{"id":67019,"date":"2026-05-22T22:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-05-22T13:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/?p=67019"},"modified":"2026-05-22T14:04:06","modified_gmt":"2026-05-22T05:04:06","slug":"dragon-quest-creator-yuji-horii-and-blue-lock-author-muneyuki-kaneshiro-say-their-upcoming-karmic-death-game-style-switch-title-plays-similarly-to-akutagawa","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/news\/dragon-quest-creator-yuji-horii-and-blue-lock-author-muneyuki-kaneshiro-say-their-upcoming-karmic-death-game-style-switch-title-plays-similarly-to-akutagawa\/","title":{"rendered":"Dragon Quest creator Yuji Horii and Blue\u00a0Lock author Muneyuki Kaneshiro\u00a0say\u00a0their\u00a0upcoming\u00a0karmic death\u00a0game-style\u00a0Switch title\u00a0plays similarly to Akutagawa\u2019s\u00a0\u201cThe\u00a0Spider Thread\u201d\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Tensei Game<\/strong> (tentative) is a\u00a0four-player\u00a0board game-style title coming to Nintendo Switch in the summer of 2026. Co-developed by\u00a0ArtePiazza\u00a0and Any, the game\u00a0was\u00a0supervised by Dragon Quest creator Yuji Horii, with an original concept\u00a0and scenario\u00a0penned by author Muneyuki Kaneshiro (As the Gods Will, Blue Lock).\u00a0Shintaro Mashima,\u00a0known for his work on the Dragon Quest and\u00a0SaGa\u00a0series, serves as\u00a0art\u00a0director.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Following Tensei Game (lit. Reincarnation Game)\u2019s\u00a0initial\u00a0announcement<\/a>\u00a0in May 2025, there has been little news on the project, but recently, Horii and Kaneshiro shed some light on the \u201cfriendship-wrecking\u201d\u00a0game\u00a0they\u2019ve\u00a0been quietly working on\u00a0in an interview with\u00a0Denfaminicogamer<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Horii explained that contrary to his\u00a0previous\u00a0party game\/digital board game\u00a0Itadaki\u00a0Street,\u00a0which centered on exchanging money,\u00a0Tensei Game\u00a0revolves\u00a0around\u00a0a completely different concept.\u00a0It\u2019s\u00a0fundamentally a\u00a0sugoroku-style\u00a0game, so it follows the basic mechanics of rolling dice and progressing on a game board, but\u00a0the twist is that players will reincarnate into all sorts of life forms\u00a0(including humans of various professions, animals, and even microorganisms).\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kaneshiro conceptualized it as an alternative take on the classic\u00a0“The\u00a0Game of Life,” but taking place after death.\u00a0\u201cThe main concept is that everyone dies,\u00a0becoming\u00a0something like a soul, and then fights each other to be reborn. Looking back on it now,\u00a0it’s\u00a0kind of like\u00a0Ryunosuke Akutagawa\u2019s\u00a0The Spider\u2019s\u00a0Thread. A sinner arrives in hell, and a spider lowers a single thread. But when they try to climb it, the other sinners swarm after them, and while kicking the others down, they end up falling themselves.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Reincarnation<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The difference is, Tensei Game\u00a0isn\u2019t\u00a0set in hell, but in\u00a0Rinnekai,\u00a0or the realm of reincarnation, where people fall and become beings called\u00a0Karmans. Four players are forced into a death-game-style competition where they gather karma, with karma functioning\u00a0almost like\u00a0a currency.\u00a0By collecting karma, the top three players get to\u00a0be reborn, while the player in fourth place\u00a0is doomed.\u00a0\u201cSo\u00a0if you want to live again,\u00a0Kaneshiro explains,\u00a0\u201cyou\u2019ll\u00a0need to sabotage others, form alliances,\u00a0and\u00a0scheme against people.\u00a0You can be cruel, or you can show mercy.\u00a0That\u2019s\u00a0the kind of gameplay it is.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While the basic game cycle of collecting karma to progress and reincarnate, the game will come with chance cards and events that can be used to knock other players down, which the devs hope will make it a thrilling experience for both the players and potential spectators (the game was designated with affinity with streamers in mind). Additionally, Horii stresses that it will be important to choose what to reincarnate into wisely. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tensei Game (tentative) is planned to\u00a0release\u00a0in the summer of 2026 for Nintendo Switch.\u00a0It\u2019s\u00a0currently not known\u00a0whether\u00a0there are plans for release outside of Japan.\u00a0The developers\u3000have also announced plans for potential IP expansion via anime, manga and merchandising.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Related: Dragon Quest creator wants AI game characters to feel like real \u201cfriends,\u201d hopes DQ10 players will confide in Slimey\u00a0chatbot<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Yuji Horii and Muneyuki Kaneshiro share new details about their mysterious upcoming sugoroku-style title Tensei Game.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":55,"featured_media":67022,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_gspb_post_css":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[17],"class_list":["post-67019","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-japan-related-news"],"blocksy_meta":[],"yoast_head":"\nDragon Quest creator Yuji Horii and Blue\u00a0Lock author Muneyuki Kaneshiro\u00a0say\u00a0their\u00a0upcoming\u00a0karmic death\u00a0game-style\u00a0Switch title\u00a0plays similarly to Akutagawa\u2019s\u00a0\u201cThe\u00a0Spider Thread\u201d\u00a0 - AUTOMATON WEST<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Yuji Horii and Muneyuki Kaneshiro share new details about their mysterious upcoming sugoroku-style title Tensei Game.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/news\/dragon-quest-creator-yuji-horii-and-blue-lock-author-muneyuki-kaneshiro-say-their-upcoming-karmic-death-game-style-switch-title-plays-similarly-to-akutagawa\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Dragon Quest creator Yuji Horii and Blue\u00a0Lock author Muneyuki Kaneshiro\u00a0say\u00a0their\u00a0upcoming\u00a0karmic death\u00a0game-style\u00a0Switch title\u00a0plays similarly to Akutagawa\u2019s\u00a0\u201cThe\u00a0Spider Thread\u201d\u00a0 - 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