Towers of Aghasba hits early access, roadmap released

Towers of Aghasba hits early access, roadmap released

As a longtime fan of Studio Ghibli and the enchanting worlds they create, I can hardly contain my excitement for Towers of Aghasba! The blend of open-world exploration, player creativity, and elements reminiscent of both Studio Ghibli and Animal Crossing has me hooked.


Dreamlit Games recently made public that the game Towers of Aghasba can now be played in its early access stage, and they’ve also unveiled a plan outlining the future development of this title.

This team’s title reflects a blend that is inspired by the imaginative realms and artistry found in Studio Ghibli movies, combined with the tranquil island lifestyle depicted in Animal Crossing games. The result is a beautiful journey that seamlessly combines free-roaming gameplay with player imagination and creativity.

While it’s an early access game, here’s what it’ll be launching with:

  • 6 regions to explore
  • Exploration across vast open-world lands— climbing, gliding & riding mounts!
  • Ruins & relics to discover, unlocking ancient knowledge
  • Leisure activities (eg. fishing!)
  • 3 types of settlements to build, design & decorate
  • 3 types of ecosystems to grow
  • 50+ unique creatures
  • 150+ decorations to craft
  • Singleplayer + co-op gameplay:
  • You can invite up to 3 friends to your island to build up your settlements, tend to your ecosystems, take on challenging withered foes, and discover secrets across the world!


 

In a blog post for the official PlayStation website, Saiprapanch Adloor, a Game Designer at Dreamlit Games, shared the reason behind their decision to release the game in Early Access. He explained that the project is a large-scale open-world sandbox being developed by a small team, with key features enabling players to mold their island as they wish. Additionally, it’s one of the initial Early Access titles coming to PlayStation 5. By going into Early Access, Dreamlit Games can collaborate closely with their community during development, fine-tuning balance, improving visuals, and updating core components based on player feedback, while also adding new content and features inspired by their input.

The roadmap for early access has been released, which you can check out below:

Towers of Aghasba hits early access, roadmap released

In their statement, the creators of Towers of Aghasba acknowledge that Studio Ghibli’s Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind has significantly influenced their artistic direction. Moreover, Khang Le, who serves as CEO, Co-Founder, and Game Director at Dreamlit Games, collaborated with one of Studio Ghibli’s top background artists, Yoichi Nishikawa, to create hand-painted background textures for the game. Notably, Nishikawa boasts over two decades of experience at the renowned Japanese animation studio, Studio Ghibli, and has contributed to more than 30 films and shows, including The Boy and the Heron, Howl’s Moving Castle, and Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind.

Nishikawa shares his reasons for joining the project: “Initially, I harbored some reservations when they proposed the Towers project. However, I crafted a single prototype for them. To my astonishment, I saw it within the game – it resembled the backdrop of a Japanese anime, but was nestled within a 3D game environment! This sparked my imagination, as I felt we could create something entirely novel.

Nishikawa noted: “Miyazaki-san followed me while I was depicting bricks for this game. He remarked, ‘It’s often most challenging to illustrate the simplest items.’ His comment rang true. Each brick required meticulous attention. This detail left a lasting impact on me.

Towers of Aghasba is in early access now for PC (Steam) and on PS5.

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2024-11-19 20:16