Sega’s military-themed brawler Valkyria Revolution will hit North America for the Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and PS Vita in June, promising a new action-oriented focus for a series with turn-based origins.
Valkyria Revolution is the latest entry in Sega’s Valkyria Chronicles series, and marks the first stateside release for the franchise since 2010’s Valkyria Chronicles II for the PlayStation Portable.
Valkyria Chronicles, released for the PlayStation 3 in 2008, offered a unique mixture of third-person shooter gameplay and turn-based strategy. Taking control of a small squadron of troops, players approach each level in the original Valkyria Chronicles as a puzzle that requires careful planning, positioning, and execution of ranged attacks among an allied group of snipers, assault infantry, and engineers.
2010’s Valkyria Chronicles II featured similar gameplay, but shifted its setting to a military academy. Neither Valkyria Chronicles nor its sequel were a sales success in North America, and the PSP follow-up Valkyria Chronicles III remained exclusive to Japan in the years following its 2011 debut.
A remastered PlayStation 4 version of the original Valkyria Chronicles reignited interest in the series in 2016, leading Sega to localize the recent spinoff Valkyria Revolution. Though it features a familiar cast of characters and a similar setting as previous games, Valkyria Revolution ditches the turn-based gameplay of its predecessors in favor of hack-and-slash mechanics reminiscent of the Dynasty Warriors series.
In Valkyria Revolution, players take down enemy troops with weapon-based melee strikes in real time, while ranged weapons are reserved for special attacks. The new format promises a drastic shift for the series, and fans are eager to see how an action-oriented approach affects the overall experience.
Valkyria Revolution launches digitally and at retail for the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One on June 27 alongside a digital-only PlayStation Vita release.
