The creators of cyberpunk bartending sim VA-11 Hall-A are following it up with an amazing-looking 'active time action' RPG

.45 Parabellum Bloodhound has an immediately arresting first trailer: the breakcore beats, gloomy tenements, and turn of the millennium anime swagger really speak to me, and it's also coming from cyberpunk bartending visual novel VA-11 Hall-A creator Sukeban Games.

The developer's direct sequel to VA-11 Hall-A, a second bartending visual novel called N1RV Ann-A, seems to be on indefinite hiatus after undisclosed difficulties. «Development began in late 2019 during a tumultuous time for the team,» Sukeban wrote of .45 Parabellum Bloodhound's inception. «We landed on its current form roughly two years ago.»

It's giving the best kind of experimental PS2 action game, sporting fixed camera angles, a variety of interesting enemy designs⁠—I spotted a speedy ninja, fire wizard, and some kind of mech-tank in the trailer alone⁠—and what looks like a tactical, paused ability selection the dev refers to as «Active Time Action.» I still barely understand what «Active Time Action» is, but this seems like a great game for Steam Deck. Or even better, a modern PC hooked up to a CRT monitor.

But I'm here for the vibes: the music, art style, and UI are all a real treat. Bloodhound calls to mind classic sci-fi anime like Ghost in the Shell, while its specific melding of PS1 noise and dithering with anachronistically high-quality assets reminds me of 2022's excellent Signalis. The UI, meanwhile, has a similarly incongruous but appealing mix of pixelated PS1 JRPG fonts and Persona-style poppy graphic design.

.45 Parabellum Bloodhound currently does not have a release window, but Sukeban says that its script is finalized and the studio is «building the remaining chapters.» You can wishlist .45 Parabellum Bloodhound on Steam. 

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