Bleach Is Finally Getting A New Action Game After More Than A Decade

After more than a decade, Bleach is finally getting a new game for console. Just in time for the start of the second part of the Thousand-Year Blood War anime series that has begun airing, Bleach: Soul Resonance is an action-RPG that features a "low-latency combat experience with weapons and swords," according to publisher Nuverse. So far, no release date or platforms for the game have been officially announced.

The brief gameplay trailer that was uploaded--and is currently unavailable--showed off several scenes from early arcs of the manga and anime, including protagonist Ichigo Kurosaki's iconic battles with Soul Society captains Kenpachi Zaraki and Byakuya Kuchiki. Interestingly, Nuverse says that players can wield unique Zanpakutos such as Sodenoshirayuki, Senbonzakura, and Kyokasuigetsu in addition to Ichigo's signature Zangetsu. Usually, these swords are tied to a single character, but the game description mentions that each one of these weapons will function like their source material counterparts in battle.

"The unique gameplay design revolves around the synergies and bonds between characters, enhancing battles' strategic experience in many different ways. Fight side by side with familiar faces on a battlefield full of blades," Nuverse's synopsis for the game reads.

Compared to the other big-name Shonen anime of its era, One Piece and Naruto, Bleach has had a much smaller presence when it comes to video games. Several games were released for Nintendo and PlayStation platforms over the years, and in the US, the last game released was 2011's Bleach: Soul Resurreccion for the PlayStation 3.

Since then, Bleach has been represented in Jump Force with several characters from the series joining that 3D fighting game's roster. It has also seen several Japan-exclusive mobile games, and in 2020, Bleach: Immortal Soul was released for iOS and Android.