Today, the Playstation Blog announced that NEO: The World Ends With You would be receiving a free demo on PSN. The game is a prequel to the original The World Ends With You, a 2007 Nintendo DS game that sold poorly on launch but amassed a cult following due to its unique art style, sense of fashion, and recreation of the famous Shibuya scramble crossing, known as one of the largest intersections in the world. The original offered a unique look at downtown Tokyo from Tetsuya Nomura and his team at Square Enix, and this long-awaited new entry will attempt to do the same. The game will be releasing later this summer at the end of July.
NEO: The World Ends With You will be receiving a free demo on PSN on June 25th, 2021. The demo will allow players to get a taste of the new characters coming to the franchise and see some familiar faces return. Most importantly, the demo will offer players a comprehensive look at the new combat system. The original used a unique battle system that had players pressing button inputs to fight as one character on the top screen while performing gestures to control another on the bottom touch screen. Needless to say, the same dual-screen technology is not available on any of the current consoles, so the new combat has been designed from the ground up.
Two things the prequel is retaining are the unique art style and the attacks being attached to pins the player collects during their time in Shibuya and its surrounding neighborhoods. Based on what Square Enix has shown us, the game looks like an ample modern reimagining of what fans loved about the original, all tied together with a cast of new and returning characters. If you are curious about NEO: The World Ends With You, or you are a long-time fan anticipating its arrival, you can check out the demo tomorrow. You can also read the original blog post for a more in-depth look here.
NEO: The World Ends With You will release on PlayStation 4 and Nintendo Switch on July 27, 2021.
