Written by. Nick Mosier based on the original Japanese article (original article’s publication date: 2022-07-27 18:00 JST)

The Japanese doujin group KENKOUJSB has announced that KIKURA is coming to Steam on August 20 (JST) and will also be distributed at Japan’s Comic Market convention on August 13.

KIKURA is a retro-style shmup with time slowing and invincibility mechanics combined with a Japanese folklore aesthetic. The game takes place in a parallel world from our own called Utsushiyochigai where yokai and gods reside. Long ago, there was a fishing village nearby what is now a secluded beach in Utsushiyochigai. One day, a young man who went fishing on the beach mysteriously disappeared. While the family waited for the young man’s return, residents of the village gradually began to separate themselves from the beach. After hundreds of years, ominous voices could be heard coming from the ruins of an abandoned house as yokai began to gather in the area.

The protagonist Setsuna is an office worker in the modern day who meets a clock yokai named Tsukumo, a yokai with the power to move between the two parallel worlds. One day, the two set off for this beach in Utsushiyochigai where Setsuna uses yokai powers to fight against the yokai that have gathered there.

Setsuna and Tsukumo’s battle against the yokai is depicted through bullet hell shmup gameplay. Tsukumo is a clock yokai and has the time-manipulating power of “Koku-I-Kkoku.” This power can be unleashed in the game after building up a special meter and causes the flow of time to slow down for a moment making it easier to dodge bullets and attack enemies.

There’s also the “Ghost” power which raises your attack power and makes you invincible, and “REN” which turns enemy bullets into point items. Each of these powers has their own special meter, so players will be exterminating yokai while managing their abilities. There’s also a Life gauge that depletes when you take a hit or use a bomb. KIKURA takes place over 6 stages that players progress through like an arcade game and boasts also having an easy mode for beginners to enjoy.

KIKURA is being developed by the doujin group KENKOUJSB and is the second installment in the group’s Koku-I-Kkoku (KIK) series. While the first installment was released in August of 2021, its distribution has been limited to in-person events.

KIKURA is coming to PC (Steam) on August 20. It will also be available at Comic Market 100 on August 13.