PlatinumGames’ Sol Cresta is out this year, with Story mode DLC on the way

PlatinumGames has announced that its retro inspired shoot ’em up Sol Cresta will be released this year.

The vertical scrolling shooter is due for release as a download-only title on December 9 for Switch, PS4 and Steam.

The game will be priced at $39.99 / €39.99 and will be self-published by PlatinumGames.

As well as the main game, Platinum has announced that DLC will be available on release day, including a new Story mode.

The “Dramatic DLC” will have voice acting and a new story written by Hideki Kamiya, the game’s creative director. The price for the DLC has yet to be confirmed.

Sol Cresta is the sequel to 1980 arcade game Moon Cresta and its 1985 successor Terra Cresta.

It was originally ‘announced’ last year on April Fool’s Day 2020, leading many to believe it was a joke announcement rather than an actual game.

However, PlatinumGames then confirmed a year later that the game was indeed a real product, and is the first part in a planned series.

“This game will also be the first title in PlatinumGames’ new brand, the Neo-Classic Arcade series,” Platinum confirmed in April. “Stay tuned for more games in the series, in which the essential fun and spirit of classic games will be polished with modern technology and skill.”

Sol Cresta was the fourth and seemingly final announcement on the studio’s Platinum Four website, which promised four big announcements, but was widely believed to be an April Fool’s joke, especially when a fifth ‘Bonus Stage’ announcement was added after it was published.

The site has since been changed to confirm that Sol Cresta was the ‘bonus’ announcement, with the other four being the crowdfunding campaign for The Wonderful 101: Remastered, the announcement of Project G.G., a new Tokyo-based PlatinumGames studio and its Apple Arcade title World of Demons.