Japanese publisher Shueisha Games and developer iMel announced that their latest mystery adventure game Seasons of Book and Keys will be releasing this winter for Steam and Nintendo Switch. The game is an adaptation of the 2018 mystery novel of the same title by author Honobu Yonezawa, best known for writing Hyouka (which got its own anime adaptation in 2012). Shueisha Games is best known for its adventure game Urban Myth Dissolution Center and more recent visual novel Schrödinger’s Call.
The main character of Seasons of Book and Keys is Jiro Horikawa, a second-year high school student who is easily persuaded and trusts people, but also possesses keen insight. He works in an unpopular library with fellow library committee member Shimon Matsukura, and it seems that, ever since the two started hanging out, they’ve been getting themselves involved with some strange things. The game tells the tale of Jiro and Shimon as they take on mysteries that arise while on the library committee, unravelling into a coming-of-age story that explores bitter secrets, lies, and the friendship between the two characters.
Shueisha Games describes Seasons of Book and Keys as a “drama-like adventure” adaptation of the original novel that aims to “fuse the experience of reading text with the experience of watching a drama.” The game is fully voiced acted, with illustrations of the main character leads drawn by Yoko Tanji, who also created the original novel’s key visual. Furthermore, the title will include a newly written episode, titled “Used Tales” (ユーズド奇譚) by Honobu Yonezawa.
Seasons of Book and Keys is set to release winter 2026 for PC (Steam) and Nintendo Switch, with English, Japanese, Chinese (Simplified/Traditional) language support.
