Veritas Tales: Witch of the Dark Castle Launches on Steam After 6-Year Development
The game represents a rare solo project from a high-profile background artist whose work defined the visual identity of major Vanillaware titles, now delivering a hand-drawn, gamebook-style RPG that deliberately contrasts with the scale of modern AAA productions.
Key Facts
- Veritas Tales: Witch of the Dark Castle was released on Steam on July 9, 2026.
- The game was created by Yoshio Nishimura, a former Vanillaware background artist with over 30 years in the industry.
- All 300-plus illustrations in the game are hand-drawn, with no generative AI used.
- The text volume exceeds 300,000 characters, and estimated playtime is over 20 hours.
- Music is by Basiscape, led by Hitoshi Sakimoto, composer for Final Fantasy Tactics and 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim.
Reporting from 1 source: Denfaminicogamer.
Veritas Tales: Witch of the Dark Castle, a reading-type fantasy RPG, launched on Steam on July 9, 2026. The game is the work of Yoshio Nishimura, a veteran illustrator and background artist who previously worked on Monster Hunter at Capcom and Odin Sphere and Dragon's Crown at Vanillaware. Nishimura spent six years developing the game while farming in the mountains of Nara, creating over 300 hand-drawn illustrations without generative AI. The game features a gamebook-style format where players read pages, make choices, and roll dice to determine outcomes. It supports combat, negotiation, and avoidance as approaches to obstacles. The text volume exceeds 300,000 characters, estimated playtime is over 20 hours, and a New Game Plus mode is included. Music is provided by Basiscape, led by Hitoshi Sakimoto (Final Fantasy Tactics, 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim). The regular price is 1,980 yen with a 10% launch discount for two weeks. A demo covering the first 30 minutes is available and has received a Very Positive rating on Steam. Full monetization of streams and videos is permitted for individuals and corporations.
The demo version of Veritas Tales: Witch of the Dark Castle, which covers the first 30 minutes of the full game, has been available on Steam since an earlier date and holds a Very Positive user rating. The full release supports Japanese, Simplified Chinese, and English text. The game consciously references the gamebook and tabletop RPG roots of modern fantasy works such as Elden Ring, Baldur's Gate 3, and Delicious in Dungeon, aiming to recreate the original weight of sword-and-sorcery gameplay. Creator Yoshio Nishimura, who spent over 30 years in the industry as a background art chief, settled in the small mountain village of Soni in Nara after leaving Vanillaware. He developed the game in isolation while farming, drawing all 300-plus illustrations by hand. The music was composed by Hitoshi Sakimoto and his studio Basiscape, whose credits include Final Fantasy Tactics, Vagrant Story, and 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim. The publisher 15 Industry has encouraged streaming and video creation, allowing monetization by both individuals and corporations, with a request that viewers experience the branching story themselves rather than relying solely on playthroughs.
Synthesized by Yomimono from the 1 cited source below, including Japanese-language reporting where cited, then editorially reviewed before publishing.