Written based on the original Japanese article (publication date: 2021-12-02 14:33 JST)
by. Nick Mosier

On November 30, Japanese indie game developer LogariGames opened a Steam store page for their upcoming title KaraCreate. According to the page, the game is scheduled to release in August of 2022. A demo is also being planned for February of 2022.

KaraCreate is an RPG with a Japanese setting about crafting and battling mechanical creatures called Karakuri. In the world of KaraCreate, an energy source called Elekiter is used to power steam engines. At some point it was discovered that if a machine (called Kikai) was powered by Elekiter that had been infused with a soul, the machine would come to life. Based on the results of that research, many Kikai were made to have souls. But before long, the Kikai went on a rampage.

During this time, a researcher by the name of Hiraga Gennai invented a tool called the “Hun and Po driver,” which causes Kikai to become attached to the registered user. As more Kikai were created and systems were put in place, Kikai permeated throughout society. The protagonist of the game is a young man that wishes to study abroad and sets off on a journey with his grandfather’s Hun and Po driver in hand. Through the adventure, the story of the soul infused Karakura unfolds.

By combining different materials, the protagonist can craft Karakuri. For example, combining a fire element with a fish soul might craft something like a fire infused pufferfish. Depending on the combination of materials, it’s possible to make all sorts of different Kikai.

The game also has Karakuri battles where you’ll fight wild Karakuri, rivals, and suspicious organizations. During battles, it’s important to be aware of what type of Karakuri you’re using when selecting their skills. The game has an elemental system where if say a water infused fish Karakuri is attacked by a lightning attack, it will take 4x as much damage. The game will likely revolve around crafting and strengthening your Karakuri through battle so you can continue fighting even stronger Karakuri.

The game is being developed by Logari of LogariGames. Logari is an indie game developer in Japan that “likes Unity and is making a variety of games.” According to tweets from Logari, this game is also being made in Unity and development started in January of 2020. Since then, they’ve been continuing development on the game while also working on other projects. Besides Twitter, Logari also posts updates on their progress to the LogariGames official website.

KaraCreate is currently in development and is planned to release on Steam. It looks like they plan to not only support Japanese, but English as well. A demo is also scheduled to release at Steam Next Fest on February 22, 2022.