Aeterna Noctis weapons and abilities revealed just before launch

Upcoming indie title Aeterna Noctis is a hand-drawn Metroidvania game, which has shined with its action-centric gameplay in previous trailers. You play as the King of Darkness, and each of his weapons incorporates a different combat style and abilities. Just a few days ahead of the game’s launch, we’ve now seen this arsenal in action.

The PlayStation Blog has previously championed Aeterna Noctis, the debut game from Spain-based developer Aeternum Game Studios, and the latest post details how the King’s weapons work. The sword is “one of the most versatile weapons in the game,” and it serves as an all-purpose blade for most battles. The two-handed scythe causes a bloody mess when it kills an enemy — blood that can actually heal the King. The game’s heaviest weapon, the ax, is meant for clearing groups of enemies. You can charge it up for a crushing attack. The light spear can perform a plunging attack when you drop from above. The last melee weapon, the katana, can actually teleport you behind enemies as you slice out special combos — it can even slash projectiles out of the air.

Speaking of which, the King of Darkness has shurikens and arrows to attack from a distance. Shurikens cause bleeding, which can heal the King just like the scythe. Arrows are meant for both combat and puzzle-solving, as they can be used to hit targets and activate switches. What’s more, you can fire an arrow and teleport to the spot where it lands, which sounds clutch for tricky platforming segments.

All of this new info may be from a PlayStation Blog post, but Aeterna Noctis isn’t exclusive to the platfrom. It’s headed to PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, PC, and Nintendo Switch very soon: Wednesday, December 15.