If there's any one thing that defines the setting of Attack on Titan, it's Wall Maria, Wall Rose and Wall Sina. Built to keep humanity safe from the monstrous, mankind-annihilating Titans, these massive walls serve as a monolithic reminder of the horrors that lie beyond them.
Then again, surrounding a town with a set of giant walls probably wouldn't translate well into gaming. In the manga and anime, the walls serve as an effective, atmospheric and story-related backdrop ... in a video game, however, they'd just be giant walls. Instead of representing a barrier, or a safeguard, they'd be treated like more of a burden than anything else.
Maybe that's why Koei Tecmo is bending the rules a bit with its upcoming Attack on Titan game. For the vast majority of the show, the characters are stuck inside the walls, save for a few extremely risky (and often deadly) missions — but that won't be the case in Koei Tecmo's game, as players will be able to leave the city and explore the countryside beyond the walls.
The Japanese gaming magazine Famitsu (via Gematsu) recently published an updated rundown of the upcoming Attack on Titan game, including the aforementioned open-world exploration:
"In addition to the story mode, there is an "Investigation Outside the Walls Mode" where you can go about various missions playing as your favorite character. This mode can be used for character development, finding weapon materials, and gathering funds."
While character progression is nothing new in gaming, it'll be interesting to see what Koei Tecmo does with Attack on Titan. In the anime, the characters are basically given the same basic set of tools and told to survive ... but again, that might not translate well in a video game. Basic upgrades have already been confirmed, but if players are expected to explore the environment for crafting supplies and money/treasure, could it mean that players could see new weapons and armor somewhere down the line?
Aside from the free-form exploration mode, Famitsu also confirmed that Attack on Titan will feature 10 playable characters, original story missions, destructible environments, hidden missions and more. All in all, it's looking like Attack on Titan could be the game that fans have been waiting for — let's just hope that it plays as good as it looks.
Attack on Titan is scheduled for a U.S. release sometime in 2016.
