Cursed to Golf creator reveals ‘chill adventure’ Tanuki: Pon’s Summer

Former Q-Games and Chuhai Labs developers have announced “chill adventure” game Tanuki: Pon’s Summer.

Developed by Denkiworks and published by Critical Reflex, the game sees players controlling a BMX-riding mailman in a Japanese town, delivering packages and completing jobs for inhabitants.

“Step into the furry paws of Pon and BMX in style as a part-time mailman in a picturesque Japanese town, delivering packages, pulling off tricks, and helping locals with quests,” reads a synopsis.

“In this awesome summer adventure, you’ll enjoy fun activities like bug catching, plating sushi, baseball, sumo and more while unlocking a variety of decorations to restore the Great Tanuki Shrine for the end-of-summer Matsuri festival!

“Experience village life and create your own unique story as you befriend (or annoy) a cast of quirky townsfolk and manage your relationships with an intuitive, emoji-based dialogue system!”

Tanuki: Pon’s Summer is planned for Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One and PC via the Microsoft Store and Steam.

The three co-founders of Denkiworks met while working on PixelJunk Scrappers. Liam Edwards then left the team to direct his own new game, Cursed to Golf, which made VGC’s top 10 games of 2022.

“We’ve been hard at work on our first title, inspired by our experiences of life in Japan, coming from an expat and native perspective. It’s essentially a love letter to this country and its beautiful culture,” Edwards said last year.