Amidst the glitz, fits, and Muppets at this year’s Game Awards, fans of genuinely delightful people got an appearance from beloved developer Ikumi Nakamura who took to the stage to give us all a first look at her latest game, Kemuri.
Quickly introduced by Geoff Keighley as a developer working on a game “with no publisher,” Nakamura thanked the assembled gaming glitterati before dropping one of the more intriguing trailers of the evening from her new studio, Unseen Inc. What’s not to love? Do you not like cool swords? Parkour? Urban vibes? Mysterious ethereal beings who may be a mix of friend or foe?
Fans of Nakamura’s previous work, Ghostwire: Tokyo and The Evil Within, will likely be familiar with themes like identity and the thin lines of reality. This time, however, it appears the vibes are much less spooky. Kemuri feels more akin to Miles Morales than Michael Myers.
The title, Japanese for “smoke” or “fumes,” may belie some of the intention involving the player mechanics. We see the assumed protagonists in the trailer moving with smoke trailing from their heels. The penultimate moments of the trailer show six of them, armed with swords or bows, peering through a thin veil of mist with their sights set on a tangle of spirits hovering on the horizon.
It will likely be a horizon with limits. Unseen Inc. says in its mission statement that “our approach puts the emphasis on quality rather than quantity.” There is plenty of AAA experience on the roster but clearly the AAA culture of “bigger is better” won’t be at the forefront. Of course, as Keighley cheekily reminded us, there’s no publisher yet. And no gameplay either, but it’s hard not to be sold on a trailer that looks so cool. Even if the hype goes up in smoke.
