Gorgeous New Environments in the Open World
Bandai Namco has released a new trailer for the upcoming One Piece open-world RPG, One Piece: World Seeker.
Whereas the initial announcement trailer focused on a Marine base and its surrounding farmland and forests, this new trailer, titled “Gameplay Trailer #1,” introduces several new environments and characters.
In addition to the ports and industrial harbors we’ve seen from World Seeker up until now, Luffy and the Straw Hats will also be able to explore underground mines, as well as seek out particular landmarks and monoliths dotting the landscape. An eagle-shaped rock formation serves as an excellent vantage point, while a stone monument in a graveyard seems to have some sort of relevance to the story (how, exactly, remains to be seen).
More importantly, however, the trailer shows off a massive city environment and its varied denizens. While we saw World Seeker‘s traversal mechanics in the announcement trailer, we get an extended look here as Luffy slings himself from skyscraper to skyscraper like Batman in Rocksteady’s Arkham games. There’s even a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it shot of Bartholomew Kuma (or one of his Pacifista models) overseeing a Marine watchtower within the city limits. While details are still scarce on the game’s open-world mission structure (NPCs, side quests, skill trees, etc.), seeing an area as massive and as open as this in the game is encouraging.
Other reveals from this trailer include an Eagle Vision-esque ability for Luffy to scout enemy positions, instant stealth take-downs by way of a slick Jet Pistol animation, and boss fights against Smoker and Tashigi as well as the various Vinsmoke brothers.
Though much of One Piece: World Seeker still remains shrouded in mystery, namely its story and its progression system, initial aspects of the game look promising. With any luck, we’ll see more of the game at E3.
For more on World Seeker, check out my feature highlighting why it could be the One Piece game fans have been dreaming of.
One Piece: World Seeker releases later this year on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC.
