Toei Games has announced its first three titles: KILLA, HINO, and DEBUG NEPHEMEE. The company added that it will start introducing the games individually over the following days. Curiously, Toei is not opening its new game publishing label with anime tie-ins or familiar franchises, and is starting with three original PC games instead.
Toei is a major Japanese entertainment corporation that was founded in 1948 as Japan Animated Films. The company recently founded Toei Games, a video game publishing division, to push its franchises. Toei’s top franchises are Dragon Ball, One Piece, and Kamen Rider.
Toei’s press release says that newly announced games are completely original works and do not use the company’s existing IP. Instead, Toei is opening with smaller projects from outside creators.
The headline game of the three is probably KILLA, a mystery adventure from the developer Black Tangerine. It follows Valhalla, who heads to a strange island after her mentor is murdered and leaves behind one clue: “Kill the La.” The island has nine suspects, each with “La” in their name, and the game uses a mechanic called Resonance to let players enter memories, gather clues, and work toward one of multiple endings.
HINO is developed by UnGloomStudio and is based on the work of illustrator Yatara. It is a 2D action-adventure set in a dark world filled with monsters and traps. The game follows Hino and the Monimoni Skeleton as they search for safety, with the story branching toward multiple endings depending on player choices.
The third game, DEBUG NEPHEMEE, comes from Nephemee Studio and looks like the strangest of the bunch in a good way. It is a 2D adventure game set in a world damaged by anomalies called Bugs, where players fight by learning how their opponents think.
This lineup of games from Toei Games is somewhat unexpected, as many people thought the major corporation would come out of the gates swinging with projects based on its highest-grossing franchises. But Dragon Ball and One Piece are possibly still tied publishing rights-wise, and it won’t hurt to test the waters with smaller titles first.
