Babylon's Fall is an upcoming fast-paced action RPG coming from Square Enix and Platinum Games. So far not much is known about the game other than an original story teaser trailer in 2018 and a gameplay trailer that released in 2019. Last year was the last update on the game until it was announced to be part of Square Enix's upcoming showcase during the all-digital E3 2021. One thing still seems clear based on the gameplay trailer, Babylon's Fall looks like a unique blend of the Final Fantasy and Devil May Cry approaches to design. Both of those titles have huge places in each studios' history.
Platinum Games, the developer for Babylon's Fall, has worked with Square Enix before. The popular NieR: Automata showed how effective the two studios could be at producing stylish action games that blended in more traditional JRPG elements as well. This pairing was a large part of what drew excitement when Babylon's Fall was originally announced. Even more so than NieR, Babylon's Fall seems to be chock-full of Final Fantasy and Devil May Cry DNA.
Babylon's Fall Seems Like a Fusion of DMC and Final Fantasy
The aesthetic similarities between Babylon's Fall and Final Fantasy are hard to ignore. The dark fantasy setting laid out in the game's first teaser trailer looks right at home with the heavier tone many Final Fantasy games have been taking. A quick dump of lore briefly explains hundreds of years of the game world's history, rife with the kinds of religious strife that at the heart of many Final Fantasy titles. It's also difficult to miss the notable similarities between the combat shown for Babylon's Fall, and Final Fantasy 15 as well as the upcoming Final Fantasy 16. The playable character is shown off wielding multiple weapons at once while dashing across the screen in quick succession.
That same gameplay trailer for Babylon's Fall bears similarities to another popular franchise: Devil May Cry. The spectral swords that the character manipulates are used in ways reminiscent of Vergil and Dante (DMC5). Both offensive and defensive utilities are on display in the trailer: The player character is shown using the swords to extend combos, as well as whirl around them to ward off enemy attacks. The tendrils of energy that have been shown in both the story and gameplay trailers are also shown to have utility that's very similar to Nero's Devil Breaker arm. They are seen using the tendril to latch onto enemies in order to pull themselves closer and to cinematically defeat a boss near the end of the trailer.
While Devil May Cry is not a Platinum Games title, its creators number among the founders of Platinum Games itself. Games like Bayonetta and Vanquish continued to show the team's focus on flair and frenetic action. That DNA is all over the Babylon's Fall gameplay trailer and will hopefully translate into a new IP to stand among the most stylish of them all. Fans are eagerly awaiting news about Babylon's Fall ahead of E3 2021 now that it's been confirmed to be heavily featured during the Square Enix showcase this Sunday. While not much is known yet, it seems clear that its roots in Final Fantasy and Devil May Cry are deep for Babylon's Fall.
Babylon's Fall is confirmed to appear at the Square Enix showcase at E3 2021 this Sunday.