Dawn of the Monsters New Details and Collaborations Revealed

Kaiju beat-'em-up launches in March, featuring Yuji Kaida, Shinji Nishikawa, and other all-star artists.

Valencia, Calif. - February 2, 2022 - The kaiju invasion is coming! Independent game studio WayForward, in conjunction with developer 13AM Games, is proud to unveil new details for the upcoming giant-monster beat-'em-up Dawn of the Monsters. Beyond its awe-inspiring playable behemoths, two-player local co-op action, and more than 35 missions, Dawn of the Monsters will also provide players with a gripping story and compelling characters when the game launches digitally on Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Stadia, and PC in March 2022.

The Dawn of the Monsters saga begins in 2036 when enormous creatures known as the Nephilim invade Earth, leaving calamity in their wake. To counter the threat, a global task force known as DAWN (Defense Alliance Worldwide Network) is established, but it isn't until three decades later that humanity can properly strike back. With four gargantuan guardians at its command — Megadon, the living volcano; Ganira, the colossal crustacean; Aegis Prime, a superhuman warrior; and Tempest Galahad, a massive mech — DAWN prepares to reclaim the planet. A new trailer highlighting the game's story can be seen at https://youtu.be/A576C0R-U5w.

For the developers at 13AM Games, Dawn of the Monsters is a passion project that stems from their love of all things kaiju. But in addition to the internal creative crew, an incredible team of collaborative artists is lending their talents to bring Dawn of the Monsters to life, both in-game and for promotional purposes. The list includes:

• Shinji Nishikawa - This world-renowned kaiju designer who worked on the Godzilla film series and SSSS.Gridman designed the flame Nephilim, Agnitor.
• Matt Frank - A comic book artist known for his work on IDW's Godzilla comics, Arrow Films' Gamera: The Complete Collection box set, and the Redman comic series, Matt Frank designed the Bakudon and Inazudon Nephilim. He also created a piece of key art and illustrations for the game's physical collector's edition.
• Yuji Kaida - One of the most well-known kaiju artists living today, Yuji Kaida has created illustrations for Neon Genesis Evangelion, Godzilla, Gamera, and Ultraman, as well as video games such as Monster Hunter and more. He created the painting that will adorn the game's physical collector's edition.
• Zander Cannon - An Eisner Award-winning comic book artist famous for his ongoing comic series Kaijumax from Oni Press, Zander Cannon created one of the game's promotional illustrations.
• EJ Su - Known for his work on Marvel’s Rise of Ultraman and IDW’s Godzilla Rivals and Transformers comic books, EJ Su produced numerous pieces of art for the game, including key art, character illustrations, and promotional comic illustrations.
• Kim Jacinto - With work seen in numerous Marvel comics, including Rise of Ultraman and Shang Chi, Kim Jacinto provided the game's alternative cover art.
• DJ Crumrine - This animator and storyboard artist at Titmouse who worked on Animaniacs and Critical Role is also a huge kaiju fan. He created one of the game's promotional illustrations.
• Zedd - An incredibly talented illustrator and animator known for his kaiju and Monster Hunter art, Zedd worked on the cutscenes for Dawn of the Monsters.
• Robo7 (Jon Belotti Jr.) - An artist who loves illustrating giant monsters, Robo7 has done work for G-Fan, Famous Monsters of Filmland, and Alien. He provided header card art for Seismic Toys' Megadon and Ganira figures.
• Caroline "Luka" Bromley - A concept artist and merchandise designer for the RWBY series who also loves kaiju and helped spearhead "Kaiju Monster March" on social media. She created chibi illustrations of the Dawn of the Monsters cast.
• Ninsai Kato - A kaiju artist from Japan, Ninsai Kato lent her talents with a promotional Megadon brush-ink illustration.
• Powerhouse Animation - Known for animated series such as Castlevania, Masters of the Universe: Revelation, and the upcoming Skull Island, Powerhouse Animation created the phenomenal opening animation for Dawn of the Monsters.

"It was personally important to me that Dawn of the Monsters not be viewed as a kaiju parody or a 'b-movie monster spoof' or anything like that," says 13AM Games CEO Alex Rushdy. "I really wanted to reflect the spirit and intent of the best craftsmen and storytellers in the kaiju and tokusatsu genre. To realize this we decided we needed to involve people who have worked on some of the most important and impactful kaiju media out there. It was a dream come true for me. I never thought I'd one day be working with Mr. Nishikawa and Mr. Kaida — two people responsible for some of the most striking images from my childhood!"

Supplementing the digital version of Dawn of the Monsters, physical editions by Limited Run Games will be offered for select platforms, allowing fans to obtain many of the aforementioned promotional images provided by the collaborating artists. For the latest Dawn of the Monsters news, as well as information on other titles, please visit www.wayforward.com and www.13amgames.com, and follow @WayForward and @13amgames on Twitter.

About WayForward
Based in Valencia, California, WayForward was founded in 1990 and has remained an independent game developer for more than 30 years. It is home to many talented individuals including programmers, environment artists, animators, modelers, illustrators, audio wizards, designers, and team leaders. With new avenues for distributing games directly to fans, they are finally able to make the games they have always wanted to.

About 13AM Games
13AM Games is an independent game studio based out of Toronto that crafts bold, stylish 2D games that challenge convention in order to surprise and delight. They started in 2014 and released their first game, Runbow, in 2015. Stay up to date by visiting www.13amgames.com and following them on Twitter and Discord.

Thanks to Avery Guerra,
NOTZILLA - Trailer Released For Hilarious Spoof!
This movie used old-school tokusatsu style FX(man-in-suit vs miniatures) to bring the monster action to life!:
Creepy Ex-Boyfriend Productions has joined forces with distributors Indie Rights for digital and Allied Vaughn for the physical media releases of the hilarious award-winning kaiju comedy spoof NOTZILLA for an August 18th. (8-18-20) day and date release!

SYNOPSIS:
When a scientist from Japan smuggles a monster’s egg into the United States, what could possibly go wrong when it actually hatches—and alcohol makes it grow taller than a skyscraper?
The race is on as the monster drinks beer and wreaks havoc, the Japanese scientist tries to shrink it, and a crazed weapons physicist tries to nuke the monster—and possibly take the entire city of Cincinnati with it!

Directed by Mitch Teemley
Produced by: Aymie Majerski, Mitch Teemley
Starring: Frederic Eng-Li; Tifani Ahren Davis; Tim Bensch; Samantha Russell; Michael Bath; Becca Kravitz; Spencer Lackey

Winner of 7 Top Awards at multiple Comedy Film Festivals!
FILM FESTIVAL AWARDS:

• WINNER: Best Feature Film — Florida Comedy Film Festival
• WINNER: Best Comedy Feature — Will Rogers Motion Picture Festival
• WINNER: Best in Show — Con Nooga Film Festival
• WINNER: Best Actress, Feature (Tifani Ahren Davis) — Florida Comedy Film Festival
• WINNER: Best Actress, Feature (Tifani Ahren Davis) — Simply Indie Film Fest
• WINNER: Best Humor — Top Indie Film Awards
• WINNER: Best Sound — Top Indie Film Awards

Website: https://www.notzilla.movie/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/NotzillaMovie
InstaGram: https://www.instagram.com/notzilla_movie/
IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt9035000

Two giant new Kaiju are setting their sights on North America via SRS Cinema – Reigo: Kind of the Sea Monsters; and Raiga: God of the Monsters. Both will be available on limited edition Bluray and VHS exclusively at SRS Cinema, with wide release DVD’s coming in Nov. and (tentatively) Feb via MVD/SRS.

Limited Editions for both titles will be rolled out for presales starting Thurs, 7/25/19 at 7pm EST. They will be limited to 200 Blurays (but see more on that below) and 50 VHS. The movies will go to replication/duplication around 8/25 with copies expected to ship around Mid-Sept. Each physical media format – Bluray, DVD and VHS – will have artwork exclusive to that format only.

On the Blurays, please note these are professionally run BD-R’s via Discmakers. We have done over 70 limited editions BD-R’s over the past 3 years and they play as good and are as durable as pressed Blurays (studies show they last as long too). Our Bluray releases have rave reviews and 1000s of enthusiastic and vocal fans. However, we know some fans prefer pressed media, so we are proposing this – if the titles can sell out – ie all 200 units – before we go to replication, we will run fully pressed Blurays (the limited editions will then expand to 1000 units on Bluray, and that will be the max limit on these, so still very rare!). So please, pre-order/reserve your copies early and spread the word to help us achieve these goals!

REIGO: KING OF THE SEA MONSTERS – The battleship Yamato, the largest and strongest of its time, is on patrol when a lookout spots a massive shape half-submerged in the distance. Believing it to be an enemy submarine, they fire and score a direct hit. But they are shocked when the object emits a strange cry as it sinks beneath the waves. 

Soon after, something much bigger arrives, the massive kaiju Reigo, seething with rage at the murder of its cub. The monster attacks the Combined Fleet with incredible ferocity and awesome destructive power. The naval forces are caught off guard, and Reigo is able to destroy the escort ships and damage the Yamato before returning to the ocean depths.

Now the stage is set for a final battle to unfold between the world’s largest battleship and the mysterious dragon-like monster – who will prevail?

RAIGA: GOD OF THE MONSTERS – Global warming leads to excessive melting of the southern polar ice cap, disrupting Earth’s ecosystem.  The receding ice brings long dormant ancient sea creatures back to life, monsters that set their sights on Japan. Among the kaiju is an enormous sea beast the locals refer to as the legendary Raiga. The monster attacks the city of Asakusa, bringing death and destruction as he tramples building and lays waste to the military. Can Raiga be stopped, or will all of Japan be destroyed by his fury?

Update: T-shirts have been added for these films on the SRS website, two types are available a video cover image on the front, and a all over print (front and back). The regular one comes in 4 colors (black, navy, white, and gray), 100% cotton, and come in sizes S to 3XL, the all over print comes in sizes XS to 2XL, and is polyester. The regular retails for $15, the all over for $36.50, use the same link above to order.

Plot synopsis:
“Primatologist Davis Okoye (Dwayne Johnson) shares an unshakable bond with George, the extraordinarily intelligent gorilla who has been in his care since birth. But a rogue genetic experiment gone awry transforms this gentle ape into a raging monster. As these newly created monsters tear across North America, destroying everything in their path, Okoye teams with a discredited genetic engineer to secure an antidote, fighting his way through an ever-changing battlefield, not only to halt a global catastrophe but to save the fearsome creature that was once his friend.”

From Robot 6
Directed by Mikkel Brænne Sandemose, the film centers on Sigurd Svendsen, an archaeologist obsessed with the Oseberg Viking ship and its enigmatic inscription “Man Knows Little” written in runes. Convinced the ship holds the answer to the mystery of Ragnarok, the end of days in Norse mythology, he and his colleague and two children mount an expedition to the deserted “No Man’s Land” between Norway and Russia to uncover the true meaning of the runes — and to discover a secret more terrifying than they could imagine. James Stokoe‘s poster for the Norwegian action adventure Ragnarok above, official trailer below. Playing in select U.S. theaters, Ragnarok is available now on iTunes and VOD.