Following the success of Pokémon TCG Pocket, the Digimon franchise is getting a mobile card game of its own. Digimon Alysion is a free-to-play title coming to both Android and iOS. However, Bandai Namco hasn’t given a release date or many details outside of the existence of the game. With that in mind, a closed beta test is planned for the next few months.
While Bandai Namco has been tight-lipped on details, there are a few we can glean from the trailer. Digimon Alysion looks like it will have a storyline and a title character named Kanata Hondo, along with other characters named Valner Dragnogh and Futre. Hondo’s Digimon Gemmon looks something like an Eevee with a jewel in the center of its head.
There’s a disclaimer at the end of the trailer that warns the final version of the game might look different from what’s currently displayed, but that’s to be expected with any project this early in development. The trailer suggests a multiplayer aspect, deck building elements, and a wide variety of different cards to collect.
It isn’t clear how similar the gameplay will be to the existing Digimon trading card game, but it’s likely it won’t be a one-to-one copy. Most mobile trading card games take a few liberties with gameplay to adapt the cards to a smaller screen and keep things moving quickly.
Bandai Namco suggests players check the official website for more information about the game. For now, there isn’t much to see, but the early looks we’ve gotten are promising. How the game will be monetized isn’t clear, either, but Bandai Namco says there will be in-app purchases — likely a battle pass or cosmetics of some sort.
One thing does seem clear, though. Buckle up: we’re about to step back to the era of a more intense Digimon-Pokémon rivalry once more.
Google Play is borrowing one of the Nintendo Switch’s most useful little tricks. A new Sidekick tool called Playbacks captures a short clip after something interesting has already happened, sparing players from running a screen recorder throughout an entire game.
Playbacks is part of Google Play Store v53.8 and keeps saved clips on the phone. Google first announced it earlier this month, but the new Play Store update marks its arrival for players. Anyone who has watched a perfect win vanish because the record button came too late already understands the appeal.
Imagine tapping a Zelda icon on your iPhone and jumping straight into Hyrule. A new open-source project called nxnative makes that possible by repackaging Switch games you’ve bought into apps for iPhone, iPad, and Mac, with no emulator in the middle.
Why does this run so well on Apple devices?