LINE has been a popular communications app in Asia for quite some time. However, its gaming platform, LINE Games, did not receive that same attention from the general public. Yet, changes are coming soon as LINE Games has announced games for the global market.
Line Corporation originally formed as Hangame Japan back on September 4, 2000. Since then, the company released various products including Emoji Line and Line Antivirus. Despite the success of the franchise, LINE Games did not have the success the rest of the franchise had. Following the launch of Destiny Child last week, LINE Games held a media event titled LPG (LINE Games-Play-Game) to introduce new games from the platform. Surprisingly, they even announced Steam games during the event.
Mobile Games
Exos Heroes
Remember Exos Saga by OOZOO, published by Eyedentity Games? Exos Heroes is the follow-up to that game. The upcoming game focuses on collecting the available 200 heroes in polished 3D graphics. Additionally, the developers have promised fans that Exos Heroes will feature various game modes. The game is expected to launch next year with a single global guild.
Ravenix: The Card Master
Ravenix: The Card Master is an upcoming TCG game, once again by developer OOZOO. The game will focus on three aspects: “Management”, “Simulation” and “Analysis”. The standard battles in the game consists of 1-on-1 battles. Players will have 3 starting classes to choose from and over 200 cards to draft their decks and strategies.
According to the event, the developers have claimed to have removed the “luck” element from Ravenix: The Card Master. This means that the RNG factor present in most card games that may make or break a match will not be present. On the other hand, the game will have PvE elements on top of PvP. LINE Games plan to release the game in 2019.
Dark Summoners
Developed by SkeinGlobe, Dark Summoners is a strategy game featuring real-time battles played on portrait mode. This can be considered an ambitious undertaking as strategy games are rarely played on portrait mode. According to LINE Games, this feature will allow players to have a clearer view of the combat situation while controlling their characters. In addition to PvP, the game will have PvE as well.
Project PK
Developed by Rock Square, Project PK plays as a mobile action adventure game. Developers have touted the game to be a high-end action game. In Project PK, players aim to survive against enemies and monsters while exploring the world. On one hand, it sounds like it was inspired by Monster Hunter. Furthermore, the trailer gives out a lot of Monster Hunter vibes as well. On the bright side, the game is built using Unreal Engine 4, providing players with great graphics while they challenge their enemies. Project PK will include both PvE and PvP.
Super String
Out of all the games announced by LINE Games, this game most likely takes grand prize for weirdest name. Developed by Factorial Games, Super String features characters from 15 different webtoons. Due to that factor, creator Ylab went on to claim that it is the “Asian version of Avengers”. However, this begs the question, why the name? Super String plays as a 3D turn-based game with players taking control as “the commander-in-chief”.
PC Game
Project NM
For a company that focuses on mobile games, the fact that they announced a PC game is relatively surprising. Project NM is being developed by Space Dive. The game will play as a third person shooter with RPG elements incorporated into it. At the moment, not much info exists on the game.
Mobile/PC crossover
Project NL
Project NL is an upcoming MOBA game developed by MeerKat Games. The game incorporates survival aspects like cooking and crafting. Overall, Project NL combines the best of survival and MOBA in a map with 100 players. Furthermore, the game also carries aspects of the Battle Royale genre. Based on the trailer, Battle Royale aspects like landing from the sky, opening loot and shrinking map appear. This may be the first game which incorporates both MOBA and Battle Royale with some survival in 1 game. Surprisingly, the game will also be published on Steam, a rarity among mobile games.
Uncharted Waters Origin
Arguably the largest announcement during the event, Uncharted Waters Origin is a collaboration between LINE Games and Koei Tecmo. For those wondering, Koei Tecmo owns the IP of Uncharted Waters. Developers have claimed that there will be more than 200 ports, over 1000 NPCs, about 4000 discoveries to be made and over 1000 cultural numbers.
Additionally, Tomokazu Takeda, the producer and director of Uncharted Waters Online, will be part of the development team. On the other hand, Yoko Kanno will handle the BGM with over 100 music pieces planned. Uncharted Water Origin has a planned 2020 release to coincide with Uncharted Waters 30th Anniversary. Similar with Project NL, the game will also be published on Steam.
Source: MMO Culture