Chinese developers are making a free-to-play dark fantasy ARPG in the style of Black Myth: Wukong, coming soon…
The release of Black Myth: Wukong was only the beginning of the process that unfolds before our eyes. The Chinese video game industry has long been quietly working to produce a plethora of titles with super production values and an approach that, while favouring the regional, doesn’t ignore the global audience either. The impossible has now become inevitable, and the announcement of Ballad of Antara is further proof of that. This is one of those names that few people knew about until now, but in a few months they might repeat the success of Wukong.
A merger of two big trends in Chinese video games
Although it will be available on PC, iOS, and Android, the new details for Ballad of Antara were announced via a post on the official PlayStation blog. The game has been confirmed as a console exclusive for PlayStation 5 in 2025. They also clarified some exciting gameplay details. It’s a dark fantasy action-RPG whose “huge world” exists on two different planes. One is similar to our real world, albeit with some fantasy and fighting. The other, possessed by an ancient power, is the beginning of the story.
One of the most unique details about Ballad of Antara is that it sits between the two current big trends in Chinese video games.
On the one hand, regarding business model and production values, it is a free-to-play game in the style of Genshin Impact. On the other hand, it seems to be clearly borrowing from the realistic fantasy art style of video games like Black Myth: Wukong and other new releases coming from the Asian giant in the coming months, such as Phantom Blade Zero.
“Ballad of Antara is an action-RPG with multiple playable characters. These characters possess the power to traverse the two worlds of normalcy and unimaginable. We call them “Emissaries”. Each Emissary has their own unique class, gameplay capabilities, and their own enticing, mysterious stories we want to tell. Finding and rallying these Emissaries across the world, strengthening your forces, and discovering the truth behind the calamity of this land, are your primary goals in Ballad of Antara,” the developers explained about the title.
The title is scheduled for release in 2025, and we can expect to hear more about it in the coming months. Until now, the games coming from China under the PlayStation umbrella have been heavily promoted, and have even appeared at conferences such as the Game Awards (which returns this December) and the Summer Game Fest.
Source: PlayStation Blog
