Hello! I’m Oli, the game director over at Kaizen Game Works, the team behind the creation of Paradise Killer. Today, I am beyond excited to let you know that the playable demo for our new open-world mascot management crime drama, Promise Mascot Agency, has just launched on the PS5!
We’ve poured a lot of time and dedication into this game, and our entire squad is buzzing with anticipation for PlayStation enthusiasts to dive into it. Let’s be frank; the PS5 is an amazing platform. At Kaizen, a majority of us are loyal PlayStation gamers, having grown up with consoles like the original PlayStation, PS2, PS3, and PS4. Personally, I have a collection of PlayStation and PS2 titles, and those classic eras have significantly inspired the design of Promise Mascot Agency.
I’ve always been a fan of those old PS2 games where you can just Hangout and Do Stuff. If you haven’t experienced games like Way of the Samurai, Raw Danger, Boku No Natsuyasumi, and Steambot Chronicles, you’re missing out! They’re so relaxing, letting you engage with quirky characters, make impactful choices, and explore freely. That’s the spirit we wanted to capture—crafting a vibrant world filled with mysteries, eccentric personalities, hidden secrets, engaging gameplay, and effortlessly cool vibes.
In this adventure, you’ll step into the shoes of Michi, a former yakuza lieutenant thrust into an unlikely partnership with Pinky, a mischievous chaos goblin. Together, you’ll attempt to salvage a struggling mascot agency while unraveling a sinister underworld conspiracy that led Michi to this peculiar, cursed coastal town, Kaso-Machi, in Japan. Here, mascots are not just symbols; they are living entities, and the town is teeming with outcasts who can’t seem to find a place anywhere else. It’s up to Michi to rally these mascots, helping them achieve their ambitions and, in turn, safeguarding both the agency and his yakuza clan back home.
Kaso-Machi is steeped in supernatural elements, its central mountain teeming with spirits and deities. Overflowing with superstitions and bizarre folklore, it’s a place of enigmatic ghost sightings, wayward sin talismans, and the elusive Tsuchinoko creature. Michi’s mission is fraught with challenges, made even more perilous by an ominous curse that spells doom for any yakuza lingering too long in town. Will Michi decipher the conspiracy and rescue the mascot agency before the curse claims him?
Four years ago, we embarked on this project, teaming up with talents like Ikumi Nakamura and Mai Mattori to breathe life into our characters and settings. We’ve fused our artistic direction with Nakamura-san’s distinct style to forge a game that feels both nostalgically familiar and strikingly unique. Collaborating with Japanese artists, musicians, and creatives has injected the game with an authentic flair, allowing our team’s diverse perspectives and personal experiences to shine through.
We recently revealed some fantastic character voices, with none other than Takaya Kuroda, the voice of Kiryu Kazuma, portraying Michi. It was a delightful shock to have Kuroda-san simply appear for an audition with such casualness! Joining him, Ayano Shibuya brings Pinky to life, creating a dynamic duo that carries a captivating buddy-cop energy. The game features an array of talented voice actors, including the debut roles for Shuhei Yoshida and SWERY.
As a nimble team, we’ve poured our hearts into creating this expansive, quirky, and generous 20-hour open-world RPG. We’re thrilled to finally share it with you. Dive into the demo, and don’t forget to enjoy those fantastic DualSense haptics, adaptive triggers, and speaker features exclusive to the PS5. We’ll reveal more about the full game release soon. Now, go out there, keep promises, and help mascots achieve their dreams!
You can grab the demo on the PlayStation Store right now!
