- No currency or stores exist in the post-apocalypse, so you will need to fill up your war chest by finding loot in dungeons. Be careful, though—weaponry will break if used too much!
- Loot system supplies you with armor, items, and weaponry. Weapons come in both Common and Rare varieties—but both come with durability counts that indicate how much abuse they can take.
- Rare weapons may have Skills attached, adding a bit of flexibility in balancing out an effective battle party!
- Exploit multiple enemy weaknesses simultaneously in the unique Exponential Exploitation battle mechanic! Increase your damage multiplier and utilize it for a one-time attack that can deal tremendous damage!
- Set up custom battle strategies with the Macro function! Use this wisely in tandem with the EE System to create efficient tactics against your current roster of foes!
- When all is said and done, you will enjoy a 50-hour adventure unlocking everything!
