The World Next Door will be Viz Media’s first game endeavor. I was able to play a demo of the game and was entranced by it from the very beginning.
The story follows Jun a human girl who portals into “The World Next Door.” This is an annual happening where there is a lottery and the lucky winner gets to experience life in the other realm for a day. She meets some friendly faces and they tell her that humans in fact are very adept at using magic.
When you interact with your new friends you can choose from responses just like in a typical JRPG. The responses range from enthusiasm, nervousness, boredom and more and each are accompanied by a face which tells you what the emotion is.
This is where you get to learn the game play. You are able to move runes around and make combos of three or more which then translate into spells. The puzzle game aspect amplifies as you fight against demons in the temple. In the demo you are trying to find your way to the other end of the temple so that you can reach the portal in time to get back to the human world. It ends with the revelation that the portal has closed and you are now stuck in The World Next Door.
This game is really cute. To be honest when I started playing the demo I completely forgot I was playing a demo at all. It was a sad realization when the game went from playable to cut scene preview. I guess that just means that I will have to get the game for the switch when it comes out March 28th!
For more information on the game visit Viz’s Page for The World Next Door
