SONOKUNI
J-hip-hop goes west, but it’s a Tokyo jungle out there
Developer
Don Yasa Crew
Publisher
Kakehashi Games
Format
PC
Origin
Japan
Release
Q3
Kakehashi Games might be the biggest indie publisher you’ve never heard of. For the past decade it has provided localisation services, marketing and publishing support to western developers seeking to bring their games to Japanese audiences. In recent years it’s worked on Neon White, Hindsight, Storyteller and Cocoon for Annapurna Interactive alone, and it has a strong partnership with Devolver Digital, having delivered games such as The Cosmic Wheel Sisterhood, Gunbrella and The Talos Principle 2 to more adventurous players in its homeland.
Now Kakehashi is seeking to take Japanese indies in the other direction, and it’s not unfair to say that one of its first projects owes more than a small debt to one Devolver favourite.