There is no shortage of anime that is inspired by the art of Akira Toriyama, especially due to his work on the Dragon Ball series, but there are not many video games that take the same route.
Fortunately, developer and publisher Lioncode Games takes direct inspiration from Toriyama and Hayao Miyazaki’s catalogue at Studio Ghibli for its upcoming title, Wildkeepers Rising, which also brings Pokemon and Vampire Survivors into the mix to put its own interesting spin on the bullet heaven genre.
With just two developers joining forces to create a casual but layered game simultaneously, action-RPG roguelite fans may want to put this one on their radars.
The Legacy of Dragon Ball Lives on Through Inspired Art in Wildkeepers Rising
While iconic titles like Vampire Survivors have already nearly perfected the bullet heaven genre in the past, Wildkeepers Rising turns the concept into a much more colorful, vibrant, and upbeat world, letting players bring various creatures on their journey to help them survive against the hordes of enemies coming in from all sides.
Proving its familiarity with the top-down perspective in gaming with titles like Mech Armada, Lioncode Games has brought together its anime inspirations with its passion for gaming; similar to how Palworld did it earlier this year, the featured creatures carry on the foundation laid by Pokemon since the late 90s.
Survival is key to each run in Wildkeepers Rising, which can be a little difficult to achieve thanks to the sheer number of monsters trying to get to the character and their accompanying Guardians, which are the friendly creatures who can be tamed to help out in drastic situations.
To add more layers to the gameplay, which could have had the potential to get repetitive if these additions did not exist, Lioncode has also put creature collector elements in its upcoming title, encouraging its players to explore each level with the utmost concentration to acquire all of the available creatures.
The cherry on top is that Wildkeepers Rising does not just rely on CGI to create a compelling visual experience, opting for the hand-drawn art approach instead to carve its own path in the fantasy realm of gaming.
A Creature Collector, Bullet Heaven, Action-RPG Roguelite Is on Its Way
Perhaps the greatest strength that Wildkeepers Rising has at its disposal is Lioncode Games’ refusal to just limit itself to only one genre, combining multiple different elements into a fun package that should satisfy various types of gamers.
“I’m combining cues and inspiration from my favorite anime and fantasy titles to make these monsters as fun and whimsical as I can,” stated Art Director Lyle Moore while adding that the gameplay incorporates “classic arcade beat-em-ups” quite heavily throughout each run.
Lioncode Games has not yet shared a release date for Wildkeepers Rising, as with just a two-person team, it needs a bit more time to further flesh out the experience.
It is also important to note that the game is only scheduled to launch on PC initially, so console players may have to wait a bit longer.
With Sparking Zero set to officially continue the Dragon Ball legacy that Akira Toriyama left, inspired art like Wildkeepers Rising ensures that it keeps it going even stronger in its own creative space.
Do you think Lioncode Games’ decision to intertwine so many different genres will pay off when Wildkeepers Rising officially launches? Let us know in the comments!
