Following the extremely enigmatic reveal a few years ago of gen Design’s new game, it’s finally here and is called gen ATLAS.
Published by Epic Games, the game is also using Unreal Engine, which should really help streamline the game’s development.
This is because games like The Last Guardian had a pretty labored development cycle due to the technical issues with the game’s toolset, among many other things.
As for this new game, it’s looking very interesting and definitely reminds me of older Sandlot games such as Gigantic Drive on the PlayStation 2.
Released outside of Japan as Robotic Alchemic Drive, the game had you control a huge and heavy mecha from the point of view of a human, either on the ground or on the mecha themselves.
The big and heavy fights in the new trailer for gen ATLAS (shown below) really remind me of fighting various large enemies in Gigantic Drive.
The functionality of the human on the ground and the mecha themselves do also look more involved, though. With obviously new puzzle mechanics and shooting sections.
I also like the fact that your mecha’s “head” is sort of the interchangeable part you can use on other giant mecha.
Naturally, this type of huge character is not new for Fumito Ueda, as games like Shadow of the Colossus had you clamber over giants to take them down.
The other point worth mentioning is that it’s likely that the mecha design may be being handled by none other than IZMOJUKI. Known for his industrial mecha designs, his approach would fit wonderfully with this game’s setting, and back when the game was revealed, he did post about it on his X account.
In any case, I am just glad that there’s another Fumito Ueda game on the way, as they always end up being rather magical experiences.
Follow me on X, Facebook and YouTube. I also manage Mecha Damashii and am currently writing regular columns in Japanese about mecha games and mecha anime for both Game*Spark and Automaton.
