Monochrome Corporation and Good Smile Company have announced Dawngazer, a new action RPG from Takafumi Noma, the director of the 2024 strategy game Unicorn Overlord. It’s planned for release in 2028 on PS5, Nintendo Switch 2, and PC.
Dawngazer is the debut game of IGNISPHERE studio, founded by Homa himself, who worked at Vanillaware for years. While he’s most recently best known as the director and character designer of Unicorn Overlord, he also worked on 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim, Dragon’s Crown Pro, and Odin Sphere Leifthrasir. The soundtrack will be composed by Yoshimi Kudo, who previously worked on the music for Unicorn Overlord and Elden Ring.
While details on the game are still limited, the initial teaser does show it will have a Vanillaware-esque visual style, complete with lavish animation that already looks stunning. While the only footage shown is the protagonist slowly walking through a city, it does seem like party or army-building will likely factor into the game in some way, as by the end the hero has an entire entourage following them.
But apparently the game is just a piece of the project, which is planned to be an entire multimedia fantasy universe. The IP is being created in celebration of Monochrome Corporation’s 15th anniversary, in collaboration with Good Smile. The universe will be expanded through physical products like figures, as well as light novel projects published by Kadokawa.
After the immense positive reception to Unicorn Overlord, it’ll be interesting to see what Noma can cook up with an action RPG. We loved Unicorn Overlord, giving it a 9/10 in our review and saying, “Unicorn Overlord combines the stellar Vanillaware aesthetic in a tactical RPG experience that feels like a modern classic in the making.”
Dawngazer launches in 2028 on PS5, Nintendo Switch 2, and PC. Future updates on the game will be given through INGISPHERE’s official X account.
