NC, the Korean studio formerly known as NCSOFT and best known for MMORPGs like AION and Lineage, is continuing its push beyond the genre. The company has partnered with fellow Korean developer Dynamis One to publish Astrae Oratio, an anime RPG, and marked the partnership with the reveal of a first character preview trailer today.
The game is themed around magic and administration, but players do not take on the role of a magician. Instead, the game follows an ordinary civil servant, referred to as the Shunin, who manages the administration of the magical world and gets pulled into its incidents. It takes place in an alternate-history version of 1889 Tokyo, branded ‘Tokyo ’89’ in its teasers, where magic has accelerated the city’s development far beyond real history.
Since May, NC has been steadily revealing pieces of the game, including characters and world settings like the Special District Office and the Dominion, alongside its Magicians and Duel Trial artwork. So far that adds up to 12 characters and world settings, 13 comics, and four SD stamps, all viewable on the official teaser site alongside four-panel manga. NC has not announced platforms or a release date yet, but says more characters, worldbuilding, and video content are planned over the coming months.
