HoYoverse, listen, I know you got money. You’re one of the biggest gacha developers in the world, for Christ’s sake. I know you’ve only just announced Varsapura, but can you do me a favour? Swap out those god-awful, cheap plasticky looking character models because you have me absolutely sold on everything else this game has to offer.
Yep, the Genshin developer is making another game—after only recently announcing Petite Planet while also working on Honkai spin-off Nexus Anima—and this time it’s all the usual HoYo gubbins served up on a Control-esque platter where you appear to be working for a paranormal government agency while black goopy mindrot takes over people’s mental health. That last part is perhaps a little too on the nose, HoYo.
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The first thing that struck me during its half-hour gameplay demo was that it was looking considerably less anime-d out the wazoo compared to the rest of HoYo’s catalogue. That feeling lasted about two entire seconds though when the demo flung a plastic-faced, doe-eyed protagonist in my face. It’s a weird juxtaposition to Varsapura’s environment design which I actually do quite like—dare I go so far as to say the character models look painfully cheap, something you’d nab out of an asset store than the interestingly designed protagonists I’ve become accustomed to in the likes of Honkai: Star Rail and Genshin Impact
I think part of that plainness is a consequence of HoYo clearly trying to lean into realism a little more here—for starters, a huge amount of the open world appears to be based on Singapore with certain buildings and street names making an appearance—but you can’t do that and then slap a pair of giant twinkling eyes on a brown-haired Jane Doe.
It’s a shame because I really do like everything else that Varsapura has going on. Some light horror elements abound when the protag is pulled away to meet a mysterious shadowy figure (HoYo really pushed the boat out by naming him “Mr. Shadow”) and battle against strange paranormal figures.
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Combat-wise, it does bear a lot of similarities to Zenless Zone Zero—swapping characters to combo their ultimates and abilities together, zipping around and dodging oncoming attacks. The classic HoYo action combat deal. I am, admittedly, rather smitten with the bizarre weapon choices HoYo has opted for here, though: the protagonist wields an umbrella, her ultimate a Persona 3-style suicide to make it rain.
Secondary character and patrol officer Sayuki, meanwhile, literally wields stacks of paperwork. She smacks enemies around with a single document-stuffed file folder, with her ability letting her drop a giant stack down on top of enemies. It also looks like attacking enemies directly towards it deals some extra damage, a small touch I really vibed with.
After showing plenty of combat—including stealth elements with abilities that can temporarily stun enemies—Varsapura opens up into the open world where the two girls are heading to a crime scene in a comically small clown car-ass police vehicle. It’s mostly a vessel to show another fight though, this time with a mysterious mega-flail-wielding third character who gets zero dialogue.
As much as I love both HoYoverse creations and gacha games, I do tend to try and maintain a healthy scepticism about them. But off-putting models aside, I am picking up what Varsapura is putting down—giant stacks of paperwork an’ all.
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