Yurukill: The Calumniation Games Impressions – An Unhinged Combination

Too Kyo games have a very distinct niche on their games, they’ve released Death Come True and World’s End Club, niche adventure mystery games with a distinct unhinged tone, what with superpowered kids on a post-apocalyptic road trip, and an amnesiac dying repeatedly in a hotel that won’t let him leave.

But this ain’t about Too Kyo. This is about the other team that worked with them, Izanagi Games, who have decided to take that unhinged tone to their own new solo title, Yurukill: The Calumniation games. And this title, which morphs into escape room puzzles, death games, murder mysteries and shoot ‘em ups, looks to be especially unhinged. I dove face-first into the demo to check it out.

To start, let’s quickly explain what ‘Calumniation’ means. It’s an old word that’s similar to slander, but on a more professional level, like leveling false charges against someone.

Such as our main protagonist, one 29-year-old, Sengoku Shunju who has so far been jailed for 10 years of a life sentence, for a crime he claims he didn’t commit. He and a group of others awaken in prison cells on their way to ‘Yurukill’ Island, with many of these others in prison for similarly lengthy charges. On this island are a collection of ‘fun’ games, that they’ll need to take part in, and the winner of which will be able to reclaim their life back.

Of course with a story like this, there are at least half a dozen catches, for starters, half the contestants aren’t prisoners. They’re ‘executioners’ they have to team up with to solve puzzles. These puzzles are adventure game-style escape rooms, similar to the Zero Escape games.

The first of which is a series of apartment rooms that are on fire. And also the executioners have a button that activates a collar that the prisoners are wearing and injects them with a deadly poison. Because, you know. Death games. These are neat.

Within this demo, our lead and his 17yr old quiet executioner who wants nothing to do with Sengoku investigate the burning apartment floor which has ties to traumatic experiences and a mass murder crime scene.

And then this is followed up by a VR shoot ‘em up section where Sengoku has to use the power of both evidence and video game skills, to convince his executioner not to kill him with the button. All the while, these two characters have negative chemistry with each other. It was fantastic.

With that chapter over, the implication is as the game continues, that you will play as all of the prisoners, which look to be a ludicrously colorful cast, to clear their respective puzzles,  and solve their shoot ‘em up mystery sections to try and win the game. When only one person can win.

Which poses several new questions.  Why is Sengoku the main character? Why was he seemingly framed for arson? How does everyone else connect to the story? What the hell is a Yurukill anyway? Can I date the girl with the fox mask?

This game looks to be special in an unhinged way, and I am looking forward to obtaining some truly ridiculous resolutions to all the questions that I’m left with from the demo. Especially since the game is being written by Homura Kawamoto, of Kakegurui fame. Probably can’t date the girl with the fox mask though. Shame.

Yurukill: The Calumniation Games is coming to PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, and Nintendo Switch on July 8, 2022.