NIS America, let's discover the publisher's lineup for 2021/2022

NIS America

NIS America is a curious publisher, which for years has been dealing mainly with titles so markedly Japanese that they seem largely impossible to bring without ups and downs on the Western market. Yet, every so often, from this army of niche JRPGs and culturally alien games, something comes up that manages to get a bit of well-deserved notoriety even in our part, either because it is particularly successful or so crazy as to conquer a large fanbase naturally.

Intrigued by their offer, we saw a digital presentation of NIS America's 2021 and 2022 lineup. We can't talk to you about everything yet (there is a specific arrival that, although not entirely unknown, is still under embargo), but we still saw a long presentation of their future arrivals, so here's a handy summary.

Games of 2021: The Caligula Effect 2 and Shadow Corridor

Lineup NIS: The Caligula Effect 2 There are still two titles to be released before the end of the year (by the end of October) . The first is The Caligula Effect 2, RPG coming on October 22nd. Although part of the series of the same name, it does not seem to be so connected to its predecessor that it cannot represent a good point of entry for new fans: the story and the characters are in fact completely new. As the Go Home Club, you will supervise students who are aware that they are part of a virtual reality and are committed to understanding its secrets to return to the real world as soon as possible.



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The writer of the game is Tadashi Satomi, known for having created the scenario of the first Persona (certainly not the latest arrival, in short) and the combat system is an interesting experimentation that allows you to perform combos of actions between the characters. Not the most advanced game in the area from a technical point of view, sure, but it could be surprising.

Lineup NIS: Shadow Corridor Shadow Corridor, coming to Switch, is an equally atypical title: it is a procedural horror in the first person, where the dangers are therefore always unpredictable. The look of the game is creepy to say the least, and the gameplay is mainly structured around the need to retrieve objects and slyly explore the map while trying not to attract the attention of the monstrosities that populate it. It has been available on PC for some time and appreciated by a large community of fans of the genre despite its limitations, so it could easily become a small cult on Switch, if the port is well done.

I games of 2022: Labyrinth Legend, Yurukill, The Cruel King and the Great Hero, MONARK

Lineup NIS: Labyrinth Legend Let's start talking about the releases of 2022, also for Switch, with another procedural title called Labyrinth Legend. Scheduled for January 18, this game is also already available for PC and it is a 2D action RPG with randomly generated dungeons every time, devoted to fighting. This is a very accessible title and also suitable for those who do not hang out in the genre due to the many levels of difficulty available. However, it is certainly not among the most layered and original around.

Monark is instead in some ways the flagship of the publisher, a spiritual successor to Shin Megami Tensei with some of the original writers of the series behind him. However, we will not talk about it in detail in this preview of Monark.

Yurukill, then, is an old-fashioned shoot em up, written by the author of Kakegurui (well-known manga that revolves around "dangerous" bets in a Japanese school). At the moment it is difficult to predict its quality, however we expect a rather hardcore experience as the developers are G.Rev (already well trained in the creation of this type of products), complete with a leaderboard for perfectionists.

Lineup NIS: The Cruel King and the Great Hero The Cruel King and the Great Hero is the latest video game in this presentation and we left it at the end because it is also one of the most interesting. Aesthetically it has a very familiar look, as the author is the same as The Liar Princess and the Blind Prince. It is therefore another title with a fairytale atmosphere: a 2D scrolling action that may seem childish, but could easily hide a much more mature and dramatic story than expected behind its delightful art direction.

The one presented does not. it is the strongest lineup ever presented by NIS, that's for sure, however some interesting video games are in the mix and we will undoubtedly try to follow the most enticing ones closely. However, it is always nice to see how the publisher has now found its own dimension, which allows you to discover many titles that are normally little considered by our market.

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