A mystery from the author of Hyouka has become a playable demo. SHUEISHA GAMES has released a demo of Seasons of Books and Keys on Steam as part of Steam Next Fest, offering the complete first chapter of its adaptation of Honobu Yonezawa’s novel.
That chapter, titled “913”, begins with Jiro Horikawa and Shimon Matsukura passing another quiet afternoon in their school library. Third-year student Mari Urakami, a former library committee member, arrives with a request: she wants them to open a safe left behind by her late grandfather that no one has managed to unlock. Her only clue is something he once told her: “Come back to this room once you’re grown up.”
Horikawa, voiced by Kazuki Ura, is trusting and often asked for favours, but has a keen eye for detail. Matsukura, voiced by Yuichiro Umehara, is sardonic, mature beyond his years and tends to stand out wherever he goes. Since becoming friends, both have found themselves caught up in strange incidents more and more often. Mari, voiced by Arisa Sakuraba, is described as having sleepy eyes and a mischievous smile.
SHUEISHA GAMES and developer iMel pitch the game as a “drama-like adventure”. The idea is to combine reading a story with watching one, so that players see, hear and advance the narrative themselves, as if watching a self-contained drama. The aim is to keep the lingering feel of the printed page while adding the immediacy of film. At key points, players take on Horikawa’s role and work out the solution to each mystery themselves.
The Seasons of Books and Keys demo is available now on Steam.
