The Star Ocean series has been around for over 25 years, with Star Ocean: The Divine Force being the latest announced title. The series has built up a reputation among JRPG fans. Particularly, Star Ocean’s real-time combat seems to feature plenty of overlap with fans of the Tales series. With a new cross-gen installment on the way, when can you get your hands on Star Ocean: The Divine Force?
Related: Star Ocean: The Divine Force announced for 2022
Star Ocean: The Divine Force release date
Star Ocean: The Divine Force launches on October 27 on PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S. This marks the return of the franchise on consoles for the first time since 2016’s Star Ocean: Integrity and Faithlessness. The latest entry is also the franchise’s first simultaneous multiplatform release. Star Ocean hasn’t appeared on Xbox since 2009’s Star Ocean: The Last Hope, which later got remastered for PS4 and PC.
Star Ocean: The Divine Force story and gameplay systems
Star Ocean: The Divine Force features a storyline that hinges upon the franchise’s signature Double Hero system, starring Raymond and Laeticia. Within this sci-fi universe, Raymond is the captain of a space trading ship that hails from Verguld, an advanced civilization. Meanwhile, Laeticia is the princess of an underdeveloped nation on the planet of Aster IV. The story begins after Laeticia protects Raymond from an attack after crash-landing outside of his homeworld.
This Double Hero system offers different narrative perspectives depending on which character you choose to play as. This choice of protagonist also influences which characters end up in your active party.
Star Ocean: The Divine Force also increases its environmental scope through a new traversal system. Outside of battles, you’re able to freely fly around in 360 degrees, with seemingly few restrictions. This additional freedom means that the environments have been designed to be much larger than any past installment, encouraging exploration.
