Digitalis Publishing, the independent game label founded by Yoshio Nishimura, has revealed that the fantasy RPG Veritas Tales: Witch of the Dark Castle will debut on July 9 for PC (Steam). After six years of development, this project draws inspiration from classic gamebooks and tabletop RPGs, allowing players to interact directly with an in-game book.
With three decades of experience in the gaming industry, Nishimura began his career at Capcom, where he eventually rose to become the chief background artist for the Monster Hunter series. He later joined George Kamitani’s studio Vanillaware, contributing to the creation of acclaimed titles such as Odin Sphere, Dragon’s Crown, and 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim during his 20-year tenure there.
As recently shared with Denfaminicogamer, Nishimura parted ways with Vanillaware on amicable terms following the COVID-19 pandemic. During this time, he relocated to a remote mountain village in Japan, embracing a lifestyle far removed from the studio’s Osaka offices. His independence allowed him to fully focus on Veritas Tales: Witch of the Dark Castle, a passion project he initially developed as a personal side-project during his final three years at Vanillaware. This means the game has been in production for six years in total.
Featuring a gameplay system that combines visual novel and RPG mechanics, Veritas Tales is a digital fantasy gamebook where players roll dice, make decisions, battle foes, and navigate a branching narrative. The game takes cues from James Herbert Brennan’s “The Castle of Darkness” and deliberately retains the challenging and unforgiving nature of classic gamebooks, so players should expect the possibility of sudden failure due to poor choices. However, it also incorporates modern elements like a save feature, voice acting, and an original score by Hitoshi Sakimoto, the composer behind Final Fantasy Tactics.
Veritas Tales promises over 20 hours of gameplay, accompanied by 300 hand-drawn illustrations from Nishimura. No generative AI was utilized during development, and the creators emphasize that the game “has a soul that can only be found in something truly handmade.”
Veritas Tales: Witch of the Dark Castle is set to launch on July 9 for PC (Steam).