Bratty demoness sandbox RPG Warota: I Live Next to The Demon King’s Castle LOL debuts among Steam’s top 5 best-selling games in Japan

Japanese publisher OneOrEight and development studio Team EARTHWARS just released their village-building action RPG Warota: I Live Next to The Demon King’s Castle LOL in Early Access on Steam. The game debuted number five on Steam’s Top Seller list in Japan and has surpassed 100,000 Wishlists as of November 12.

It had just celebrated 60,000 Wishlists on November 1, meaning that it managed to secure another 40,000 Wishlists in less than two weeks before launch. The game’s demo, which launched last month, has also been well received by gamers, currently holding a “Very Positive” review score on Steam.

In Warota: I Live Next to The Demon King’s Castle LOL, you (the player) are isekai’d into another world by a mysterious goddess just as your soul is about to fade away. Taking on the role of a “Bounder,” a person gifted with the power of creation, you are entrusted with the holy mission of fixing up your house, tending to the fields, gathering allies and expanding your village.

However, your next-door neighbor is, unfortunately, the super-evil Demon King, who relishes destroying your village and trampling over your hard work with their army of frenzied monsters. What’s more, the “Demon King” turns out to be a cute pop idol of the monster world, so every time she decides to host her “Demon King Live” concert, you should know that a horde of hyped-up demons and creatures will be barging into your village to make your day worse.

Gameplay revolves around gathering materials, crafting structures, and expanding your village while defending it from incoming waves of monsters. As your village grows bigger, more villagers will arrive, and you can later recruit them to help you with all kinds of tasks, including fending off the Demon King’s monsters.

The job system in this game is based on equippable hats imbued with the goddess’s power. Each hat gives you a different job class, ranging from gathering and crafting roles like Lumberjacks and Farmers, to combat-centered roles like Warriors and Mages. There are more than 20 different job classes, and the game allows you to freely swap between them just by switching the hat you wear. You can also use the hats to assign jobs to villagers.

Currently, the game offers a free demo which you can check out before you decide to buy it, with the option to transfer save data into the full game. However, as noted by the developers, the player’s own experience points will not be transferred. This does not affect the levels/experience points of the village, villagers and animals.

Warota: I Live Next to The Demon King’s Castle LOL is out in Early Access on Steam. PS5 and Nintendo Switch 2 versions are planned for 2027.