Left Alive, from Square Enix, is in development by a team made up of members that worked on Armored Core, Metal Gear, Ghost in the Shell: Arise, Gundam and Xenoblade Chronicles. Announced at TGS 2017, Left Alive is a stealth, survival shooter set in the Front Mission universe.
In the latest gameplay trailer, released today, Director Toshifumi Nabeshima gives a running commentary over 12-minutes from early in Left Alive.
He reveals that Mikhail is a soldier tasked with protecting the city, but finds it invaded and destroyed before he can act. As Mikhail begins to explore and start his mission, Nabeshima explains how Left Alive was designed to give players freedom of choice.
Left Alive Gameplay
According to Nabeshima;
One of the distinctive features of this game is how you have to find your own route through. It was constructed to give a certain level of freedom to the player. I want players to think for themselves about how to reach their objective. So some routes might see you mowed down easily, while that will not happen on others.
The example shown is Mikhail crossing a bridge and engaging directly with the enemy. As he fires on them, a whole group of soldiers and a giant mech begin shooting him and he is murdered rather swiftly. After respawning, Mikhail instead opts for a stealth approach.
As Nabeshima explains, on the surface, the Left Alive gameplay looks to be that of a shooter, but there are many other options and ways to play. As you progress, you will come across staging areas which include item boxes and save points so you can better prepare for the next section.
Left Alive also includes branching paths with players having to choose how they proceed. In the Left Alive gameplay trailer, it shows Mikhail opting to stay above ground rather than explore the underground section. How it changes the gameplay experience remains to be seen, but it seems likely that after choosing a path, the other will become locked off.
Or maybe not…
We also get to meet Patrick in the trailerwith Nabeshima descibing him as a “pretty dodgy looking character.” Players will be given choices on how to interact with Patrick, interrogating him and trying to get more information on what is happening in Nova Slava.
The video concludes with some footage of piloting a Wanzer, Left Alive’s giant mechs. It definitely looks like a lot of fun. Check out the video below and get ready for Left Alive on PC and PS4 from March 5, 2019.
