{"id":52584,"date":"2025-10-02T01:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-10-01T16:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/?p=52584"},"modified":"2025-10-02T17:42:02","modified_gmt":"2025-10-02T08:42:02","slug":"428-shibuya-scramble-creators-new-roguelike-visual-novel-to-have-at-least-200-different-endings-and-endless-replayability","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/news\/428-shibuya-scramble-creators-new-roguelike-visual-novel-to-have-at-least-200-different-endings-and-endless-replayability\/","title":{"rendered":"428: Shibuya Scramble creator’s new “roguelike visual novel” to have at least 200 different endings\u00a0and \u201cendless replayability\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Game designer Jiroo Ishii recently announced that his new social deduction-style visual novel Depth Loop<\/strong> will release in Spring 2026. The game\u2019s title is based on JINROU: The Playing Theater (TLPT)\u2019s Depth, an improvised play in which actors assume the roles of characters participating in a Mafia-styled social deduction game. In a recent interview with 4Gamer<\/a>, Ishii told the story of how he decided to make an \u201cendlessly playable roguelike visual novel,\u201d and what fans should expect from the title.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Depth<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Having created cult-classics like 428: Shibuya Scramble, Jiro Ishii is considered a veteran in the narrative adventure game\/visual novel genres, but according to him, the medium has been reaching a dead end<\/a> in recent years, with less and less truly \u201cinnovative\u201d titles coming out. However, trying to be a part of a shift that will push the visual novel genre further, Ishii decided to make his next project a \u201croguelike visual novel.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ishii theorizes that the roguelike visual novel genre was initiated by PetitDepotto\u2019s Gnosia, but since there weren\u2019t any games inheriting its style, he took it upon himself to broaden the genre and pitched Depth Loop. To give a brief explanation, a \u201croguelike\u201d visual novel lets the player experience looped gameplay, with each loop being a completely different, randomized experience. A huge reason why Ishii decided to adopt and play around with the roguelike genre is because he wanted to attempt making a visual novel with infinite replayability. \u201cGames without randomness only behave as intended [\u2026] But roguelikes can go against one\u2019s expectations, and if you make them the right way \u2013 they can be infinitely replayable. Creating an infinitely replayable visual novel is probably impossible without a roguelike system,\u201d he explained.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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