If gritty, bloodsoaked tales of murder, death, and escape are right up your alley, then Danganronpa and Zero Escape should come as familiar names. Thrillingly intriguing alone and deadly exhilarating together, the duo has managed to keep players gripped through their respective novel and dialogue-focused elements.
It’s perhaps more than fitting, then, that the minds behind two of the generation’s greatest visual novels – Kazutaka Kodaka and Kotaro Uchikoshi (of Danganronpa and Zero Escape respectively) – have teamed up to form their own indie studio. Announced during a Famitsu livestream on Youtube yesterday (September 11, 2018), the collaboration will see the creation of Too Kyo Games, with four upcoming titles in the works, most of which are set to retain the signature dark themes of both franchises.
Leading the charge is an untitled project helmed by Kodaka and Uchikoshi themselves that’s of the utmost priority. Naturally, in-depth specifics have yet to be revealed, but fans can certainly look forward to a narrative centred on several teens being entrapped in a dangerous fantasy world shrouded by murderous spirits.
Keeping true to the die-or-escape tradition across the Danganronpa and Zero Escape instalments, the second of the four works seeks to feature a group of young kids playing a “death game” a la Battle Royale. Told through a deceptively cute art style, it’s certainly a deviation from the traditional style of both titles, though that may actually help to elevate the overall impact, especially with its already twisted premise.
The last game on the list is, quite interestingly, a tie-up between Too Kyo Games and the pair’s former employer Spike Chunsoft. Nothing about it is known, except for its cyberpunk-themed setting and the never-ending display of rain in-game…a sci-fi Heavy Rain, anyone?
Moving away from games also sees Kodaka additionally working on a script for an anime reportedly based on aesthetic 1990s-era action films, in which development falls upon the shoulders of Studio Pierrot (Tokyo Ghoul, Bleach, Naruto).
Si Jia is a casual geek at heart – or as casual as someone with Sephiroth’s theme on her Spotify playlist can get. A fan of movies, games, and Japanese culture, Si Jia’s greatest weakness is the Steam Summer Sale. Or any Steam sale, really.
Germaine Wong
