Publisher Playism and developer Daraneko Games announced The Use of Life is leaving early access later this month.
The Use of Life is leaving early access for Windows PC (via Steam) on November 26th. The multi-ending adventure-book JRPG was originally released back in 2022.
Here’s a rundown on the game, plus a new trailer:
The Use of Life is a multi-ending adventure book style JRPG. The main character’s various attachments change in accordance with the choices the player makes, and the ending changes depending on “the use of life” you choose through your journey.
A Story Influenced by Your Use of Life
In this game, your choices as the player will influence Goshe, the main character, as well as his thoughts and various attachments in life, represented by flames.
Whether Goshe uses his life for his own selfish purposes or sacrifices himself to help others is entirely up to you. The endings of this game are simply the conclusions of the various ways of life, and there are no “Good” or “Bad” endings.
Tense Battles that Balance Stasis and Action
The Use of Life features unique battles that combine the strategy of a turn-based battle system with the quick reflexes and action of a QTE system.
Each turn, both you and your enemy get to choose 3 actions, which you then take turns to perform. How will you deal with the enemy’s upcoming flurry of attacks? How will you time your own attacks to deal the most damage? Your skill and strategy will determine the outcome of battle.
Even if you can’t defeat an enemy, the game is designed so that you will gradually figure out how to deal with them and win. Boss battles are especially tense, where you frequently have to toe the line between life and death, and we strive to deliver the highest satisfaction you can possibly get after defeating a strong enemy.
Adventure Book Style Events
Events in this game are narrated in an adventure book style, and some events come with TRPG-esque dice rolls that determine the event’s outcome.
The same event will play out differently depending on your choices and the dice roll results.
You can choose to proceed cautiously and choose the safest options, or bravely throw yourself into every opportunity for battle you come across—it’s all up to you, and your actions will affect Goshe’s personality.
Customization
Goshe, the main character, obtains incredible power through a certain Curse. Through encounters with death, he can gain experience which can be used to strengthen his own abilities.
Not only will you gain different advantages in battle depending on what abilities you choose to invest in, but the outcome of events outside of battle can also be heavily influenced by your stats.
On top of that, by leveling up and unlocking new levels for the various classes, you can learn a wide variety of Skills and Spells to use in battle.
- The “Fighter” carves up enemies with pure physical attack power and a high number of moves
- The “Samurai” unleashes unabashed power with Iai and lands fierce critical strikes
- The “Mage” specializes in high-risk, high-reward super-firepower using incantations and Spells
- The “Sorcerer” toys with their opponent by utilizing special attacks, including some that cause status ailments
A myriad of fighting styles can be utilized depending on the class you choose to upgrade.
A “Good-New” Type of JRPG
While this title is technically a JRPG, we are not aiming for a “good old JRPG” style, but rather a “good ‘new’ JRPG” style, in hopes of showing that this kind of evolution is absolutely possible.
