www.eurogamer.net
I knew going in to Promise Mascot Agency's Steam Next Fest demo that there was a high probability it would be absolutely my bag. Made by the same developers behind the excellent Paradise Killer, this is a game about a disgraced yakuza (voiced by none other than the same actor behind Yakuza/Like A Dragon's very own Kazuma Kiryu) who gets banished to a run-down, forgotten town out in the countryside during Japan's Showa Era, and is tasked with reviving the local mascot agency business to help win fans, promote local landmarks and lift a terrible curse that's been placed on this soft but stern former gangster. Check, check, check and check.Promise Mascot AgencyDeveloper: Kaizen Game WorksPublisher: Kaizen Game WorksRelease: 2025Download the demo on: Steam, Epic Games Store, PS5, Xbox Series X/SBut what I didn't anticipate over the next 80 minutes of this timed demo experience was just how unbelievably my bag it was going to be, and there's a very strong part of me that wants to stop writing right now and go boot up the demo again to see what else I can get up to in the same time frame. It skips over most of the introductory story building up to yakuza Michi arriving at the agency (though helpfully there's a short recap to fill you in on the important details) and plonks you straight into the action of setting up your burgeoning business, showing you the ropes of its laidback management simulation.Your first job, for example is to pop on over to the (very corrupt) mayor's office to beg for your business licence back, as your new partner in crime Pinky - a bloodied, severed finger mascot with adorable eyes and a viciously filthy mouth - was partially responsible for running things into the ground before you got here. But after some humorous greasing of palms, a deal is reached and you're off, thrust out into the world to recruit new mascots as you see fit, take on new jobs, drum up new clients, take on small sidequests and collect special hero cards among other activities to help grow your business little by little.Watch on YouTubeYou get around this slightly stale, garbage bag-ridden place via Michi's beaten-up old truck - a delightfully arcade-y feeling vehicle that has a roaring jet boost, a mean swerve and a brilliant little hop to bounce over bollards, leap up ledges and generally get you and whatever mascot(s) you have in the bed of your truck out of a jam. Perhaps unsurprisingly, Pinky was my sole truck companion during the demo, but trailers have shown you can have other mascots along for the ride as well, and I very much enjoyed the way Pinky would nonchalantly hum and chat to me while I was tootling about (or scream when I crashed into obstacles). You can drive right up to your destination as well, without needing to disembark and get out on foot to talk to other characters. It's all very slick-feeling - a huge improvement on Paradise Killer's sometimes fiddly walking - with conversation cutscenes kicking in immediately and bringing you right into the matter at hand with just a tap of a button. It keeps the wheels moving, so to speak, and as soon as you're done, you can speed away to whatever catches your eye next. The way you get about in Promise Mascot Agency feels much slicker than Paradise Killer. | Image credit: Eurogamer/Kaizen Game WorksI was able to track down three other mascots during the demo - the constantly crying tofu block To-Fu, the green burial mound Kofun and the adult video-loving yam cat Trororo (whose sticky, gloop-covered fur is, hmm, yes, definitely yam and not at all meant to look like anything else). You'll need to do some light bargaining with them and set favourable employment terms with them before they'll agree to join your agency, but once they're on side, you can send them out on various jobs, which take place off-screen while you continue gambolling about in your truck seeking out further business ops.Well, I say they happen off-screen. Successful jobs certainly will, but every gig I booked for my little trio went wrong in some way. When mascots get into trouble like this, you can opt to help them out to try and salvage what you can from their appearance fee (and the mascot's overall self-esteem among other things). When you swoop in to rescue them, the game cuts to a livestream feed of the event in question and what's gone wrong - To-Fu getting stuck in a doorway, for example, or Kofun causing a vending machine to suddenly spit out cans left right and centre. Poor To-Fu also came under fire from trolls at one point, causing him to get into a fight with them. Not exactly model mascot behaviour now, is it? You'll need to provide favourable employment terms for each mascot before they'll agree to join your agency. | Image credit: Eurogamer/Kaizen Game WorksCue little boss battles of sorts with whatever terrible thing is giving your mascot grief. The mascot themselves will be able to do a little automatic damage to them based on their stats, but to successfully save them you'll need to deploy appropriate, collectible Hero cards to deal damage to the boss's health bar. These come in the form of other mascots, or other human characters you can talk to around town - and you may need to perform little quests for them before they'll agree to become a Hero card too. Thing is, you only have two action points to take it down, and it you fail to defeat it in one fell swoop, the job will end up failure. A little stingy, perhaps, but it's clear that certain cards will be able to grant you more action points, and more heroes to use later on in the game, so I hope there's a bit of scope for gaming turns Midnight Suns-style to try and stretch your turn as far as possible. Image credit: Eurogamer/Kaizen Game Works Oh, To-Fu... | Image credit: Eurogamer/Kaizen Game WorksThe demo wasn't really long enough to get a grip on the day-to-day financials of running the agency, alas - I got one text about having to pay bills and my roster of mascots from my mate Shiori, but that was minutes before the demo was due to end. Still, with buckets of collectible cash floating all around the map, I certainly didn't feel short on funds at any particular point. Elsewhere, though, Promise Mascot Agency is chock full of all the strange nonsense you'd expect from the studio behind Paradise Killer, shot through with little love letter moments to Japan and its rural period setting. Imposing Japanese castles sit on vast spits of land out on the horizon, tiny micro vans potter about on its roads as ghostly shapes of humans and mascots fade in and out of view, and its run-down apartment blocks and shopping malls each have their own smattering of grungy air conditioning units clinging to the walls like tiny metal barnacles. Clearly the best Hero card of all, calling it now. | Image credit: Eurogamer/Kaizen Game WorksIt really does look the part, especially if you elect to enable the vintage camera filter at the start of the demo that washes down the game's colour palette a touch. It gives the town a faded, almost cigarette-stained look and feel to it, like you're viewing it all through an old CRT TV, but without the fuzz and static. It's a nice touch that really enhances the state of neglect the town finds itself in, but you can always turn it off in the settings menu if you prefer a cleaner, more vibrant look.I really did have a great time pootling about this forgotten little town in Michi's crusty old truck, and catching sight of little ramps with tantalisingly-placed collectibles near them only filled my heart even further. My favourite little detail in the demo, though, was running into the mechanic down by the rice fields. Spirit foxes had stolen all his invention documents when I arrived, and if I caught them I'd be able to trick out Michi's truck with extra upgrades - and if the first one is anything to go by, which lets you fire Pinky like a rocket launcher at all manner of easily locked-on targets around town, I can't wait to see what else this game has in store later on. When you return to your agency, you can manage your mascots and change Pinky's nail design. You can also hang out with each mascot individually for little conversation scenes (or scenes in complete silence, as was the case in this bath moment with Michi and To-Fu). | Image credit: Eurogamer/Kaizen Game WorksI just wish I could see that 'later on' right now, as 80 minutes felt painfully short to get a taste of everything Promise Mascot Agency has to offer. I want to see what other diameter-challenged obstacles To-Fu will need to overcome to reach mascot fan stardom, I want to find out who the cat with the conductor's hat belongs to, clean up the town's shrines and excessive garbage sacks, exorcise trails of ghostly 'sins', find new nail designs for Pinky, and blast down all the copious posters for the seedy mayor I had to bribe to get my business back. Most of all, though, I want to see what other weird and wonderful creatures I can convince to join my ranks of sad funeral pyres, sweary severed fingers and downtrodden salary men. I'm so extremely here for everything this game is shaping up to be, and its full release can't come soon enough.
