TOKYO, Jan 22 — It’s a week for Japanese exports — and a French game about a mystery mobile phone — as Resident Evil 7, Kingdom Hearts HD 2.8, Tales of Berseria, and Yakuza 0 release this week, alongside A Normal Lost Phone.
Resident Evil 7: Biohazard
Date: January 24 (January 26 in Japan)
System: PS4, WinPC, Xbox One
Can Resident Evil 7 resurrect this franchise just as Resident Evil 4 proved so defining in 2005? This outing looks like it has been learning from modern twists to the survival horror genre as seen in Amnesia and Outlast, after 2014’s cult hit P.T., a teaser for the regrettably cancelled Silent Hills, was the previous big studio attempt to do so.
Kingdom Hearts HD II.8: Final Chapter Prologue
Date: January 24 (since January 12 in Japan)
System: PlayStation 4
A compilation pulled from a long-running crossover franchise featuring characters from Disney and the Final Fantasy video games, this trilogy includes role-playing adventures Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance and Kingdom Hearts 0.2: Birth by Sleep — A Fragmentary Passage plus CGI film Kingdom Hearts χ Back Cover.
Yakuza 0
Date: January 24 (since March 2015 in Japan)
System: PlayStation 4
Well received in Japan upon its release two years prior, Yakuza 0 acts as a prequel to the comprehensive gangster life sim known for pouring unprecedented detail into its recreation of Japanese metropolitan districts, interwoven storylines, and the out-of-hours activities available to mobsters at play.
Tales of Berseria
Date: January 24, North America. January 27, Europe and on PC. Since August 2016 in Japan.
System: PS4, Windows PC
The well appreciated Tales of.. role-playing franchise continues with this adventure, which sees the heroine’s homeland infected with a terrible disease and then apparently rescued by her brother-in-law. His plan depends on ridding humanity of its capacity for emotion. Can she find another way?
A Normal Lost Phone
Date: January 26
System: iOS, Android, Windows PC
It’s just a phone, but as you try to find out who it belongs to, other secrets are revealed through text message archives, photos, and app histories. Then it’s up to you to put all the clues together. — AFP-Relaxnews
