Built around a potentially brilliant mechanic that feels tailor-made for a PvE shooter, Blue N.O.V.A. has a ton of potential. But I left my hands-on demo and interview session with a few questions. Leaning into casual PvE shooting mechanics and a procedurally generated map gives it mass appeal and obvious replay potential. But I didn’t see some of what GungHo seemed, well, most gung ho about; namely, their investment in this game’s characters.

Set in a far-flung future where a rogue AI threatens what remains of humanity, thus propelling the people to new worlds, you're tasked with fighting the program and hopefully taking back a planet on the way. Not the most original setup, but at least it's topical!

That premise is meant to set up an iconic cast, which the developers seem really excited about. Beyond the high-profile Japanese voice actors they promise to recruit, the Tokyo-based publisher has also invested heavily in creating V-Tubers from the cast of Blue N.O.V.A. and even runs their social media channels in character. It's a lot for a game that doesn't seem close to coming out (it’s currently listed for 2027 without a precise date or window). From the inside looking out, it's hard to gauge these things against the chunk of game I played, because aside from a few 3D models, there wasn't much there. These public personas were not represented in the slice I played.

Still, it's really early in development. Chances are, you won’t see it in the state I did; that’s not to dunk on it, but I missed out on a lot of the stuff that’s meant to bring these characters to life.

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