Viz Media has announced Garden Story, the third game they’ve made in collaboration with indie developer Rose City Games. This will be the final installment of their partnership, which started in 2018 with the announcement of their first joint title, The World Next Door, later released in March 2019. Their second game, Cat Lady, is set to release sometime later this year.
The new game, Garden Story, is a “single-player social simulator and adventure RPG” with cute pixel graphics. It follows the story of Concord, who has just been appointed village guardian and happens to be a grape. As seen in the reveal trailer, players will view the game from a top-down perspective as they explore Concord’s world. Assuming the role of Concord, players will be tasked with assisting their neighbors and investigating a “mysterious Rot” that has “seeped into the foundations of the once flourishing island.” Luckily, Concord will be joined by friends who will stick by his side through it all. Aside from exploring the world, players will also solve puzzles and fight enemies in what appears to be a real-time battle mode, judging by the trailer. Players can make use of different items to equip Concord on his journey, such as a wooden pick that seems to function like a sword and a dowsing rod to help him find items.
This collaboration has served as Viz Media’s first formal foray into the world of video games after previously working with manga adaptations of popular video game franchises, such as Pokémon and The Legend of Zelda. Garden Story will be the final game from Viz Media’s partnership with Rose City Games, but perhaps they’ll continue to partner with other developers in the future to continue creating new games.
Garden Story is scheduled to release on Steam in sometime in spring 2020. Eager and curious players can add the game to their Steam wishlists now so they’ll be notified as soon as the game releases.