Tales of Seikyu Next Fest Demo Impressions
Tales of Seikyu from ACE Entertainment is a cozy demo that was not at all what I expected. I thought it would be Stardew Valley redux, as a lot of cozy games are. Instead this felt like Breath of the Wild and Rune Factory mixed together, and it's as much fun as that combination sounds like it would be. I played through the demo twice and found new quests and characters each time. I don’t think it’s really possible to see and do everything it has to offer with one playthrough. I know I missed unlocking farming both times.
The game opens on the player character and their partner Kon, fox spirits who have only each other. They've just bought an old farmhouse in the name of a new start, and are hopeful they can build meaningful relationships with the community that now surrounds them.
In my playthroughs I chose to focus on meeting characters and completing side quests. The villagers I met ranged from kappas and nekos, to otter people and tengus, and more. The characters seem to follow archetypes rather than being complicated personalities, but I found it suited the game well. The dialogue was engaging and the main character often had quippy but fun answers to give. I was fond of one of them, a cheery himbo blacksmith. I ended up giving him some raw meat I found in the trash, and much to my surprise he loved it. While the scope for character relationships is understandably limited in the demo, the full game promises more with fourteen different options to romance.
There's more at play here than social time, though. The main character can transform into different animals. This is one of the key parts of the gameplay experience. The first form, the boar, is available from the start. Different forms give different abilities such as swimming and flying. The forms can also be improved on to become more powerful and unlock more abilities. For example, the boar can run super fast and crush things. I’m anticipating that the different forms will allow players to access previously unreachable areas, opening up the map even further.
In addition to all of that, I often found myself in combat. Monsters fill the world, and the demo gave me a trusty practice sword that I could slay them with. None of the combat was particularly challenging, and seemed reminiscent of a 3D Zelda game. Combat isn't perfect. I found the camera would often get stuck in weird spots during fights, and a dodge button would have been nice to have. On the plus side, the game felt responsive to my inputs, and it was a lot of fun to slay monsters.
The game's sense of wonder helped immerse me in its world. It reminded me of playing the early World of Warcraft where I’d walk around exploring the woods, fighting monsters, and harvesting plants and materials for crafting.
The art and sound direction were both particularly notable and added a lot to the presentation. Tales of Seikyu seems like it will require a high-end system to run well -- the 6 gigabyte demo stuttered on my ROG Ally until I enabled Turbo Mode.
There sounds like there will be a lot of cozy game elements in the final game, such as home decoration, outfits, and cooking.
The demo lasts three in-game days, or about 90 real-life minutes, but I honestly would have sat and played for hours if it didn't end.. Overall, this is one of my most highly anticipated cozy games for 2025, especially now that Tales of the Shire is delayed again.. This is one worth getting excited for, and I’m already sold on buying it when it releases later this year.
