Adventuring is the heart and soul of Japanese role-playing games (JRPGs), and Lost Hellden will inject an artistic flourish into the mix. Hailing from Artisan Studios, the hand-painted title is the brainchild of genre veterans who previously worked on some of the biggest JRPG franchises, including Final Fantasy, Tactics Ogre, and Valkyria Chronicles.
The forthcoming game is due out in 2025 for PC and consoles, with an announcement trailer showing off stunning visuals and a gorgeous art style, described as “deep 2D”. It will feature “a strategic action battle system” that sees players taking control of eight highly-customisable characters through a rich and mature story where their fate is guided by the Seven Deadly Sins.
The developers give a more detailed overview of the story: “Welcome to Era. Where every life comes with a price. Every Eran is bound to one of the Seven Sins before their first birthday. All their lives, people fight against their urges. A place in the Sacred Land of Hellden is promised to their immortal souls if they succeed. But if they fail and succumb to their sin. A fate worse than death awaits them…”
The game’s illustrations are being handled by Takeshi Oga (Gravity Rush, FFXIV, Siren), while Hitoshi Sakimoto (FFXII, Valkyria Chronicles, Tactics Ogre) is in charge of music and audio direction. Three characters have been detailed so far on the official website, which dives deeper into the fantasy world and its lore.
In the meantime, here are some screenshots to feast your eyes on:
Lost Hellden is releasing sometime in 2025 for PlayStation 4, PS5, Switch, Xbox Series X|S, and PC via Epic Games Store, GOG, and Steam.
Si Jia is a casual geek at heart – or as casual as someone with Sephiroth’s theme on her Spotify playlist can get. A fan of movies, games, and Japanese culture, Si Jia’s greatest weakness is the Steam Summer Sale. Or any Steam sale, really.
