Attack on Titan 2 To Release for Switch And PC; New Details Emerge

Almost a month ago, Koei Tecmo announced that the sequel to Attack on Titan: Wings of Freedom would be coming to the PS4 and Xbox One. No details were given upon the trailer reveal except that the PS4 Pro and Xbox One X would be receiving updated versions upon the game's release in early 2018. With the 2017 Tokyo Game Show having just concluded, the publisher has confirmed that Attack on Titan 2 will be going across the spectrum with the Nintendo Switch, PS Vita, and PC in Japan. This morning, they've sent out news about the platforms, and the PS Vita version will be staying in Japan, as western release drops that from its list in the press release, stating that it will come out on PlayStation 4, Xbox  One, Nintendo Switch, and PC (via Steam).

While official news remains secretive on specific changes and improvements to the sequel, this was something that DualShocker's Giuseppe Nelva addressed. He got in touch with Koei Tecmo's President and Chief Operating Officer Hisashi Koinuma and Omega Force's Manager Hideo Suzuki several days prior to the new platform announcements. In response to criticism that the Titans in the first game were one-note in terms of difficulty, "improvements will be implemented to make battles more complex and challenging," which was elaborated on at TGS 2017 with larger move sets and more diverse Titan behavior.

Nelva managed to find out that "there may be original side-stories created specifically for the game" alongside more engaging gameplay when you play as a Titan. Base Camps will also be expanded with more character interactions, and a more curious change is that Koei Tecmo is trying to make the sequel more accessible to more casual players, which Koinuma-san is gauging with more female playtesters. Nelva conveyed that the "female staff came up with that kind of criticism, which is why they thought that they should have more ladies work on the QA testing for the sequel."

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Quick Take

Attack on Titan: Wings of Freedom was a well-executed game. While it seemed nigh impossible, Koei Tecmo realized the art of 3D Maneuver Gear combat in a way that felt fluid and satisfying. However, as Andrew Stretch criticized in his review to a lesser extent, I think intense repetition with the gameplay prevented it from soaring higher. That's why some of these changes, as vague as they are at the moment, are really encouraging to hear. Just having more ways to take down Titans and giving them more means to fight back sounds perfect, though I don't think making the controls simpler is necessary. There's an initial learning curve with the movement in the first game, but I'd say it's easy to adjust to. Either way, the fact that we're getting Attack on Titan 2 on the Switch is pretty great...I'm pretty sure I'll be playing it on that platform.