Mecha girls battle in Alice Gear Aegis CS: Concerto of Simulatrix

Our pals at PQube and developer Pyramid have announced that the grandly titled 3D arena battler Alice Gear Aegis CS: Concerto of Simulatrix is on the way for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5 and Nintendo Switch, with the release dated planned for early 2023.

In Alice Gear Aegis (as we shall refer to it hereafter), you take on the role of an “Actress” — a young girl with an aptitude for making use of the “Alice Gear” mech suits. As part of an organisation known as Aegis, your mission is to train yourself in the use of the Alice Gear units and eventually take back the world from the Vice forces.

Alice Gear Aegis originated as a mobile game in 2018. It’s proven quite popular since then, receiving an original video anime named Alice Gear Aegis: Doki! Actress Darake no Mermaid Grand Prix in 2021 and the original Japanese console release of Concerto of Simulatrix in September of 2022; there’s also apparently an anime TV series named Alice Gear Aegis Expansion planned for 2023, so it will be a big year for fighting mecha cute girl fans.

There are 22 different playable characters to master in Alice Gear Aegis, each of whom has their own distinct personality and playstyle. As you progress through the game, you’ll have the opportunity to get to know each of them through dialogue scenes showing them interacting with one another. You’ll also be able to earn money to purchase clothing, mech suits, weapons and accessories to customise your characters as you see fit.

The game’s 3D arena mech battles feature solo one-on-one combat as well as battles with support Actresses entering the fray to enhance your abilities. There’s a full training area and plenty of tutorials to help you get started, and the game’s “Battle Hex” system allows you to plan your route through the game’s stages, picking either a harder but more rewarding route, or an easier route that might not be quite as profitable.

In the main game, you’ll be able to take a party of three Actresses into combat, and in doing so you’ll be able to make use of type advantages in order to make certain encounters easier to manage. There are also both ranged and melee-type characters to play as, so you should be able to find some favourite characters that fit in with the way you particularly enjoy fighting. There’s also an online mode in which you can compete against your friends — though the main attraction here is likely to be getting to know all the girls in single-player mode.

In combat, battles involve making use of your characters’ unique abilities — perhaps switching between them on the fly as the situation demands it — and charging up an SP bar to unleash your more devastating attacks. There’s plenty of mobility and boosting around, making for some exciting encounters, and you’ll find yourself fighting in a variety of exciting and creative environments, too.

From the early footage, Alice Gear Aegis looks set to satisfy those who have traditionally enjoyed games like Virtual On and Zone of the Enders — or those who thought those games were a tad lacking in the cute girl department. Longstanding Taito fans will also be pleased to note that Taito’s house band Zuntata are on music duties, which gives the game a nicely distinctive soundtrack.

It also looks like there’s plenty of narrative content to enjoy along the way, with each of the characters having their own stories to explore as you get to know all of them. It wouldn’t be a mecha-adjacent title without a little bit of drama, now, would it?

For the collectors out there, physical releases of the Switch, PS4 and PS5 versions of Alice Gear Aegis are available to preorder right now, and the physical PS4 version includes the ability to upgrade to a digital PS5 version if you so desire. Right now, the game is estimated to be with us in March of 2023, though since its English version has only just been announced, that might be subject to change.

Alice Girl Aegis looks like it has potential to be a lot of fun, whether or not you’re already familiar with the source material. Its cute girl mecha combat looks dynamic and exciting, and its character interaction scenes look set to have everyone fighting over Best Girl yet again; with 22 to choose from, there’s likely someone to fit everyone’s tastes from among the cast.

Stop by the official site to find out more!

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