Game Freak has announced a new laundry-based mobile game with Pokemon director Shigeru Ohmori leading this project.
Obviously, Game Freak is best known for the Pokemon series, and until the recent release of Beast of Reincarnation, I wouldn't have been shocked if many people just didn't know the studio regularly releases games outside the franchise. For console releases, these usually manifest as smaller titles like HarmoKnight, Little Town Hero, and Tembo the Badass Elephant, but, as of late, the studio has released mobile games fairly frequently.
And this week it was revealed what's next for the studio before Pokemon Winds and Waves releases next year, with the announcement of "Ame no Chi Hare Onna." The game – co-developed by Chronogate – is a free-to-play mobile game for iOS and Android in Japan, described as a "laundry game." It's directed by Ohmori, who has been the lead director of the Pokemon series since Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire over a decade ago.
The title is set in modern-day Japan and follows Hare Onna and Kumorin, who can harness the weather and turn it into magic. This aspect is central to the game as the title is set to use real-world weather data as part of the gameplay loop. Granted, I'm not quite sure what that gameplay loop is right now, but thankfully there's more info revealed this week with a "Hare Onna Club Meeting" stream, as well as news at Tokyo Game Show.
But for now, you can watch the teaser trailer, which, if I didn't have the context, I would assume is the opening of a new anime series. But it's been forever since the Hideo Kojima-produced GBA title Boktai: The Sun is in Your Hand released, so it's about time we had more weather-based games come out.
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