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Game Freak is best known for its work on Nintendo’s Pokemon franchise, but the studio has made several other games as well, such as the Metroidvania-inspired Giga Wrecker. An expanded version of the game, titled Giga Wrecker Alt, is scheduled to release later this year, and it’s also launching on Xbox One, PS4, and Switch.

Giga Wrecker is a 2D action adventure platformer that first released on PC in 2017. You control Reika Rekkeiji, a teenage girl who struggles to survive on a future Earth, one that’s been nearly destroyed by powerful robots. Reika becomes humanity’s only hope after she’s grafted with cybernetic parts that allow her to reshape debris into different forms, including weapons and tools. As Reika, you must journey across a devastated world in search of the robots’ leaders–that take the form of various bosses–in order to defeat them and grow stronger. As Reika learns new attacks, she’ll acquire additional means of navigating the world as well, which allows her to traverse to previously unreachable areas.

The expanded version of the game, Giga Wrecker Alt, adds new puzzle stages for you to complete in the game’s campaign. Alt also implements features that allow you to change the type of experience you can have. For example, for players who want a harder combat experience, you can turn on Giga Wrecker Alt’s new Ironman mode. “Simply put, the enemies are much stronger and…players will be able to enjoy the challenge of a really tough fight against the bosses,” Game Freak lead game designer Hiroto Ito and director Masayuki Onoue said in a joint statement to GameSpot. “That being said, in terms of the puzzles, we’ve ensured that the balance of thinking about the solution and solving them and playing the game is maintained.”

If you want to remove the challenge of the game’s puzzles entirely and focus on just combat, Alt offers a new companion character that will help you get through the brain twisters and back to the action. “This companion character will aid you by providing hints on some of the puzzles stages but it’s optional so you could simply play the game with no hints whatsoever,” Ito and Onoue said. “In terms of the story, this character is an escapee from the robot army that Reika is fighting against. In fact, there’s a deep connection between this character and with Reika, but you’ll have to play the game to find out more.”

Conversely, for those who want more puzzles, Giga Wrecker Alt features new content in that regard as well. “In the Steam version we had about 100 stages and quite a lot of players tended to clear them in about 10 hours,” Ito and Onoue said. “We’ve added 20 puzzle stages which would make it about one to two hours on top of that so I think the total play time would be something in the region of 11-12 hours. In these extra stages, there are hidden sub-events that allow the player to discover the story in more depth. If all the sub-events are seen, the story towards the end changes, allowing the player to see a different ending.”

Giga Wrecker was first conceived as a part of Game Freak’s Gear Project, an in-house initiative that allows individual developers to pitch their game ideas to executives. When accepted, these games are typically worked on in-between Pokemon releases. In Giga Wrecker’s case, Ito and Onoue pointed to “the mechanics of using the physics engine to destroy things and incorporating that with playing with the various topography” as the deciding factor for following through on its pitch. After the pitch was accepted, the game took about a year to complete, releasing between Pokemon Sun/Moon and Pokemon Ultra Sun/Ultra Moon.

According to Giga Wrecker Alt’s publisher Rising Star Games, the game will release digitally on Xbox One, PS4, and Switch all on the same day, with further details announced “in the coming weeks.” Giga Wrecker Alt will also release physically on Switch and PS4 via a partnership with Limited Run Games. Game Freak has no sequels for Giga Wrecker planned “at the moment” but the studio will monitor the reactions to Alt and “consider that possibility for the future.”

Kotaro Uchikoshi is the mind behind the wild series of puzzle-adventure-mystery games known as Zero Escape (999, Virtue’s Last Reward, and Zero Time Dilemma), and fans of his imaginative direction should keep an eye on his upcoming game AI: The Somnium Files. But Uchikoshi-san is doing things a little differently this time around. A character in the game, Iris Sagan, has become a virtual idol and streamer/influencer in the real world under the stage name A-set–and he’s helping produce and promote her.

When the team at publisher/developer Spike Chunsoft reached out and offered an opportunity to interview Uchikoshi-san and Iris (or A-set), I wondered how this would fly with my managing editor Peter Brown. But me being a huge fan of virtual idols such as Hatsune Miku and the vocaloid family, Haruka Sawamura of Yakuza fame, and Rise Kujikawa of Persona, I couldn’t say no and Pete knew this was a job that only I could do.

We tried to get more details on AI: The Somnium Files itself, which will have players taking on the role of detective Kaname Date to investigate a series of murders–but those efforts proved fruitless as some questions were declined. While we wish there were more talk about for the game, our interview doesn’t disappoint. Well, we’ll let you be the judge.

AI: The Somnium Files is set to release sometime this year on PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, and PC. The following interview was conducted via email correspondence with translation from Spike Chunsoft.

What’s your opinion on the Zero Escape games? Which is the best?

A-set: They’re all good! I still remember beating each one, it was like, mind-blowing! My brain felt so fuzzy after that I had to disconnect from social media for a few days just to process them. I know people say that the second is the best one, but I honestly think they’re all awesome! But as for which one is my favorite? It’s too hard to pick one! It’s like trying to pick my favorite Alien or Indiana Jones movie. Except those had more than three…never mind!

What are you doing to keep surprising Zero Escape / Danganronpa fans who’ve seen so many wild things happen already?

A-set: I don’t have any surprises planned… But I’m up for any ideas! My fans mean everything to me, so if anyone has any requests, you can always find me on Twitter, @Lemniscate_Aset!

Uchikoshi: Hm, let me think. Isn’t surprising yourself more important than surprising others? And to do that, every night before I go to sleep I down three gallons of tequila. Trust me, if you do that, you’ll forget everything that happened that day. Which means that when you wake up the next morning, every idea you have, even if it’s an old one, will seem fresh and exciting!

The tag-team itself: Iris Sagan/A-set (left), and Kotaro Uchikoshi (right)

Is AI: The Somnium Files something you would stream?

A-set: That would be amazing, I’d love that! Will Spike Chunsoft let me? *laughs*

Best girl and best boy in the Danganronpa series?

A-set: Best girl: Junko. Best boy: Nagito.

Is a full-length record in the works?

A-set: Of course I’d like to make one, but I’m still new to the scene. Right now, I just want to focus on promoting [the song] “Invincible Rainbow Arrow.”

Best Hatsune Miku song or vocaloid song?

A-set: “Sand Planet”!

Are there any idols that you look up to yourself?

A-set: When I was young, Rihanna and Ke$ha were big. Lady Gaga also brought this fun, art-pop style that I enjoyed. I wanted to put some of that influence into my music. Start with poppy, catchy tunes and maybe eventually grow into something else. Ariana Grande is also putting out great stuff right now, but her vocal style is pretty different than mine, so… As for personal idols? The Powerpuff Girls!

How is it working with Uchikoshi-san?

A-set: Intimidating, but kinda weird.

How is it working with A-set?

Uchikoshi: Intimidating, but kinda weird.

Iris made her first appearance at Anime Expo 2018 during a panel for AI: The Somnium Files

Why promote a virtual idol now? How is this leading into something bigger?

Uchikoshi: First of all, A-set is not a “virtual” idol. She’s a real idol with a real flesh-and-blood body. She just seems “virtual” because her presence is mostly online. I’m an old friend of Mr. Okiura, the president of Lemniscate, A-set’s agency. He introduced me to her. He was pushing A-set, saying, “This is our agency’s hottest new net idol!” To be honest, I was totally mesmerized by her dancing. I told him, “Well then, how about I produce her?” That’s how it went. “Something bigger?” I don’t know exactly what you mean, but it would be amazing to see her become something bigger. So please, support A-set, everyone!

What do you say to those who are skeptical of virtual idols? How do you help open their minds to the idea?

A-set: Well, I wouldn’t know much about that. I’m a real idol, not virtual. But anyway, I put my heart and soul into everything that I do. I know that, if you just give me a chance, I can make my way into your heart and soul! *laughs*

Uchikoshi: When you get home, fill your bathtub with hot water, sink in, and then chug three gallons of tequila. If you do, your neocortex will go numb and you’ll be more willing to accept idols like A-set. If your pupils dilate, so will your heart. Please give it a try.