Bandai Namco Announces New Bleach Game

Recently, Bandai Namco announced during a company event that a new game is in development, based on the popular manga and anime series, Bleach. Though the series has had multiple mobile game releases over the past few years, this new title will be released exclusively for consoles and PC. It’s certainly nice to see Bleach get another chance to shine within the gaming space as it has been neglected when compared to similar series, like One Piece and Naruto, both of which receive new titles or remastered collections of games semi-regularly.

Bleach: Rebirth of Souls looks to reinvigorate the franchise with some fresh gameplay mechanics. Though most of the gameplay shown in the trailer looks to be that of a standard anime arena fighter, there are a few notable features that I feel could help Rebirth of Souls stand out from a cluttered market. As is the case within the anime, each character will have a unique sword or weapon ability that can be unleashed in battle.

There also seems to be an instant kill feature as the Steam page states: “Defeat enemies in a single strike. In Bleach: Rebirth of Souls a single strike can spell defeat for your opponent. Change the situation dramatically with a single swing of your blade.” Another key aspect to the game is unlocking new forms which can be accessed as the situation becomes more dire for your character. Some will completely change the blade you wield as well. This could certainly shake up combat in exciting ways and make for some epic comebacks.

As is standard with these types of games, you can expect to play as all your favorite characters from throughout the series. The trailer showcases appearances from not only protagonist Ichigo Kurosaki, but also Rukia, Uryu, Renji, Yasutora, Yoruichi, and Byakuya.

Bleach: Rebirth of Souls is currently being developed by Tamsoft Corporation. The studio’s previous work includes titles like the popular 2D-anime fighter Melty Blood: Type Lumina, as well as Captain Tsubasa: Rise of New Champions, a soccer game based on an ’80s anime and was released in 2020. As of now there is no word on an official release date, but I imagine it will be sometime later this year or early next year.