Level-5 has announced a major series reboot for its ghost-hunting Yo-kai Watch franchise, with a spiritual successor known as Holy Horror Mansion currently in development. This was announced as a new “cross-media” project, likely with video games and animated shows attached, although it does appear the series will begin in the realm of gaming.
During the Level-5 Vision 2024 showcase, the developer confirmed the arrival of a “ghost craft RPG” to begin with. This will feature a young hero who “who lives in a mansion atop the apartment building owned by his grandma, finds a camera in a locked room, encounters a ghost and gets caught up in all kinds of turmoil!”
A brief first look at gameplay showed off familiar scenes. The game’s camera will be used to identify ghost / yo-kai creatures, much like how the titular Yo-kai Watch worked. Players will also be working to collect and befriend an array of these creatures, recording them in a notebook, and sending them into battle.
Read: Tokyo Game Show 2024: Everything you should know
Beyond this, it does appear Yo-kai Watch has been completely reworked into Holy Horror Mansion. All the ghosts included appear new, as do the main cast of characters. The camera mentioned in the game’s description also sounds like it’ll be an essential tool, perhaps as in Pokemon Snap.
Beyond these details, Level-5 has only revealed that there’s big plans for Holy Horror Mansion in the works, and that it will succeed Yo-kai Watch with its supernatural tones and cutesy characters. It appears to be a major project for the developer, and there are high hopes for its success.
As announced during the Vision 2024 showcase, more will be revealed in 2025. Given everything else in the works at Level-5, we can assume Holy Horror Mansion won’t be ready until later in 2025 or 2026 at the earliest.
What’s next for Yo-kai Watch?
With the announcement of Holy Horror Mansion, it does appear the Yo-kai Watch story is over. That means for those keen fans in the West, it’s likely time to give up on Yo-kai Watch 4 and other titles, including the Yo-kai Watch remake for Nintendo Switch, ever being officially translated and released locally.
Holy Horror Mansion is described as the “next concept” for Yo-kai Watch, and it seems to function as a light reboot for the series, leaving behind its most popular characters and critters.
Given Level-5 has focussed more on releasing games worldwide recently, we can assume Holy Horror Mansion will release in English-speaking regions eventually – but this will mean the later parts of Yo-kai Watch will be skipped over entirely.
While it’s great to see a spiritual successor to the beloved series in the works, its announcement will be fairly bittersweet to those still waiting and hoping Yo-kai Watch gets the justice it deserves.
