Tokyo Stories is an upcoming adventure game developed by Drecom Co., Ltd and published by Happinet.
The game features a young girl as she searches for her best friend who has vanished without a trace. As she explores Tokyo, the city transforms into a maze, with new stories to discover around every corner, and secrets to uncover.
Currently a release date hasn't been announced, but during Tokyo Game Show 2026 I had the chance to speak with Director Yuki Ikeda to learn more about the title.
Here is what we found out!
 |
| (Photo provided by Happinet.) |
Hello! Thank you for taking the time to speak with me. My name is Sagi, and I am one of Netto’s Game Room’s co-founders. Would you mind telling our readers about yourselves?
Thank you for having me. My name is Yuki Ikeda, and I’m the director of Tokyo Stories. I’ve been involved in game development for around 20 years. In the past, I worked with Terashima, the art director of this project, on a game called rain.
I became interested in making games after spending my teenage years immersed in PlayStation 1 games. They inspired me to dream of creating games of my own one day, which ultimately led me to this career.
I have followed Tokyo Stories’ development for the past few months at this point, and have watched the trailers countless times; the graphical style immediately caught my attention, and the story looks interesting, but I can’t really tell what the gameplay is like. Would you mind talking a bit about how it will actually play?
The demos and trailers we’ve released so far have focused mainly on the opening sections of the game, so Tokyo Stories may have come across as something like a walking simulator. While the story is certainly an important part of the experience, the full release will offer more traditional gameplay elements, including puzzle-solving and exploration.
At its core, players will guide Suzu through the streets of Tokyo as she retraces her memories with Yuno. The in-game time is displayed whenever the scene changes, but there are no time limits, and players won’t miss anything by taking their time. Although there is no action or combat, we’ve designed different gameplay experiences for each scene to ensure that the game doesn’t become repetitive.
What was your biggest inspiration when making the game?
I think our biggest inspiration came from our own memories of Shibuya. The scenery of Shibuya that we admired as teenagers, the nights we spent going out there as adults, and all those fragments of memories form the foundation of the game.
In terms of video games, we were heavily influenced by the PlayStation 1 games we were passionate about during our teenage years. Those games featured remarkable visual techniques that emerged from the technological limitations of the time, with fixed-camera perspectives being one example. I think we’re still chasing the creative possibilities we discovered in those games to this day.
The first thing that pops out when you even take a look at Tokyo Story is the unique art-style, reminiscent of the PS1 days; what made you want to go with such an art-style?
I’m really happy to hear that the art style reminds people of the PS1 era. I was fascinated by PS1 games myself as a teenager, and they inspired me to pursue a career in game development, so I think they had a significant influence on this project. Fixed-camera perspectives were also commonly used during that era. I’ve always loved the unique presentation they made possible, as well as how being unable to freely move the camera encourages players to imagine what lies beyond the edges of the screen. That’s one of the reasons we chose to use this approach.
However, our goal wasn’t simply to recreate the look of games from that era. We wanted to develop a new visual style by transforming 3D environments into pixel art and conveying information through color and silhouette. I think the result is something that feels nostalgic, yet unlike anything players have seen before.
What has been your biggest challenge so far?
The biggest challenge has been the overall scope of the game. We weren’t able to complete it within the scale we initially envisioned, which ultimately led to a delay in its release. Each scene features different gameplay elements, and we’ve carefully designed each area to offer something visually interesting and keep the experience fresh. As a result, there’s a great deal of content to create.
During a period when development had reached a standstill, Happinet came on board as our publisher and provided significant support with funding and promotion. Thanks to their help, we’ve finally reached a point where completing the game feels within sight.
What is the experience you hope the people playing it will have?
I hope players will enjoy walking through a deserted Tokyo alongside Suzu. At the beginning, she spends much of her time wandering in a state of uncertainty, but I hope players will come to understand her feelings for Yuno and watch her grow as the story unfolds.
If, after finishing the game, players find themselves looking at the alleyways in their own neighborhoods or the lights glowing through windows at night a little differently, there would be no greater reward for us as creators.
There seems to be a big significance to the fact the game is taking place in Tokyo. What can you tell us about why you chose Tokyo city as a setting for the game?
Tokyo, and Shibuya in particular, is a place we visit in our everyday lives. It feels like a place that represents our roots. When we were working on rain, I think we were more drawn to the streets of overseas cities, but as we grew older, our attention naturally turned toward Tokyo, the city closest to us.
Shibuya is a famous place that has been featured in many games, but in Tokyo Stories, we focus not on its bustling main streets, but on back alleys and other places that games rarely explore. We wanted to capture that peculiar feeling of turning off a crowded street and suddenly finding yourself somewhere completely deserted.
What are the themes you are hoping to explore with Tokyo Stories’ story?
At its heart, Tokyo Stories is a story of two girls, their meeting, and their loss. Suzu walks through Tokyo in search of her best friend, Yuno, and along the way, she revisits their shared memories as a hidden story gradually comes to light.
Another theme is the idea of a city made up of many stories. Even in a deserted Tokyo, countless stories overlap, whether they belong to different people or represent the different stories that exist within a single person. This is also why we chose the plural Stories for the game’s title.
What is your favorite thing about what the game is shaping out to be?
My favorite aspect is how the city takes on a different character in each scene. We’ve carefully considered the points of interest and overall tone of each area, and we’ve also prepared a variety of gameplay experiences to ensure that players aren’t simply repeating the same activities. It’s been challenging to develop, but I feel that things are coming together well so far.
On a personal level, I’m also pleased with how we’ve captured the colors of Tokyo at night. We’ve depicted the city using a narrow range of colors, primarily between blue and green, and I think we’ve achieved a distinctive look where you can recognize a Tokyo Stories scene no matter which moment you see.
Is there anything else you’d like our readers to know about?
I think Tokyo Stories will be a somewhat unusual game compared to many of the titles released today, but we’re making it because we believe there’s room for a game like this. We’ll need to ask you to wait a little longer before its release, but we’re gradually sharing more information on social media, so we’d be delighted if you followed us and stayed tuned for updates.
And for the compulsory silly question: If your friend got lost in Tokyo City, what would you do?
First, I’d call them! (Laughs.) Well, we’re not exactly kids anymore, so if I couldn’t get through, I’d probably start visiting the places we used to go to together, one by one. As I retraced those places full of memories, I might find myself thinking about that friend all over again...
Wait a minute, isn’t that basically this game?
For more on Tokyo Stories, player can visit the Steam Page, and for more exclusive interviews like this, feel free to visit our Interview Page!
Post a Comment