TGS 2024 | "HARUKA: Beyond the Stars"
Four years ago, Atelier Mimina gave us Giraffe & Annika, the most charming adventure of that year. Not only did it feel like a Ghibli movie in game form, but it was a nice peaceful escape from the craziness of the real world at the time. Now Atelier Mimina has reemerged to deliver its follow-up, in the form of HARUKA: Beyond the Stars. If the demo was anything to go by, it seems we’ll be back in a world of comfort!
This time, an entire galaxy will be explorable in HARUKA: Beyond the Stars. But before we can hit the cosmos, we surprisingly got Spica Village to return to. There we meet Yuuki, whose father left for outer space to find the reason behind humanity’s demise. One night she is awoken by her alien friend Mukumuku, as a ship has crash-landed nearby.
From there, the adventure begins, as Yuuki heads for the ship. However, there are enemies scatted throughout the path, but unlike Annika, Yuuki can put up a fight! Using light and strong attacks, Yuuki can defeat the robotic menaces head-on, collecting coins and scrap from them after each battle. Mukumuku can also offer some aid, in the form of health rejuvenation.
Once I reached the ship, I was treated to a beautiful sight of a cat girl dancing on a lake. Morning arrives, and upon entering the ship, we were greeted by the space girl Miiya and her robot butler Ronaldo. Miiya is in need of some special fruit to feel better, with Yuuki happy to offer her assistance. However, upon arriving at the fruit’s location, I was greeted by the sight of a massive robot turtle. And no, he wasn’t the friendliest of android reptiles.
Unfortunately, my time with HARUKA: Beyond the Stars ended halfway through that boss battle. It did give me an idea of what these bigger fights will deliver, which were the polar opposite of what I experienced with Giraffe and Annika. Not only do you have to time some of your strikes, but even evading enemy attacks will require you to react at a precise moment. It’s a cool change of pace for Atelier Minima, while at the same time offering their trademark style of charm throughout the quiet and exciting parts of the game.
Although we have quite a bit of waiting time for it to arrive (2026 on PC, no word on console release), HARUKA: Beyond the Stars looks to be worth being patient for. The characters are cute, the worlds are colorful, and the vibes are simply warm and fuzzy. I look forward to having HARUKA: Beyond the Stars tuck me into bed and give me many head pats, as Atelier Minima aims to deliver yet another cozy adventure.
