Square Enix announces Valkyrie Elysium

PS State of Play gave us a pleasant surprise with the reveal that Square Enix’s new game isn’t another Final Fantasy episode but the return of a classic series. Valkyrie Elysium is the fifth game of the Valkyrie Profile series of RPGs that began in 1999.  You can have a look at the trailer now.

Ride of the valkyries

Valkyrie Elysium is set in a fantasy world on the brink of Ragnarok, the Twilight of the Gods. Odin the All-Father calls for aid, and as a Valkyrie, your holy task is to gather heroes called Einherjar to do battle for the gods. Over the course of your journey, you discover the true purpose of gathering these heroes and the mysteries of Ragnarok itself.

Despite being the fifth game in the series, Valkyrie Elysium is a stand-alone story, meaning a new set of protagonists and antagonists. The original Valkyrie Profile is a cross between a platformer and a tactical RPG: you can wander levels and when you encounter a monster, you enter combat mode and fight as a squad in a turn-based manner. 

Valkyrie Elysium works differently, however. It appears to be open world and is closer in gameplay to Nier: Automata and Devil May Cry. Square Enix states that the game will feature "fast-paced combat using a variety of weapons," along with magic abilities. It will use aspects from past Valkyrie games like finishing moves and combos, along with a "brand new real-time action combat system that rewards both fast reactions and strategic thinking." 

The description states that you can still summon Einherjar, though how this will be applied in actual gameplay remains to be seen. What we do know is that Valkyrie Profile’s long-time composer, Motoi Sakuraba, will be returning to score the game. 

Ragnarok approaches

Valkyrie Elysium targets a 2022 release date, for the PC, PS4, and PS5. Expect more updates as the months roll by, and check out our comparator for a Valkyrie Elysium code for any platform.