.45 PARABELLUM BLOODHOUND – Everything We Know

Having officially founded in 2014, Sukeban Games puts in the work to have a list of twenty releases. Technically, that means the Venezuela-based team has two video game releases every year. For 2024, they already announced an upcoming title, .45 PARABELLUM BLOODHOUND. The announcement came earlier in July 2024, and while they did not slate an official launch date, the details released are enough to arouse fans’ curiosity. It’s a Cyberpunk Active Time Action that evokes the memories of Parasite Eve and Va-11 HALL-A. Here is everything we know about .45 PARABELLUM BLOODHOUND: Cyberpunk Active Time Action. 

What is .45 PARABELLUM BLOODHOUND?

. 45 PARABELLUM BLOODHOUND is an upcoming Cyberpunk video game from the indie gaming software developers Sukeban Games. The team announced the game officially on July 3, 2024, promising a PS1-style adventure game. According to the title’s director, Christopher Ortiz, .45 PARABELLUM BLOODHOUND is set to be the largest of Sukeban Games’ works. It’s now among the top in the list of the most anticipated games. Described as a Cyberpunk Active Action game, .45 PARABELLUM BLOODHOUND picks up from the Cyberpunk Bartender Action series that premiered with VA11 HALL-A in 2016. The director revealed they had been calling the game Project D internally, or Ceratijuego in some circles. He, however, assured fans the game is coming to their consoles with its final name .45 PARABELLUM BLOODHOUND. 

Story

Although .45 PARABELLUM BLOODHOUND’s story has yet to be revealed clearly, the announcement left a little that we can piece together. The whole game unfolds into a seven-chapter story, of which five chapters were complete at the time of the announcement. It centers around a female mercenary who goes by the name of Reila Mikazuchi. Reila has been a mercenary for a long time, and her heydays are now long gone. But she is not quick to give up. She gives it one last trial at grabbing life by the horns and resolves to go back to her mercenary life. 

When she returns to the playing field, things don’t look good. Reila is in the middle of a new conspiracy, and she realizes her real enemy isn’t quite the one in front of her gun. Turn around your mission from a mercenary and take on the adventure. Reila travels around the map to uncover the secrets hidden all over the world. 

Gameplay

.45 PARABELLUM BLOODHOUND’s gameplay depicts a moody and retro-inspired adventure that appears to draw inspiration from Square Enix’s Parasite Eve. The game had nicely packed real-time and turn-based combat and an Active Time Battle system similar to Final Fantasy VII Rebirth’s. The new Cyberpunk Active Action game will toss you into extremely atmospheric environments with hand-placed experiences. 

Playing as Reila, you will roam around the world, locating hidden secrets and engaging with various unique characters. You will be moving and dodging in real time, waiting for the Active Time Battle bar to fill up. Just like you run around in the arena in Parasite Eve as the meter fills up, then start to execute commands. The speed at which the bar fills depend on your character and weapon stats. Once it’s full, you can now stop and organize yourself for the offenses. You progress the adventure in different levels. At the end of each stage, you encounter bosses to eliminate in amazing boss fights.

For now, we can only say .45 PARABELLUM BLOODHOUND’s gameplay is comparable to Parasite Eve in terms of the combat system. However, going by Sukeban Games’ cryptic reveal, fans will most probably realize more similarities in the game mechanics. The developers say they will talk about further comparisons later, which means the similarities could go beyond just the combat system.

Development

Development of .45 PARABELLUM BLOODHOUND traces back to 2017 meaning that Sukeban Games has been working on the title for close to 7 years. That’s perhaps why Sukeban Games’ CEO feels it will be the greatest game for the gaming software company. Up until the announcement, the team is way into the game, having completed five of the intended seven chapters. The complete chapters are playable from start to finish, although fans may have to wait for the game’s full release or a possible early access trial. 

Notably, fans expected Sukeban’s N1RV Ann-A: Cyberpunk Bartender Action, the direct sequel to VA-11 HALL-A to come earlier. But with .45 PARABELLUM BLOODHOUND way ahead in development, Sukeban Games is focusing on completing the new game first. Chris is the game’s writer and director, who is working with an anonymous co-creator and programmer. There’s also a team drawn from the VA-11 HALL-A Kids creators like Merengedoll who is helping with the character, boss, enemy, and production design. Juneji is also involved with 3D work and the soundtrack. 

Trailer

The announcement trailer for the .45 PARABELLUM BLOODHOUND is out. Sukeban released the 0:51 minutes trailer in their announcement, to give fans a sneak peek into their upcoming release. However, there’s pretty nothing much to see as the video doesn’t portray any action. Primarily, the trailer intends to give players a glimpse into the title’s highly atmospheric environment. Along with the tense soundtrack that is more of the sound of blowing wind, the clip perfectly captures the game’s mood. You only get to see what seems like Reila standing still outside on the pavement of the surrounding neighborhood. 

Release Date & Platforms

For now, Sukeban Games has not issued an official release date for the game or talked about the platforms they intend to launch the game. The director, however, revealed they have an internal release timeframe. According to Chris, they do not want to give any timelines to avoid a repeat of what happened with their N1rvannA release. Fortunately, the team will release its official initial trailer on July 19, 2024. Fans can keep tabs on the game’s progress through the monthly devlogs and progress shots on Chris’ or Sukeban Games’ X account.