Japanese indie studio PenGames has announced that its whimsical visual novel x shooting game ULTRA0 (pronounced “Ultra Zero”), will launch on June 2 for PC (Steam). The title is a story-driven pseudo-3D shooter that alternates between combat and visual novel segments, featuring playful pixel-style graphics.
ULTRA0 takes place in the fictional N Country, which has faced years of relentless monster invasions. As the nation’s population is driven to the brink of extinction, young girls take up arms and stand on the front lines of the battlefield, fighting to protect the world from the kaiju.
The shooting sections are designed to be accessible even for beginners, with straightforward controls aimed at letting anyone engage in high-adrenaline battles and enjoy the game through to the ends. You’ll mainly control the movement of the protagonist using the analog stick (ULTRA0 supports only controllers at the time of writing), while attacks will fire automatically whenever enemies are targeted, allowing you to focus primarily on dodging. You can also activate bombs and special skills with a single button press.
Throughout ULTRA0’s stages, you can collect upgrade items and choose one effect from three random options. These upgrades can enhance stats such as attack power, firing speed, and cooldown times. Rarely, item effects may even be doubled or tripled.
Meanwhile, the visual novel sections focus on the girls fighting the war on kaiju. The story is told in episodic chapters, with a different protagonist taking center stage in each one. The first chapter follows Shirogane, a fighter stationed in the elite Area 81 unit. Having repeatedly saved her comrades thanks to her exceptional combat abilities, she is eventually ordered to take down an unknown giant kaiju.
Even during ULTRA0’s gameplay sections, story elements are still present through a smartphone-style UI displayed at the edge of the screen, where messages from your allies appear in real time. Conversations range from battlefield updates to casual day-to-day exchanges between the girls, gradually fleshing out the world and characters.
PenGames is the studio of indie developer Peng, previously known for the challenging 2D precision-platformer MOMIBOSU, which holds a “Very Positive” rating on Steam. Peng had been sharing development updates for ULTRA0 for some time now, but the game now finally has an official release date.
ULTRA0 is scheduled to release for PC (Steam) on June 2.
