A new game is coming to the Star Ocean franchise in 2022 called Star Ocean: The Divine Force. Announced Wednesday during Sony’s State of Play livestream, publisher Square Enix later confirmed that Star Ocean: The Divine Force is coming to Windows PC, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X, in addition to PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5.
Star Ocean: The Divine Force will feature a dual-protagonist system, letting players experience the story from the perspective of Raymond, a spaceship captain who wields a massive greatsword, and Laeticia, described by Square Enix as “the princess-knight of a kingdom on an underdeveloped planet.” The Divine Force aims to blend both sci-fi and fantasy, telling the story of Raymond and his crew after they are stranded on the planet Aster IV, home to the medieval Kingdom of Aucerius, which is at war with the neighboring Vey’l Empire.
Other playable characters include the magical knight Albaird, who practices “semiomancy” using chakrams and serves as Laeticia’s right-hand man, and Elena, Raymond’s first mate and a wielder of futuristic “hybrid weapons.”
Square Enix says Star Ocean: The Divine Force will feature “the fastest and strongest action of any [game]” in the Star Ocean series. Players will be able to move around freely in three dimensions, literally flying through and over battlefields with the aid of a jetpack-like device.
Yoshiharu Gotanda, the president of tri-Ace, is credited with co-writing Star Ocean: The Divine Force alongside authors Satoshi Wagahara (The Devil is a Part-Timer!) and Shunsuke Sarai (Dog & Scissors). Veteran composer Motoi Sakuraba is doing the music, while Akira “Akiman” Yasuda is handling character design.
Star Ocean: The Divine Force is the first mainline game in the 25-year-old role-playing game franchise since 2016’s Star Ocean: Integrity and Faithlessness was released on PlayStation 3 and PlayStation 4.
Update (Oct. 28): This story has been updated with additional details from Square Enix.
Source: Polygon
