Summary
Visions of Manais the first entry into the Mana series since 2006’s Dawn of Mana. Set for release today, August 30, the game received middling reviews from critics.
The game, which is developed by NetEase-owned Ouka Studio, has reportedly caused the Chinese publisher, along with the likes ofTencent, to reconsider their investments in Japanese game development.
Ouka Studio Reportedly Shut By NetEase
As reported byBloomberg, NetEase has significantly cut roles at Ouka studio, with plans to shut the studio completely in the near future.
Ouka Studio opened in 2020 and was comprised of veteran staff from massive Japanese game studios like Capcom and Bandai Namco. According to Bloomberg, the few staff that are left at the company “will oversee the rollout of its final games, before the studio winds down.”
The shuttering of Ouka Studio represents a wider challenge that Chinese publishers are having in the Japanese market.
Bloomberg reports that Tencent, whose mobile titleBlue Protocol ended this week, is growing “frustrated by its interactions with Japanese developers, in part because of a mismatch in ambition between the Chinese firm and local partners.” It’s said that the Chinese publishers hedged their bets on Japan in 2020; however, are scaling down investment due to having “not much to show for it.”
This problem is only exacerbated further by the success ofBlack Myth: Wukong, which was developed by Chinese studio Game Science. The titlesmashed Steam records, having almost 2.5 million concurrent players at one point, meaning these publishers are considering looking closer to home for their next games.
In ourreview of Visions of Mana, we scored the game a 3.5/5, saying, “While much of Visions of Mana’s bloated side content misses the mark, its gripping storyline, likable cast, ample mechanical tweaking, and engaging combat combine to forge a very good game, if not quite a great one.” And, while anOpencritic score of 77isn’t fatal, it’s clear that NetEase expected more.
Visions of Mana
WHERE TO PLAY
Visions of Mana is an all new entry in the long-running action RPG series, also known as Seiken Densetsu. In a world where nature and the Elementals live in harmony, you play Val, a soul guard tasked with ensuing alms safe passage to the Tree of Mana.
