Starlight Re:Volver is a game bringing two important passions at Pahdo Labs into one package. Studio head Daniel Zou wished to create a game that would appeal to his own friend group; meanwhile, creative director Alijah Ladd found a creative vision within Zou's own desire for the project to be anime-themed. With these two desires combined, the magical girl indie game aims to bring people together and not waste precious time deciding which game to play against the busy nature of everyday life.
The Best War Games had a chance to talk at length with Zou and Ladd about Starlight Re:Volver about its anime influences and goals, as well as what it hopes to achieve in early access. At the very center of it all is an important theme of connection, and Re:Volver's colorful and vibrant anime style is just as much of a vehicle to appeal to potential fans as it is an artistic choice out of love. With Ladd's appreciation of anime offerings from the late 90s and early 2000s, and even more recent titles combined with Zou's desire to make a game that a friend group can come back to again and again, Starlight Re:Volver has found itself as a unique hybrid with two worlds to serve both social interaction and explosive action to players respectively.
How Starlight Re:Volver's Personal Starting Point Became An Encompassing Mission Statement
Zou explained that Starlight Re:Volver got off the ground from his desire to create a game that connects with players, and he turned to friends for inspiration. As most of them are still into games or have even become streamers, he also noticed that anime was not only a common denominator among his peers but also in general as Genshin Impact anecdotally created many first-time gamers.
"We were a group of people that I think—we're a bit younger than I think a lot of the folks that are heading studios these days, and we primarily grew up playing online games and using them as a form of connection. The group of friends playing was quite diverse, and not everyone loved games for the same reason.
A lot of folks used games, basically, as a virtual playground or a meeting spot, things like that. We want to make sure that those people would feel included."
With these memories on his mind, Zou thought about how there are likely other friendships like his, where deciding what game to play is a hassle as half of the group may want to play something like Valorant while others hope they'll play Minecraft together instead sometime this week for once. From there, the core concept of creating a game that his childhood friend group could enjoy and pick as the game for everyone within that circle became more of an empathetic goal to allow Starlight Re:Volver a chance to be that title for many other online gaming friends.
Better Together is Starlight Re:Volver's Mantra
In order to allow Starlight Re:Volver to include as many players as possible, the game sticks to its personal goal of connection through and through. Where similar action-packed games like Cult of the Lamb are made as single-player experiences first and cooperative play second, Re:Volver plans to be the reverse, where solo play might be better suited for a challenge run rather than the recommended way to enjoy the experience.
"You can play Starlight Re:Volver solo—nothing is stopping you except for, I would say, difficulty. Traditionally, in games, people who want to play alone are either really casual or really hardcore. In Starlight Re:Volver, you can play alone but it is more difficult."
This drive for connection in Pahdo Labs' new title gives purpose to the Nishi Island Metropolis, a world inspired by classic MMO hub worlds that allow players to meet up, team up, and even party up to maybe make new friends while playing. No one has to tackle Starlight Re:Volver alone if they don't want to due to these features.
Starlight: Re:Volver is in development.