I don’t know why the hell it’s taken someone this long to say “What if we Sailor Moon’d the hell out of an ARPG?” but Pahdo Labs has only gone and done it with its upcoming game Starlight Re:Volver. With a delightfully colourful cast rooted in old-school magical girl vibes, it’s a welcome change from the usual dark and gritty aesthetic that’s so prevalent among the genre.
It’s a striking career turn for Pahdo Labs founder Daniel Zou, who spent several years as a software engineer in the financial industry. But as he tells PC Gamer, “my main interest growing up was videogames.” Zou ran TeamSpeak and Minecraft servers for his pals, as well as founding his high school’s esports team. “Trying to make games is actually what first got me into technology and computer science,” he says. “I loved making games in Flash and RPG Maker and sharing them with my friends.”
Zou’s love for games and keen business eye led him to anime games and their “deep and passionate” communities. “I actually left my job around the time Genshin Impact first came out,” he reveals. “I understood the hype, because I’ve been a big anime fan since I discovered Bleach in middle school. It felt like perfect timing for someone to create a new multiplayer anime game, the kind of game I always wanted to play as a kid.”
As someone who also got their weeb wings by becoming utterly enamoured with Bleach, I’m already here for Zou and the team’s vision. Starlight Re:Volver’s trailer hits all the nostalgic notes for me: The delicate anime intro style song that would have been on loop on my iPod Nano, a group of protagonists that look like they’ve just stepped off the runway in their extravagant outfits, and even the classic magical girl transformation sequences that I love so dearly.
Starlight Re:Volver puts its sugary sweet looks on top of some good ol’ ARPG combat, with up to four players being able to battle their way through the world’s dreamscapes. It seems like players can synergise their abilities for deadly combos, as well as manipulate two different types of terrain to try and gain the advantage in battle, while poking around previously unexplored areas for treasure.
The part I’m most excited for, though, is the stuff you get to do outside of combat. Starlight Re:Volver will have different minigames scattered across Nishi Island Metropolis, its social hub. Activities like fishing and stargazing are mentioned along with character customisation, and Zou says that the team wants to go even bigger with it eventually. “Over time we will gradually expand NIM into an online player hub with hangout spaces, social reputation, city skills progression, ways to express creativity, and a dynamic virtual economy.”
It’s all seeming like a really neat concept on paper, and I can certainly see myself sinking far too many hours into this game if the loop reels me in. Ultimately, I’m just jazzed to see more magical girl games being released. When asked if the aesthetic was having a revival, creative director Alijah Ladd doesn’t seem to think it matters. “I hope so! Though honestly, I’m not sure we care whether it is or not,” they say. “A revival means something has to die first, and mahō shōjo never did, at least not to us. Starlight Re:Volver is a love letter to the genre, and I believe that if you love something enough and are able to bring something new to it, other people get excited by that. Trend or no trend.”