Turn the page to another chapter in gacha game history: The long era of “Waiting for SINoAlice Global to start” is over. The game’s developers at Pokelabo took the mobile game live on schedule at about 6:00 UTC on July 1, 2020. NieR creator Yoko Taro, who serves as the game’s creative director, had a brief, but meaningful tweet for prospective players:
Please enjoy killing each other. :) https://t.co/qevasSRCSU
— yokotaro (@yokotaro) July 1, 2020
SINoAlice debuted in Japan back in June 2017, and was originally to be released by Nexon in 2019. After multiple delays and a store de-listing that convinced many fans the game had been abandoned, Nexon transferred the rights back to Pokelabo, which pledged to a July 1st, 2020 launch. After a 100-day pre-launch campaign and a brief pause for maintenance, the day has come, and players can jump right in to SINoAlice Global on iOS and Android.
The game takes place in a world “rule by stories” called the Library. Players will guide characters based on various fairy tales and stories, like Alice and Cinderella through a dark fantasy narrative centered around each character’s quest to revive their respective authors. To gain the power to do that, they’ll have to fight and kill everyone else.
Mechanically, SINoAlice Global is a real-time mobile RPG with multiplayer cooperative and competitive modes. Players will take their chosen characters, building and upgrading their “grid” of weapons for maximum effectiveness. They can play missions and roll for randomized weapons that unlock new playable characters and classes. The success of the pre-launch promotional campaign also means everyone will start the game with a bundle of goodies and a free unlock of Sleeping Beauty’s Sorcerer class. The prizes will be awarded upon completion of the tutorial.
SINoAlice Global is available on iOS and Android. Its crossover event with NieR: Automata and NieR Replicant will begin on July 16th, 2020. Its soundtrack is available for streaming on Spotify.