Promise Mascot Agency

Last updated
Promise Mascot Agency
Developer Kaizen Game Works
Publisher Kaizen Game Works
Director Oli Clarke Smith
Designers
  • Oli Clarke Smith
  • Phil Crabtree
Programmer Phil Crabtree
Artist Rachel Noy
Writers
  • Oli Clarke Smith
  • Rachel Noy
Composers
  • Peter McCaughan
  • Ryo Koike
Engine Unreal Engine
Platforms
ReleaseApril 10, 2025
Genres Adventure, management
Mode Single-player

Promise Mascot Agency is an open-world adventure and management game developed and published by Kaizen Game Works. In the game, the player manages a mascot agency, recruits mascots, and sends them on jobs while solving the mystery of their exile to rural Japan. [1]

Contents

Gameplay

The player takes on the role of Michi "The Janitor", a yakuza fixer who owes a big debt after a job goes wrong. Michi agrees to move to Kyushu in rural Japan, where he must revive a mascot agency and restore the community, all before an anti-yakuza curse kills him. [2]

In doing so, the player is tasked with completing jobs around the open world and recruiting mascots.

Development

Kaizen previously developed Paradise Killer . [3] Japanese artist and video game director Ikumi Nakamura produced an art bible and designed mascots for the title. [4] In an interview, game director Oli Clarke Smith stated the game's concept came from "Rachel (our Art Director) wanted to make a management game about mascots. Her original idea was a 2D Kairosoft-like, but Phil (our Tech Director) and I wanted to create something bigger." The game then evolved into an open-world RPG management game. [5] Takaya Kuroda, the voice of Kazuma Kiryu in the Yakuza / Like a Dragon series voices Michi. [6]

Kaizen released the "Prepare to Grind" update for the game in August 2025. The update included time trials, new difficulty modes, and a grinding ability upgrade for the player's truck. The developer stated that no further updates were currently planned for the title. [7] [8]

Release and Reception

Upon release, the game received generally favorable reviews, according to review aggregator website Metacritic. OpenCritic determined that 84% of critics recommended the game.

Maddi Chilton, writing for PC Gamer, awarded the title 94/100, praising the game's absurdity and the construction of its gameplay systems. [13] In a more mixed review, Slant Magazine awarded the game 6/10, criticizing driving mechanics and its sense of aimlessness. [14]

References

  1. ↑ "Promise Mascot Agency is exactly the kind of deranged open world management game I need right now". Eurogamer. Retrieved 26 September 2025.
  2. ↑ "Promise Mascot Agency is a video game sitcom". Polygon. Retrieved 26 September 2025.
  3. ↑ Seagrave, Richard (18 March 2022). "Paradise Killer is Out Now on Xbox and PlayStation, And It's Heavenly". Game Spew. Retrieved 21 September 2022.
  4. ↑ "Kaizen Game Works Interview". Xbox Hub. Retrieved 26 September 2025.
  5. ↑ ""7 out of 10 PS2 games are what I live for" - Promise Mascot Agency Game Director Oli Clarke Smith on development, self-publishing, Switch 2, & more". RPG Site. Retrieved 26 September 2025.
  6. ↑ "Michi and Pinky's Wild Ride, or Promise Mascot Agency". Gamers with glasses. Retrieved 6 October 2025.
  7. ↑ "Promise Mascot Agency Prepare to Grind Update now available". RPG Site. Retrieved 26 September 2025.
  8. ↑ "Promise Mascot Agency update adds Tony Hawk-level truck rail grinding I didn't know I needed, and new difficulty modes". Rock Paper Shotgun. Retrieved 26 September 2025.
  9. ↑ "Promise Mascot Agency PC Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved 8 October 2025.
  10. ↑ "Promise Mascot Agency PS5 reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved 8 October 2025.
  11. ↑ "Promise Mascot Agency Xbox Series X Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved 8 October 2025.
  12. ↑ "Promise Mascot Agency Reviews". OpenCritic . Retrieved 8 October 2025.
  13. 1 2 "Promise Mascot Agency review". PC Gamer. Retrieved 26 September 2025.
  14. 1 2 "'Promise Mascot Agency' Review: An Esoteric, If Aimless, Japanese Business Sim". Slant. Retrieved 26 September 2025.
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