A game adaptation of the Seasons of Books and Keys (Hon to Kagi no Kisetsu) novel by Honobu Yonezawa, the author of Hyouka and SHOSHIMIN: How to become Ordinary, has been unveiled by publisher SHUEISHA GAMES. It’s a “drama-like adventure” developed by iMel Inc that will launch this winter on Nintendo Switch and Steam.
The stars of the story are Jiro Horikawa (Kazuki Ura) and Shimon Matsukura (Yuichirou Umehara). The two are students on the library committee who constantly get involved in “strange situations,” something that happens after they begin hanging out with each other, The official story description mentions a safe that can’t be opened, disappearing exam questions, and the last book read by a student who killed themselves. “What begins as a small favor in an ordinary school day slowly swings open the door onto someone’s secret, or someone’s lie,” it says.
As Jiro, players will find themselves “listening to each request that comes into the library and threading the small inconsistencies together until the door to the truth opens.” The description teases, “The truth behind each client, the secret his partner keeps, and where the friendship between the two boys finally leads: it all waits inside.”
The Seasons of Books and Keys game will have full voicework and comes with new character designs by illustrator Yoko Tanji, who drew a promotional illustration for the novel in the past. It will also feature a new tale titled Used Kitan, written by Yonezawa (the original novel featured six short stories).
On the “drama-like adventure” descriptor, the trailer’s video description calls it “the genre built for this title, fusing the experience of reading a story with the experience of watching one.” The explanation continues: “You take it in with your eyes, listen with your ears, and operate with your fingers, feeling the narrative through every sense and sinking into it as if you were watching a single drama. The lingering resonance of the printed page stays intact, while the story gains the immediacy of film. The aim is an experience where even the smallest shifts in a character’s heart come through in a way you can feel with all five senses.”
The novel was first released in 2018 by Shueisha. It was followed by a second book with the title Seasons of Bookmarks and Lies (Shiori to Uso no Kisetsu). The series is called the Toshoiin Series (Library Committee Member Series).
Sources: SHUEISHA GAMES YouTube channel, Steam, press release
