One of the highlights of the Xbox Partner Preview was a new look at Stranger Than Heaven from RGG Studio. Studio Representative & Executive Producer, Masayoshi Yokoyama caught up with the team at Xbox Wire to share new details. Let’s jump in!
Today’s trailer teased a lot more about the game than had previously been revealed. Most notably, Stranger Than Heaven will be set over five different eras (with sections of the game taking place in 1915, 1929, 1943, 1951, and 1965), and its events will take place across five different Japanese cities.
“We can’t say much more [about that] than what was shown today,” explained Yokoyama-san, “But as you can imagine, 5 cities and 5 eras is a massive undertaking. We’re putting a tremendous amount of care into bringing to life these times and places we feel are rarely explored in games. It’s truly a unique experience you can’t get anywhere else.”
We also got a frenetic look at the game’s brutal, highly dynamic combat systems – with everything from weaponry, grappling, one-versus-many fights, and environmental interactions shown off. “This is an all-new level of combat design from us, and what you saw is just the tip of the iceberg with much more to be revealed soon,” teased Yokoyama-san.
Beyond that, we saw glimpses of traveling through cities by tram, potential romances and, in classic RGG Studio fashion, a focus on eating beautifully rendered food. And everything was set to an incredible jazz-drumming soundtrack – music has been a key part of all the Stranger Than Heaven trailers so far. “Those music tracks really get your feet tapping, don’t they?,” said Yokoyama-san. “Well, let’s just say there’s a lot more where that came from, and some of my favorite music has yet to be heard.”
We thought we saw some familiar faces amongst the cast but Yokoyama-san won’t be drawn on exactly who they are or how they’re being used. “Oh, I wonder who you could be referring to?” he teased. “We weren’t exactly subtle with some of the footage we chose for this trailer, but let’s just say that players can look forward to an all-star cast. We’re excited to reveal more at the upcoming Xbox Presents: A Special Look at Stranger Than Heaven broadcast.”
The Xbox Presents: A Special Look at Stranger Than Heaven broadcast will be live on May 6th at 4pm PST / 7 pm EST / 1am CEST. The dedicated showcase will be a deeper dive into many of the features of Stranger Than Heaven, many of which haven’t been shown yet.
“There’s so much that we’re itching to share,” enthuses Yokoyama-san. “From the incredible cast, to the music, the combat experience and more. We really feel it will be something that will shock and (hopefully) amaze people – I’ll leave it at that!”
