{"id":70991,"date":"2026-08-15T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-08-14T15:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/?p=70991"},"modified":"2026-08-14T15:00:51","modified_gmt":"2026-08-14T06:00:51","slug":"enjoy-the-diner-developers-to-release-minimalist-text-adventure-in-which-you-only-communicate-by-glowing-coming-to-steam-on-august-28","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/news\/enjoy-the-diner-developers-to-release-minimalist-text-adventure-in-which-you-only-communicate-by-glowing-coming-to-steam-on-august-28\/","title":{"rendered":"Enjoy the Diner developers to release minimalist text adventure in which you only communicate by glowing, coming to Steam on August 28"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Japanese indie game developer <a href=\"https:\/\/oississui.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Monthly Wetland<\/a> (\u6708\u520a\u6e7f\u5730\u5e2f) and publisher <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wakuwakugames.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Waku Waku Games<\/a> have announced Glow Box, a new text adventure game slated for launch on August 28 on Steam. The <a href=\"https:\/\/store.steampowered.com\/app\/4696490\/Glow_Box\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Steam store<\/a> page for the game is out now. Waku Waku Games also stated that the game would come to the Nintendo Switch in the future, though the release date is yet to be determined.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">First released for free on <a href=\"https:\/\/oissisui.itch.io\/glowmachine\">itch.io<\/a>, Glow Box\u2019s original Japanese title describes all you need to know about the premise of the game, \u201cA Machine That Can Only Glow.\u201d Showing only an innocuous blue-framed text box on a black screen, the title\u2019s entire gameplay focuses on a singular mechanic: the ability to make the text box glow while the mouse is held down.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1344\" height=\"756\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1344px) 100vw, 1344px\" src=\"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/20260814-709910001.jpg\" alt=\"Glow Box\" class=\"wp-image-70995\" srcset=\"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/20260814-709910001.jpg 1344w, https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/20260814-709910001-380x214.jpg 380w, https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/20260814-709910001-768x432.jpg 768w\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Steam store page further elaborates that \u201cthere are no text input options, nor any choices to select\u201d, leaving the player to the whims of the narrative. Notably, the game can be cleared in approximately 1 hour, and \u00a0does not feature a save option.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Glow Box\u2019s story follows an unnamed individual who, on one snowy day, takes refuge in a mountain cabin while searching for something. There they find a strange machine that the player takes control of. Having second doubts about the machine that seemingly glows in reaction to their words and actions, they wonder if the device has a will of its own. The player engages in a strange interaction with this mysterious figure, communicating by turning the machine\u2019s lights on or off in response to their words.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"960\" height=\"540\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 960px) 100vw, 960px\" src=\"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/20260814-709910002.jpg\" alt=\"Glow Box \" class=\"wp-image-70996\" srcset=\"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/20260814-709910002.jpg 960w, https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/20260814-709910002-380x214.jpg 380w, https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/20260814-709910002-768x432.jpg 768w\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Steam version of Glow Box included all the features of the free itch.io version, with the addition of controller support, English and Chinese localization, additional optional features (volume control and screen size adjustment), and the unlocking of a sound gallery after completing the game.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The game\u2019s developer, Monthly Wetland, has previously released Enjoy the Diner in August 2023 and Why Dolphins Have No Scales (unofficial translation) in November of the same year. Another title, METRO PENGUIN EUTOPIA, is also in development, releasing somewhere this year. The Steam version of Enjoy the Diner released to critical acclaim, with 97% of its 1091 user reviews being positive, earning it an \u201cOverwhelmingly Positive\u201d rating at the time of writing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-x wp-block-embed-x\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\"><p lang=\"ja\" dir=\"ltr\">Steam\u300e\u5149\u308b\u3060\u3051\u3057\u304b\u306a\u3044\u6a5f\u68b0\u300f\u306f8\u670828\u65e5\uff08\u91d1\uff09\u767a\u58f2\u3001\u4fa1\u683c\u306f350\u5186\u3067\u3059\u3002Nintendo Switch\u7248\u3082\u5f8c\u65e5\u767a\u58f2\u4e88\u5b9a\u300128\u65e5\u306f\u5149\u308a\u307e\u3057\u3087\u3046<br>Steam\u30da\u30fc\u30b8\u306f\u3053\u3061\u3089\uff1a<a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/0PFIqUe7g2\">https:\/\/t.co\/0PFIqUe7g2<\/a><\/p>&mdash; \u308f\u304f\u308f\u304f\u30b2\u30fc\u30e0\u30ba (@waku2games) <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/waku2games\/status\/2086588333661249740?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">August 9, 2026<\/a><\/blockquote><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.x.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Glow Box is scheduled to release on August 28 for PC and macOS (<a href=\"https:\/\/store.steampowered.com\/app\/4696490\/Glow_Box\/\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/store.steampowered.com\/app\/4696490\/Glow_Box\/\">Steam<\/a>), with English, Japanese, and Chinese (Simplified\/Traditional) language support. A Nintendo Switch release is scheduled in the future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Related articles: <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/news\/20230814-20709\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Japanese indie developer shares insight on common programming \u201ctrap\u201d that can occur when localizing games<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/news\/20240221-27502\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><strong>Japanese dev speaks out against the rarely discussed problem of spoilers in video thumbnails\u00a0<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Glow Box, a text adventure developed by Monthly Wetland and published by Waku Waku Games, is coming to Steam on August 28. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":93,"featured_media":70994,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_gspb_post_css":"","autoblue_enabled":true,"autoblue_custom_message":"","autoblue_shares":[{"did":"did:plc:uzrrhkfyjrfdsynj2voztcf2","date":"2026-08-14T15:00:05+00:00","uri":"at:\/\/did:plc:uzrrhkfyjrfdsynj2voztcf2\/app.bsky.feed.post\/3mt2gdq7wlb22","response":"{\"uri\":\"at:\/\/did:plc:uzrrhkfyjrfdsynj2voztcf2\/app.bsky.feed.post\/3mt2gdq7wlb22\",\"cid\":\"bafyreigx6walbmirinqsrh6gde7qqf2czbgmls63mzqwvhmh2fix5st6sa\",\"commit\":{\"cid\":\"bafyreia7xrczpq5t3dr6huhq7rrbmwaccen2agf2v3e3r3sajsyrvlyp2q\",\"rev\":\"3mt2gdqa7ej22\"},\"validationStatus\":\"valid\"}"}],"autoblue_post_url":"","autoblue_publish_document":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-70991","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"blocksy_meta":{"styles_descriptor":{"styles":{"desktop":"","tablet":"","mobile":""},"google_fonts":[],"version":7}},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.2 - 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