ROUNDUP
PROMISE MASCOT AGENCY
Developer/publisher Kaizen Game Works Format PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, Xbox Series Origin UK Release 2025
Following Paradise Killer, one of the most striking debuts of recent years, is no easy task: for its second game, Kaizen Game Works is doubling down on its Japanese influences. In this esoteric combination of sandbox adventure, management sim and crime drama, you play a former yakuza lieutenant tasked with reviving the fortunes of a rundown mascot agency. The mascots in question are living beings, like outsized Pokémon; recruiting them involves deployment of cards to help them achieve their aims. Some are as mundane as squeezing through a narrow door, while others want to watch the world burn. More next issue.