Anime-style post-apocalyptic third person shooter Alien Entity Hal-09 follows a pair of clone girls exploring submerged cities

Waku Waku Games has launched the Steam page for Moyashi Giken’s upcoming third-person survival shooter Alien Entity Hal-09. Set in a world ravaged by war and climate change, the story follows Kaede Kuratsuki and Kozue Kuroishi – two Navy personnel clones who explore the ruins of cities submerged under the ocean.

The protagonists have two tasks: recover any useful supplies; and locate the half-plant lifeform “Hal” that was created by combining assembled parts with their own DNA. Blocking your progress are the facilities’ old defense systems – remnants of the war – and failed animal experiments that still roam the halls.

Kaede and Kozue’s nature as clones is closely tied to their abilities and the game’s death system. Kaede is a half-beast clone, which allows her to carry more items and wield all types of firearms. Kozue, on the other hand, is a pure human clone skilled in genetic engineering. She is capable of bringing herself and Kaede back to life if either of them dies during an expedition.

Due to the war and the planet’s harsh environment, natural-born humans are rare, and most survivors are clones of those who died. As a tradeoff for their apparent immortality, clones’ abilities deteriorate with each death. This makes expeditions harder to complete the more times you die, adding friction to the game.

Apart from combat, which requires you to watch your vitals and avoid enemy attacks, Alien Entity Hal-09 comes with a surprising number of survival mechanics to manage. Not only do you have to make sure Kaede and Kozue use the bathroom before each expedition, but you also have to keep them well fed. Feeding them too little causes them to become exhausted and unable to run, while feeding them too much can lead to them vomiting mid-combat. Steam page screenshots also show oxygen and heart rate monitors, which might be additional elements to keep track of.

While combat allows you to go in guns blazing, Alien Entity Hal-09’s game description also hints at some light stealth elements that allow you to search for resources while remaining undetected.

Alien Entity Hal-09 is currently in development for Windows (Steam).

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