If you braved the absolute chaos that was the Tokyo Game Show this year (props to you, you masochist), then you probably tripped over the Smilegate booth. It was kinda hard to miss, what with the LCD screens brighter than your future and the sheer, unadulterated *presence* they were trying to sell. And what were they peddling? Oh, just their new game, MIRESI: Invisible Future. Yeah, you’ve never heard of it. I’m shocked too. This “new” title, and I use that term loosely, is a collectible RPG that thinks it’s being clever by mixing time travel storytelling with combat that’s mostly automated. Because who has time to *actually play* a game these days? It’s slated for a “worldwide release” in 2026 on, like, every platform imaginable, including your grandma’s toaster if they can figure out how. I, being the brave soul I am, decided to play the demo so you don’t have to. Spoiler alert: you’re welcome.😇
So, I booted up the demo, and immediately, MIRESI: Invisible Future dumps you into the role of a “councillor” (whatever that is) whose job is to save the timeline of… wait for it… Yggdrasil. Yes, they went there. The story, which they’re keeping tighter than my budget after buying convention snacks, involves three “heroines”—Ende, Isuka, and Tieria—who are apparently paid to prance around collapsing eras to stop disaster. The details are so secret, I’m pretty sure even the devs don’t know what’s going on yet. But, from my brief encounter, it seems to involve time paradoxes, battles, and the fate of humanity. Groundbreaking stuff, really. Like, haven’t seen *that* before.🙄
This masterpiece is being crafted by Control 9, a South Korean studio formed by devs who previously worked on Goddess of Victory: Nikke. Oh, so *that’s* why it looks like that. The art direction is led by Hyung-seop “Hyulla” Kim, who apparently is a big deal or something. If you’ve ever laid eyes on Nikke, you’ll recognize the “style” instantly. Let’s just say it involves a lot of… “physics.” Even in my short demo, I could tell the world was “striking,” which is PR speak for “we spent all our budget on character design and forgot about everything else.” And, of course, there’s the usual fan service. Because, you know, gotta appeal to *that* demographic.🙄
Speaking of the art style, Hyung-seop “Hyulla” Kim had this to say: “Basically, there were a lot of difficulties. Time travel is our core concept, and time travel means we have to depict multiple eras simultaneously. In order to bring all these parts together, we established our own unique art style and organized a logical approach to design. We provided extensive guidance and feedback to our internal design team, and as a result, this is what we’ve been able to create.” In other words, “It was hard, but we made it look pretty.” Real insightful. 🤔
Once you get past the snooze-fest story, you’re thrown into the “innovative” combat system. MIRESI: Invisible Future blends semi-automated attacks with tactical elements ripped straight from turn-based RPGs. There’s a combat timer at the bottom, because timers make everything more exciting! While waiting for your turn, everyone just auto-attacks. It’s like watching paint dry, but with slightly more explosions. This gives you time to “assess the battlefield” and “plan your next move,” which usually involves praying the AI does something useful.🙏
It “works” because it’s “easy to understand,” according to the marketing material. Which is code for “we dumbed it down so even your pet hamster could play.” You get to choose special moves, like healing (because who needs strategy when you can just heal?), evasive maneuvers (because standing still is for chumps), and “devastating” attacks (which usually tickle the enemy). The key to victory is choosing the right action at the right moment. So, basically, luck. It demands “attention and quick thinking,” apparently. Or, you know, you could just watch Netflix on your other monitor. It rewards “engaged” players, which is a polite way of saying “you have no life.” 🤷♀️
Smilegate also dropped a teaser trailer called If It’s You, Could You Change It? which is either a profound question about personal responsibility or just a really bad translation. The teaser is full of dramatic visuals and shows the three “heroines” looking angsty while fighting. It’s supposed to establish the game’s “emotional tone,” which seems to be “despair mixed with a heavy dose of anime tropes.” It hints at the core experience, which, if the teaser is anything to go by, involves a lot of standing around looking pretty while things explode in the background.🔥
“Combat in MIRESI: Invisible Future blends semi-automated attacks with tactical elements borrowed from turn-based RPGs.”
Hyung-seop “Hyulla” Kim, bless his heart, chimed in about the three main heroes: “The three main characters were already determined from the scenario, so I designed them based on those concepts. They were always meant to be the central figures in the story, which is why we revealed them first. And of course, there will be many more characters coming later.” So, basically, “we had a story and then we made the characters look hot.” Riveting. There will be more characters, of course, because gotta sell those gacha pulls! 💸
Once you get past the thrilling battle systems ( sarcasm intended), you’ll find a larger experience with a JRPG setting, which takes place before the deviation shown at the start. All I can say is I got blue balls because my time was up!
Pixel P. Snarkbyte, widely regarded as the “Shakespeare of Sh*tposts,” is a video game expert with a unique knack for turning pixels into punchlines.
Born in the small town of Respawn, Pennsylvania, Pixel grew up mashing buttons on an ancient NES controller, firmly believing that “blowing into the cartridge” was a sacred ritual passed down through generations.
Pixel P. Snarkbyte: proving that life, much like a buggy open-world game, is better with a little lag-induced chaos.
