Professor Layton is back after six years, and so are his fans

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Layton and Luke will soon be heading off on another adventure

Professor Layton and the New World of Steam
(Image credit: Level-5)

A brand-new game in the Professor Layton series was announced during the February 2023 Nintendo Direct, and now long-time fans are coming out of the woodwork to celebrate. 

Earlier this week, we got our very first look at Professor Layton and the New Word of Steam - a brand-new installment in the long-running puzzle game series. We really didn't get to see much of the upcoming game as all developer Level-5 gave fans was a 23-second-long teaser that featured Layton in a steampunk world, which you can see for yourself below.

Thanks to a tweet from the official Layton series Twitter account (as well as this wallpaper from the game's new official site) we know that Layton's apprentice Luke - who has been present in most of the previous games - is back for another adventure after the pair both took a back seat in the most recent Professor Layton game, Layton's Mystery Journey: Katrielle and the Millionaires' Conspiracy - which released for mobile and 3DS back in 2017. Other than this tidbit of info, and the teaser trailer, we're yet to find out much else about the upcoming game. 

Understandably, what with the original Professor Layton trilogy being a Nintendo DS staple back in the day, a lot of people are excited about Professor Layton and the New Word of Steam. In fact, shortly after the Nintendo Direct debuted the teaser, the Professor Layton subreddit became revitalized after the news with fans sharing their excitement for the new game, and brand-new fans joining the subreddit to ask for advice with getting started with the series. The best part about all of this though is the memes we got out of it. 

day_1_give_it_up_for_day_1 from r/ProfessorLayton
hes_back from r/ProfessorLayton

If you've never played a Professor Layton game, here's roughly what you missed. The original game, Professor Layton and the Curious Village, was released for the Nintendo DS back in 2007 and went on to spawn two more games for the handheld system. A prequel trilogy that spanned across the DS and 3DS followed shortly after before we then got a spin-off mobile game and an Ace Attorney crossover game also for 3DS. By this point, it's 2017 and the game we mentioned earlier starring Katrielle had been released leading us to today where we're waiting for the first Nintendo Switch game in the series, The New World of Steam. 

The general aim of the games is to explore a town, talk to residents, and resolve a variety of puzzles alongside Layton and Luke which will then help the detectives solve an overarching crime in the game's story. We don't know yet if The New World of Steam is likely to follow this formula but we're keeping our fingers crossed that it contains all of the things we loved about those older games. 

Has a new Professor Layton game got you feeling nostalgic? Take a look at our best DS games and best 3DS games lists for even more of a trip down memory lane. 

Hope Bellingham
Hope Bellingham
News Writer

After studying Film Studies and Creative Writing at university, I was lucky enough to land a job as an intern at Player Two PR where I helped to release a number of indie titles. I then got even luckier when I became a Trainee News Writer at GamesRadar+ before being promoted to a fully-fledged News Writer after a year and a half of training.  My expertise lies in Animal Crossing: New Horizons, cozy indies, and The Last of Us, but especially in the Kingdom Hearts series. I'm also known to write about the odd Korean drama for the Entertainment team every now and then.