Daba: Land of Water Scar will launch for PlayStation 5 in spring 2027, Sony Interactive Entertainment has confirmed. The release window was announced during the September 3 State of Play alongside a new trailer showing more of developer Dark Star Games’ Souls-like action RPG. The project is part of PlayStation’s China Hero Project, with Sony Interactive Entertainment backing its PS5 release.
Players take control of a humanoid clay figure exploring a world approaching collapse after its waters have largely disappeared. The protagonist travels through ruined settlements and ancient environments while searching for fragments connected to the world’s remaining water and uncovering the truth behind both the disaster and their own existence. Sony’s latest description frames the journey around a clayman crossing a dying land where water has become one of its most important remaining resources.
Daba was originally announced in 2023 as part of the third phase of the China Hero Project, Sony Interactive Entertainment Shanghai’s initiative supporting game development teams in China. Dark Star Games is also known for SINNER: Sacrifice for Redemption, and its new project continues the studio’s focus on demanding action combat. The spring 2027 window is the clearest launch timing Sony has provided since the game was first introduced.
The world is designed around interconnected environments rather than a single visual theme. Earlier official material has shown abandoned ruins, ancient cities, prisons, rift valleys, snow-covered landscapes, dangerous forests and more fantastical areas. Dark Star has described the levels as non-linear and interconnected, giving players room to explore while progressing through the larger story.
Combat follows a Souls-like structure but places particular emphasis on counterattacks and weapon management. Gameplay demonstrated publicly during ChinaJoy 2026 allowed players to equip both a primary and secondary weapon and switch their approach depending on the enemy. Timing defensive responses and learning attack patterns are especially important during boss encounters, rather than relying solely on repeated dodges and basic attacks.
That approach is intended to give Daba its own identity within an increasingly crowded Souls-like genre. Enemies range from smaller opponents encountered throughout exploration to larger, more elaborate bosses requiring players to recognize attack sequences before finding opportunities to strike back. The newest trailer continues to emphasize close-range combat alongside the game’s bleak fantasy environments.
The protagonist’s identity remains one of the central mysteries. Dark Star has previously said the clay puppet will gradually uncover information about the ruined world and itself while following the trail of the missing water fragments. The September trailer keeps much of that narrative unexplained, focusing instead on the scale of the environments, enemies and the increasingly unstable state of the world.
Daba is also one of several Chinese-developed projects that Sony has supported through the China Hero Project. The initiative has previously helped bring games such as Lost Soul Aside and other independently developed Chinese titles to PlayStation audiences. Sony’s continued involvement gives Dark Star additional publishing and platform support as the project moves toward release.
The new spring 2027 window places Daba among an increasingly busy slate of PS5 games planned for next year. Several major releases have already moved into 2027, including titles with both broad windows and specific launch dates, as publishers begin establishing the first half of the year. Sony has not announced an exact month or day for Daba beyond the spring timeframe.
For now, PlayStation 5 remains the only officially confirmed platform. Neither Dark Star nor Sony has announced Xbox, Nintendo Switch 2 or PC versions, and the latest State of Play presentation continued to position the game specifically as a PS5 release.
Daba: Land of Water Scar launches on PS5 in spring 2027. With a firmer release window and another extended look at its clayman protagonist, interconnected environments and counter-focused combat, Dark Star’s China Hero Project RPG is now moving closer to its long-awaited release.
