I knew going in to Promise Mascot Agency’s Steam Next Fest demo that there was a high probability it would be absolutely my bag. Made by the same developers behind the excellent Paradise Killer, this is a game about a disgraced yakuza (voiced by none other than the same actor behind Yakuza/Like A Dragon’s very own Kazuma Kiryu) who gets banished to a run-down, forgotten town out in the countryside during Japan’s Showa Era, and is tasked with reviving the local mascot agency business to help win fans, promote local landmarks and lift a terrible curse that’s been placed on this soft but stern former gangster. Check, check, check and .
Promise Mascot AgencyDeveloper: Kaizen Game WorksPublisher: Kaizen Game WorksRelease: 10th April 2025Download the demo on: Steam, Epic Games Store, PS5, Xbox Series X/S
But what I didn’t anticipate over the next 80 minutes of this timed demo experience was just how unbelievably my bag it was going to be, and there’s a very strong part of me that wants to stop writing right now and go boot up the demo again to see what else I can get up to in the same time frame. It skips over most of the introductory story building up to yakuza Michi arriving at the agency (though helpfully there’s a short recap to fill you in on the important details) and plonks you straight into the action of setting up your burgeoning business, showing you the ropes of its laidback management simulation.
Your first job, for example is to pop on over to the (very corrupt) mayor’s office to beg for your business licence back, as your new partner in crime Pinky – a bloodied, severed finger mascot with adorable eyes and a viciously filthy mouth – was partially responsible for running things into the ground before you got here. But after some humorous greasing of palms, a deal is reached and you’re off, thrust out into the world to recruit new mascots as you see fit, take on new jobs, drum up new clients, take on small sidequests and collect special hero cards among other activities to help grow your business little by little.
Promise Mascot Agency Demo Trailer! Watch on YouTube
You get around this slightly stale, garbage bag-ridden place via Michi’s beaten-up old truck – a delightfully arcade-y feeling vehicle that has a roaring jet boost, a mean swerve and a brilliant little hop to bounce over bollards, leap up ledges and generally get you and whatever mascot(s) you have in the bed of your truck out of a jam. Perhaps unsurprisingly, Pinky was my sole truck companion during the demo, but trailers have shown you can have other mascots along for the ride as well, and I very much enjoyed the way Pinky would nonchalantly hum and chat to me while I was tootling about (or scream when I crashed into obstacles). You can drive right up to your destination as well, without needing to disembark and get out on foot to talk to other characters. It’s all very slick-feeling – a huge improvement on Paradise Killer’s sometimes fiddly walking – with conversation cutscenes kicking in immediately and bringing you right into the matter at hand with just a tap of a button. It keeps the wheels moving, so to speak, and as soon as you’re done, you can speed away to whatever catches your eye next.
1 of 3 Caption Attribution The way you get about in Promise Mascot Agency feels much slicker than Paradise Killer.
I was able to track down three other mascots during the demo – the constantly crying tofu block To-Fu, the green burial mound Kofun and the adult video-loving yam cat Trororo (whose sticky, gloop-covered fur is, hmm, yes, definitely yam and not at all meant to look like anything else). You’ll need to do some light bargaining with them and set favourable employment terms with them before they’ll agree to join your agency, but once they’re on side, you can send them out on various jobs, which take place off-screen while you continue gambolling about in your truck seeking out further business ops.