Altheia: The Wrath of Aferi — Everything We Know

In just a few short hours, the Tokyo Game Show has already brought an entire host of compelling titles to the table, one of which was Altheia: The Wrath of Aferi, a fantasy adventure game inspired by Studio Ghibli and Studio Chizu. Word on the street is, this whimsy coming-of-age tale will feature two young heroes—a Guardian, and a Monk—both of whom must ”learn to work together to survive the journey ahead.” There’ll be a world engulfed in ongoing turmoil, an “ancient evil”, and a whole bunch of trials and tribulations. Quite the banquet of goodies, then.

So, what else do you need to know about the upcoming fantasy adventure game? Well, here’s what we’ve been able to collect on the matter since first catching wind of it earlier this week. Let’s dive right in to the world of Altheia: The Wrath of Aferi.

What Is Altheia: The Wrath of Aferi?

To get to the point, Altheia: The Wrath of Aferi is a fantasy adventure game—one that chronicles the perilous journey of two unlikely heroes as they come together to tackle a new type of evil that shrouds the lands. It’ll be a single-player game, but will essentially make use of two protagonists, both of whom will come tied to their own unique abilities, strengths, and weaknesses. It’ll be your job, basically, to carry the weight of both characters’ traits, and use them to decipher clues, defeat enemies, and gradually progress through a world that’s been ravaged by an ancient evil known as the Void. No pressure there, then.

According to developer MarsLit Games, “Altheia: The Wrath of Aferi is a fantasy adventure game where a sword–wielding Guardian and an arcane Monk must learn to work together to defeat the Void corrupting their home. Explore ruined temples, solve environmental puzzles, rescue spirits, and defeat giant Void monsters!”

Story

At its core, it’s a story of friendship and cooperation—two valuable things that will come to blossom over a series of events and objectives. The tale, though, will follow Lili, a fledgling warrior who’s thrown back into the life of a Guardian after saving an ill-fated Monk named Sadi. Together, the two will set out to destroy the aforementioned evil known as the Void—a mysterious entity that corrupts the land and destroys everything that stands in its path. Cue the coming-of-age montage!

In the words of its creators: “After losing her mother to an ancient evil, Lili doesn’t want anything to do with her mother’s legacy of being a Guardian. However, when Lili rescues a Monk-in-training named Sadi, the latter urges her to revive the traditional partnership of Guardians and Monks and help him save their home from the mysterious corrupting Void.”

“But the world of Atarassia is a dangerous place, filled with monsters and obstacles spawned from the Void, all deadly to a reluctant and unprepared hero,” the description continues. “Lili and Sadi will need to combine their wits, their wills, and their strength of arms and magic to defeat the Void’s corruption, and finally confront the god that took their families from them.”

Gameplay

From the looks of the footage that was shown during the Tokyo Game Show, gameplay will involve a mixture of classic platforming, puzzle-solving, and dungeon-crawling action inspired by The Legend of Zelda, apparently. It will also introduce its fair share of dual-player segments, too—areas in which both characters will need to utilize their core strengths to complete puzzles and progress deeper into the levels.

“Take on dungeons full of mechanical puzzles to be solved, Void monsters to battle, and friendly spirits to rescue as Lili and Sadi discover what it means to truly be partners, and to assume their heroic destinies as Guardian and Monk,” reads the description. “Explore winding dungeons inspired by the classic Zelda games, made up of beautiful but corrupted temples and shrines dotted all around the world of Atarassia, and befriend the spirits that live within.”

Development

In case you missed the initial announcement, Altheia: The Wrath of Aferi was first shown at the Tokyo Game Show, a four-day event during which the most notable upcoming releases shed their skins over a series of livestreams and interviews. Going by its teaser trailer, the game will be shaping up for a launch across all major platforms. There hasn’t been a release date announcement just yet, though we’re expecting to see something of the sort creep up over the next several months.

As it turns out, there isn’t a lot to tell about MarsLit Games, the creator of Altheia: The Wrath of Aferi, other than the fact that it’s a family-sized studio based over in Italy. Apart from that, we can’t really comment on the firm.

Trailer

Thanks to its recent appearance at the Tokyo Game Show, we do at least have an idea of what Altheia: The Wrath of Aferi will look and, more importantly, play like. You can catch a glimpse of what’s to come for yourself by checking out the latest trailer embedded above.

Release Date, Platforms & Editions

Altheia: The Wrath of Aferi will be coming to Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Switch, and PC via Steam. It hasn’t been given a release date just yet, though from the looks of the “coming soon” slider on its Steam handle, there’s a good chance that it’ll launch at some point in the first half of 2024. But of course, we’re just speculating at this point, so don’t take our word for it.

Has Neon Doctrine’s latest IP caught your eye? If so, don’t forget to check in with the studio over on their official social handle for all the latest pre-launch updates here. If anything changes ahead of its global launch, we’ll be sure to fill you in on all the details right here on gaming.net.

So, what’s your take? Will you be picking up a copy of Altheia: The Wrath of Aferi when it releases on consoles and PC? Let us know your thoughts over on our socials here.