Life Sim / Action RPG hybrid Sonzai announced, set to release for consoles and PC in Summer 2022

Publisher Top Hat Studios and developer 2 Odd Diodes have announced Sonzai, a '2D action-brawler platforming RPG' set to release in Summer 2022 for PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and PC.

Sonzai is part life sim, part action RPG, set in a magical town of Kumotoshi. As a new student transfer, you'll meet new people to befriend, but also some secrets behind the nature of magic.

Find an announcement trailer, description, and screenshot set below via Top Hat Studios.

Sonzai is an innovative hand-drawn action-RPG about life, magic, and relationships. The town of Kumotoshi holds secrets; a new life and new people. What threads bind these people together? What is the true nature of magic? Thrown into a new town, form relationships with people around you. Sonzai is the debut game by trailblazing video game duo 2 Odd Diodes, hailing from Kolkata, India, and published by New York-based Top Hat Studios, Inc.

Taking place in a dynamic, living town filled with unique characters, each with their own lives and stories. The game embraces social links and relationship building that affect both the course of the story and the scope of the player's skill. Visceral character-action combat with RPG mechanics means Sonzai brings customizable "rune" abilities and weapon load-outs to the table. Thus accommodating vastly different fighting styles along with the game's more traditional life sim elements.

The game is wrapped in a beautiful, inky minimalist art style with precisely choreographed animations (every single animation frame hand-drawn), complementing a thought-provoking narrative about existence and magic, within a vast world filled with hidden lore to discover. While getting tangled in the lives of a colorful, diverse cast of characters.

Features

Discover the secrets of a magical world
Explore a vast world.
Whether it is a burning town right beside Kumotoshi or a civilization underground.
Each new area has its own aesthetic and beings who reside in them.
Discover its rich history while also managing your high school life.

Engage in viseral character-action combat
Experience combo based action with deep customization.
Passive Runes give you strength if you can fulfil its conditions.
Actives Runes are devastating spells that you unleash on your enemies.
Modules are modifiers that you can mix and match, to fine tune your loadout

Form Relationships with the townsfolk
Each character you meet may or may not like a new face in town.
Form bonds with them and get tangled in their stories.
Get stronger through your relationships.

Story

Kumotoshi is a magical town; a hub for young mages. Its outskirts are a dangerous place - infused with dangerous magical energy. As you arrive, in town as a new student, you find yourself ready to begin a new life. New opportunities and new friends await. However, what secrets lay in the shadows?

Sonzai Screenshots and Key Art