Upcoming Japanese game takes you to a world of Zen, letting you leap across a 3D ink wash painting-like landscape 

Japanese publisher NEURON-AGE’s development team Project Pegasus revealed their upcoming title TENSEI on September 14. A Steam store page has been opened for the new title, which is scheduled for release in 2024 for the PC (Steam) and other platforms. 

TENSEI is an “endless” 3D action game in which the player leaps across an environment that resembles and acts as if it were an ink wash painting. The player assumes the form of a kind of eyeball and ascends into the skies of the magnificent world “like a brush stroke on a piece of paper.” The game is described as an experience that provides a peaceful break from reality. 

In TENSEI, you can make use of triple jumps to make your way up. In addition, collecting orbs in the game field allows you take on the form of a dragon and fly across the space in a “boost mode.” There are also tricky damage zones present on the stage which can be purified by dropping down forcefully. The game seems to require a great deal of concentration if you want to make it up high while avoiding damage. 

The title of the game, Tensei (点睛), is a Japanese word that refers to adding the finishing touch, specifically eyes, to an animal or dragon painting, and it is most well-known through a proverb that translates literally to “leaving a dragon painting incomplete/without its eye.” The proverb comes from an ancient Chinese story about the dragon in a painting flying off into the sky as soon as its eyes were painted on. 

Project Pegasus, the development team under NEURON-AGE is based in Osaka and Tokyo. Their previous title, PLAY DOG PLAY TAG, was a lighthearted multiplayer game about dogs dragging their owners around. Tensei comes as more of a serene experience, and will only support a single player mode. 

TENSEI will be released in 2024 for the PC (Steam) and other platforms. The game will be exhibited and available for demo play at the Tokyo Game Show 2023, held from September 21 to 24 (open to the public on September 23 and 24).  

Written by. Amber V based on the original Japanese article (original article’s publication date: 2023-09-14 16:30 JST)