Girls' Frontline 2: Exilium

Girls' Frontline 2: Exilium
Developer(s)	MICA Team
Publisher(s)	WW: Sunborn
Engine	Unity
Release	WW: 3 December 2024
Genre(s)	Strategy role-playing game
Mode(s)	Single-player

Girls' Frontline 2: Exilium is a turn-based strategy game developed by MICA Team in China. It is the sequel to Girls' Frontline, and is themed on the simulation of firearms from the late 19th century to modern times. It will be released globally on 3 December, 2024.

Gameplay

The core gameplay of this game is X-COM-like turn-based strategy. The game has four character roles, namely the Pointman, Support, Defense, and Firepower, and each character is equipped with a normal attack, three active skills, and one passive skill. Players can enhance their combat chances by understanding their character's attributes and combining them with relevant skills. The game also introduces the "Dyeing" and "Stabilization" mechanisms. Under the "Dyeing" mechanism, characters have normal skills that have a short cooling time and powerful skills that require "Dyeing" values to be consumed. Different characters have different "Dyeing" recovery rules, which require players to arrange their character's actions reasonably according to the battlefield environment, in order to maximize the character's combat power. The "Stability" rule is closely related to the bunker system, which affects the attack and defense strategies in the battle. Players need to utilize the bunkers to protect their own units and at the same time try to eliminate the advantage of enemy bunkers. The game offers a variety of ways to weaken the effectiveness of the bunker, including lowering the enemy's "stability" value, flanking attacks, melee damage, and attribute restraints. These methods require players to utilize tactics flexibly and combine the two mechanisms of "dyeing" and "stabilization" to achieve an effective balance of strategy and development gameplay. The game offers a wide range of weapons, including pistols, machine guns, rifles, submachine guns, and sabers, etc. Each weapon has its own unique performance and usage. The game also introduces customized weapon assembly gameplay, which allows players to assemble weapons with various weapon parts and change the appearance of weapons according to their preferences and battle needs.

Synopsis

Continuing the story line of Girls' Frontline, Girls Frontline 2: Exilium depicts the irreconcilable clash of philosophies between the Commander and Griffin. In order to stop being subjected to Griffin, the Commander decides to let go of her past and opts for self-exile, entering a contaminated area and starting a ten-year career as a bounty hunter. During these wandering years, more and more people and tactical humanoids join the team, bringing with them various stories and becoming an integral part of the squad. Originally, the Commander only hoped to earn a steady paycheck by completing bounty missions, but during a seemingly ordinary transportation mission, he was accidentally attacked and found himself caught up in a larger conspiracy. As the game progresses, many forces appear, and the hidden conspiracy under the new order is gradually revealed.

Development

In May 2020, MICA Team hosted a live broadcast of the fourth anniversary of the release of Girls' Frontline, producer Huang Chong announced four game production plans based on the worldview of Girls' Frontline, including the sequel to Girls' Frontline, Girls' Frontline 2: Exilium, which was officially disclosed to be a wargame with elements of character growth and exploration.

As the sequel to Girls' Frontline, the core gameplay of Girls Frontline 2: Exilium is based on wargames, highlighting the strategic nature of the gameplay itself. This game adds traditional shooting elements, requiring players to use different terrains and materials in the battlefield, such as bunkers and high points, to reduce the damage received, increase the evasion rate and hit rate, and improve the victory rate; some levels can also be occupied to destroy the enemy's birthplace and inhibit the enemy's reinforcements. In order to match the bunker terrain, this game no longer uses the horizontal fixed perspective of the previous game, but adopts a more free third-person top-down perspective and first-person over-the-shoulder perspective, which is convenient for the player to observe the terrain and the enemy's orientation, and enhance the strategy. In order to reduce the rate of content consumption, the production team also provides randomized and light strategic development gameplay. In the beta version of the game, the new "Restart Station" function allows players to revive fallen figures during the completion of a mission, increasing the continuity of the experience.

In terms of the game scene design, the production team for the first time adopted the art rendering method of physical-based rendering (PBR) combined with the characteristics of non-realistic rendering (NPR), so that the game screen, while retaining the characteristics of the secondary yuan, is integrated with detailed and realistic physical effects and changes in light and shadow, enhancing the sense of immersion. The production team also differentiated the battle map, including the indoor and outdoor battle scenes, as well as the day and night changes of the four seasons, etc. Together, these elements create a battlefield atmosphere with a sense of realism and post-apocalyptic wasteland style.

In terms of art design, the production team designed two functions, "Preparation Room" and "Lounge", to fully display the character's personality traits, and trigger emotional resonance in the player through intimate interactions between the humanoid and the player. For example, the character "Shakri" displays a girlish and mischievous demeanor in the character selection screen, and confidently flips her skirt when interacting with the character, which the production team used to showcase the character's charm through these animations. In an interview, the production team said, "We hope that the player will not just feel a cold 3D model, but a real wife to whom you can say 'thank you for your company' when you have to say goodbye to the past someday in the future.

In terms of the game's script, the production team has designed a "Trail Tracing System" and a "Persona Log Function" to make it easier for players to review the plot. The former is a collection element that complements the worldview and setting, while the latter is a character voice that can be unlocked after increasing favorability.

Release

Since the announcement of Girls Frontline 2: Exilium's development plan in May 2020, the game has been available on TapTap and pre-orders have been launched. In March 2023, Girls Frontline 2: Aftermath received version number approval from the State Press and Publication Administration of the People's Republic of China. Girls Frontline 2: Exilium underwent a "maiden voyage test" on June 29, 2021, a "reentry test" on October 18, a "fire test" on July 20, 2023, and a "gravitational test" on September 28, 2023. Girls Frontline 2: Exilium was released in China on December 21, 2023. It will be released globally on 3 December, 2024.

MICA Team also prepared the game outside the linkage and secondary creation activities. Girls Frontline 2: Exilium in cooperation with bilibili, Weibo launched the secondary creation of painting, homoerotic novels, emoticons and other creative activities. Girls Frontline 2: Exilium and Tencent QQ launched emoticons, chat bubbles, personal business cards and other activities; on the day of the launch of the game, there are more than 100 game live masters to participate in the secondary creation, strategy collection, draw card sharing, etc.