Hikikomori beat ‘em up tower defense game Pull Stay releases February 26 in Early Access 

Japanese indie developer Souji Nito announced that the highly anticipated Pull Stay will be releasing in Early Access on February 26 (JST) for the PC (Steam). A new trailer showcasing the game’s features was released along with the announcement. 

Pull Stay is a beat ‘em up action game with tower defense elements in which you fight off waves of enemies trying to enter your house by setting up bizarre traps or smacking them. The objective is to protect Susumu, a young unemployed hikikomori (shut-in) man who hasn’t left his room in years. The enemies come at Susumu while destroying the house, and as his robot friend Robo, you must prevent them from reaching him. 

To fight off enemies, you can build additional rooms and set up various traps in a belt-scrolling action game style. Robo can perform various actions such as jumping, grabbing and launching consecutive attacks, and is even capable of destroying neighborhood houses and convenience stores to gather resources. These resources can then be used for placing strategic traps to stall enemies. 

Pull Stay’s selling point is the inspiration it pulls from Japan’s bizarre and comical variety show culture. This means you’ll be seeing old dudes in girly sailor suits and wacky traps such as pie throwing machines, baked fish missiles, and dakimakura (anime hugging pillow) traps. The game will include about 15 types of traps, which are gradually unlocked as you progress in the game. 

But what’s most fascinating about Pull Stay is its background – the game is being developed by indie creator Souji Nito, who happens to be a hikikomori himself. He started independently studying game development after Unreal Engine became available for free in 2015. Pull Stay was intended as a “game about a hikikomori by a hikikomori” and as a way for Nito to rebuild his life after spending over 10 years of his life as a hikikomori. His full story can be found in his AMA thread on Reddit. 

Pull Stay will initially be released in Early Access and will start off with 6 stages, 3 bosses and over 10 varieties of enemies, traps, moves and mini games. The Early Access period will last about a year, and additional stages, bosses, traps, moves, and mini games are planned in the run up towards the full release. 

Pull Stay will release in Early Access on February 27 for the PC (Steam). A demo is currently available. 

Written by. Amber V based on the original Japanese article (original article’s publication date: 2024-02-13 17:18 JST)