Hey there! I’m Oli, and I’m the game director over at Kaizen Game Works—the minds behind Paradise Killer. I’m really excited to share some awesome news with you: the demo for our brand-new open-world mascot management crime drama, Promise Mascot Agency, is available today on PS5!
We’ve poured so much love and effort into this game, and we’re all eager for PlayStation fans to finally experience it. Let’s be honest, the PS5 is pretty amazing. At Kaizen, we’re all big PlayStation fans; it’s what we grew up with, playing on systems like the original PlayStation, PS2, PS3, and PS4. Personally, I collect games from the PlayStation and PS2 era, and that has heavily influenced the design of Promise Mascot Agency.
I’m a huge fan of PS2 titles that let you Hangout And Do Stuff. Have you ever given games like Way of the Samurai, Raw Danger, Boku No Natsuyasumi, or Steambot Chronicles a try? If not, you really should! These games offer such a chill vibe where you can hang out, meet quirky characters, make interesting choices, and explore to your heart’s content. That’s the atmosphere we were aiming for—a world full of mysteries, eccentric personalities, secrets, engaging gameplay, and perfect vibes.
In the game, you take on the role of Michi, an exiled yakuza lieutenant, paired up with the chaotic goblin, Pinky, to revitalize a struggling mascot agency and dig into the underworld conspiracy that landed Michi in a cursed coastal town in Japan. Here, mascots are actual living beings, and Kaso-Machi is a haven for the outsiders who couldn’t fit in anywhere else. Michi’s mission is to gather a new family of mascots and guide them to fulfill their dreams, ultimately saving both the business and his yakuza clan back home.
Kaso-Machi is under the shadow of a supernatural curse, with its central mountain serving as a playground for spirits and deities. The town brims with mysticism and supernatural tales. Michi will get the chance to unravel the mystery behind ghost sightings, escaped sin talismans, and the elusive Tsuchinoko creature. But time might not be on his side; the curse claims the life of any yakuza who sets foot in town. Can Michi beat the odds, solve the conspiracy, and save the mascot agency before the curse takes its toll?
Four years ago, we kicked off this project, teaming up with Ikumi Nakamura and Mai Mattori to bring our characters and world to life. We combined the signature Kaizen style with Nakamura-san’s vision to create a bizarre and nostalgic game experience. Though we’re a Western company, we collaborate closely with Japanese artists, musicians, and creatives to give our world authenticity. We often give them free rein to develop something genuinely authentic and meaningful, infusing the game with a plethora of influences and real experiences.
We recently had the pleasure of announcing our incredible voice actors, including Takaya Kuroda, the voice behind Kiryu Kazuma, who lends his voice to Michi. Getting voice acting at all was a pleasant surprise, but having Kuroda-san just casually join the audition process was beyond our expectations! Ayano Shibuya voices Pinky, creating a dynamic buddy-cop relationship with Michi. The game boasts many talented voice actors, marking the first voice acting roles for Shuhei Yoshida and SWERY, too.
Our team is not huge, but we put everything we had into crafting this expansive, whimsical, and generous 20-hour open-world RPG. We’re thrilled to finally share it with you. We hope you have a blast with the demo on PS5, and be sure to take advantage of the DualSense’s haptic feedback, adaptive triggers, and speaker features. Stay tuned for more updates on the full release date. Now, go out there, keep your promises, and make dreams come true!
Download the demo from the PlayStation Store today!
