From humble origins as a suspected April Fools’ joke, PlatinumGames’ upcoming arcade-style shooter Sol Cresta is proving itself very real, with a release now set for next month.
Specifically, the game will launch on February 22, coming to Nintendo Switch, PS4, and PC. The release date was revealed in a lengthy Sol Cresta Release Date Forum livestream that took place on January 23 (as spotted by VGC). PlatinumGames is developing the game in collaboration with fellow Japanese studio Hamster Corporation.
Sol Cresta marks the unlikely third entry in a series that began way back in 1980 with the arcade title Moon Cresta. That game saw an arcade sequel in 1985 – Terra Cresta, with both games developed by now-defunct studio Nichibutsu – and further Japan-only sequels on the PC Engine and Sega Saturn, but has largely flown under the radar since.
Its relative obscurity is part of the reason that many suspected that the April 2020 announcement of the game was a joke. PlatinumGames was forced to re-announce it in April 2021 to confirm it was, in fact, a real game.
