Degica Games is ready to play with mythology and history with its counter-intuitive new game Ogre Tale. The new title is a 2D, side-scrolling brawler developed by Mages, makers of Phantom Breaker: Battle Grounds. It features three playable characters, the ogre sisters Ran, Hana, and Yume, as they struggle to save the land from a folk hero that’s gone full heel.
Ogre Tale changes roles around from the traditional Japanese folk tale “Momotarou” (or “Peach Boy”). In the legend, Momotarou was a boy born from a giant peach and journeyed to the island of Onigashima to slay the oni (ogres, sometimes translated as “demons”) living there. Along the way, he befriended three companions, a dog, a monkey and a pheasant, and they cooperated to infiltrate the island fortress and defeat the ogres once and for all. In the game, the villain is a descendant of Momotarou, and the playable trio are descended from the original ogres from Onigashima. And though they’d rather just laze around and do what they like, they need to take up a more heroic mantle when their daily lifestyle is threatened.
Ogre Tale features detailed two-dimensional sprite art and real-time combat, allowing players to move and fight solo or with up to three friends in cooperative multiplayer. The three characters of Ogre Tale all control in unique ways, with their own fighting styles and combat tools. The stoic and serious Ran uses a sword and traditional ninja tools to slice her foes in twain, while Hana knocks enemies around and bounces them off the scenery with a heavy iron club. The domineering Yume stuns her prey with a vine whip.
Ogre Tale will be available on PC via Steam starting August 21, 2020, and only Japanese language support will be available. The game was also announced for the PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch, though no dates were given for the console editions.