As COVID-19 complications persist despite things finally looking up, it’s likely we’ve only seen a fraction of delays for AAA games. In contrast, the indie scene has had an easier time adapting to the circumstances. Regardless of any delays, there are so many indie games to look forward to seeing this year. One of them may be TASOMACHI: Behind the Twilight, which has just gotten a release window for the second quarter of 2021.
TASOMACHI is a 3D exploration platformer set in a mysterious Far-Eastern world. One day, a young girl named Yukumo’s airship breaks down mid-fight while she’s running errands. It crashes in a silent town known as To-en that is inexplicably covered in a golden fog, with the adorable cats of the Nezu Tribe as its only inhabitants. (You can see them at 0:31 in the story trailer below — they make my heart sing.)
Fulfill their many requests to obtain valuable collectibles and resources that will help Yukumo repair her airship. Along the way, you’ll make upgrades and unlock stylish new outfits. Once you get to upgrade your airship, you’ll be able to traverse the wider world filled with dungeons, landscapes, and icons inspired by diverse cultures and geographies. Your work will allow you to collect the sources of Earth to restore light to this long-abandoned town.
TASOMACHI is positioned as an homage to late-90’s platformers and East Asian culture. “I’ve contributed to so many great games, but I always found something compelling about the Nintendo 64 era of platformers,” said nocras, the sole developer of TASOMACHI, in a press release. “I wanted to make something that felt like what those games felt like while artistically exploring Far Eastern themes that always intrigued me.”
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Among the many indie games on the way in 2021, TASOMACHI stands out due to the notable names attached to it.
The game is being published by PLAYISM, an indie publisher specializing in bringing popular indies from Japan to the west (and sometimes vice-versa, as it was in charge of the Japanese localization and port of Night in the Woods.) PLAYISM recently published Gnosia, a loop-driven mystery game that has garnered a cult following since its original release back in 2019. It’s meant to be a highly-replayable social deduction story that allows you to play through multiple routes, each with different culprits and scenarios surrounding them. In his review, news writer Kenneth Shepard says Gnosia is a conflicting but nonetheless interesting game full of chilling twists in its fairly compelling narrative.
Additionally, the soundtrack of TASOMACHI is composed by Ujico*, otherwise known as Keitaro Ujiie. Ujico*/Snail’s House, as per his YouTube channel name, is a Japanese musician with over a million YouTube subscribers.
TASOMACHI’s sole developer, nocras, is an artist who has contributed to multiple Japanese AAA titles. He did 3D design work at Square Enix for Final Fantasy XIV and Final Fantasy XIII-2; freelance 2D art for The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and Xenoblade Chronicles 2; and field map design for Pokemon Sword and Pokemon Shield. TASOMACHI is his debut indie game.
TASOMACHI: Behind the Twilight is coming to PC on Steam in Q2 2021.
