Twisted shmup Yurukill: The Calumniation Games heads west June 2022

Excellence of Execution

Pleasing news for fans of shmups, melodrama, murder, and anime, as NIS America announced that a title combining all of the above Yurukill: The Calumniation Games, will be making its presence felt pronto in the western world. Launching in the west in June 2022, the localization arrives a mere two months on from its Japanese release date of April 2022.

While we have spoken briefly of this twisted title before, here is a quick refresher: Developed by shmup specialists G.Rev, Yurukill: The Calumniation Games tells the story of prisoners and their victims thrust together and forced to pair up in order to survive a strange, morbid playground known as “Yurukill Land”. Presided over by a mysterious masked woman, teams of perpetrators and victims must battle against strange unearthly beings in intense shmup chaos. The victims and our for revenge, and the criminals are out for pardons, but perhaps some of our perpetrators can use this opportunity to find out the truth behind their accused misdeeds — and whether they are guilty of them after all. You can meet our cast of heroes, villains, and anti-heroes in our previous report.

Yurukill: The Calumniation Games appears to blend the social deduction and high melodrama of a Danganronpa with the pulse-pounding, button-mashing action of a modern-day sci-fi shmup. Strange bedfellows indeed, but it’s certainly intriguing, and I’m absolutely here for it. The narrative is penned by veteran writer Homura Kawamoto of Kakegurui fame, so we can expect some stark character drama, full-blooded rebellion, and some good old-fashioned class/gender war. We’ll be sure to keep an eye on this one, and will let you know when more gameplay footage and plot details drop.

Yurukill: The Calumniation Games launches in North America on PlayStation and Nintendo Switch June 7, 2022.