Games based on anime and manga, or any other medium really, are often hard to pull off. The Developers have to keep the core elements of the source materials while also creating something different – nobody wants to play through a story that has already been told. Re: ZERO – Starting Life in Another World – The Prophecy of the Throne is an all new story set in the Re: ZERO universe and supervised by the original creator so we can expect it to remain true to what fans have already come to know and love.
Re: ZERO – Starting Life in Another World follows the story of Subaru Natsuki, a young man who finds himself transported to another world where magic is common place. Shortly after arrival, Subaru meets a young half-elf called Emilia who he almost immediately fell head over heels for. When he first meets Emilia, she’s searching for something that has been stolen from her and Subaru offers to help, something that ends in his untimely death. Subaru’s story doesn’t end there though – he wakes up, very much alive and very confused. He soon realizes that he has been granted a unique, albeit terrifying ability that he dubs ‘return by death’ which allowed him to cheat death by effectively rewinding time to a pre-determined point before his death. As useful as the ability is, it is not particularly pleasant. Subaru remembers each and every death and he’s the only person that remembers the events leading up to it.
The game itself takes place roughly a month after Subaru began his life in this new world and Spike Chunsoft have recently released a new overview trailer which details the main gameplay elements and how they incorporated return by death. For the most part, The Prophecy of the Throne is structured like a visual novel, but it has three main gameplay aspects.
These are:
- The adventure part where you explore and gather clues
- The briefing part where you talk to your friends and decide on a course of action based on what you learned in the adventure part
- The mission part where you put your plan into action
Re: ZERO – Starting Life in Another World – The Prophecy of the Throne Pre-order details
There are a couple of different options for those planning to pick up Re: ZERO. Of course you can pick up the standard edition digitally or from most game retailers, but if you want something a little more special, you can pre-order the Day one or Collector’s editions. Their contents are listed below.
Day One edition:
- A copy of the game (PS4 or Switch)
- Exclusive set of four pins in a display box
The day one edition can be pre-ordered from Amazon, GameStop, Best Buy, Target and Walmart. The Day One edition doesn’t seem to be available in Europe.
Collector’s edition:
- A copy of the game (PS4 or Switch)
- Exclusive set of four pins in a display box
- Full colour artbook
- Collector’s edition outer box
- SteelBook case
- Official soundtrack
The Collector’s edition can be pre-ordered from Amazon, GameStop, Best Buy, Target and Walmart.
In Europe, it can be pre-ordered from Amazon, Game and Geek Store.
Re: ZERO – Starting Life in Another World – The Prophecy of the Throne releases January 29 (NA) and February 5 for PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch and Steam.
