Majin and the Forsaken Kingdom, being developed by Game Republic, has the feel of a Miyazaki film and is very fantasy-based. The game centers around the unlikely pairing of a thief and a Majin, a hulking creature able to absorb some of the darkness that has blanketed the land. The two will pair up to work their way through the land, solving puzzles and defeating enemies with each other’s help.

The Majin is fairly intuitive and doesn’t need specific commands. Instead, when you encounter a locked gate, you can simply command him to go and he will address the problem at hand, finding a way to raise the gate so you can both progress. The thief and the Majin will encounter tarry creatures of the land who have been tainted by the darkness and the Majin has the ability to absorb this darkness, thereby cleansing the land and its inhabitants, bit by bit. As the thief takes damage, he becomes tainted by the darkness and the Majin is able to restore him, so the two have a very symbiotic relationship. The Majin will have abilities based on fire, water and electricity and will require fruit in order to restore himself, which the thief can help him obtain. Do you think maybe Namco Bandai has a little bit of an eco-agenda with this game? Who cares, it looks pretty and fun! Look for Majin and the Forsaken Kingdom to grace 360’s and PS3’s this Winter.