Akatori has just received a free playable demo and a new gameplay trailer, released by Contrast Games. The title presents a 2D metroidvania in which players wield a mystical staff to fight, jump, and explore diverse realms spread across different eras.

The story follows Mako, a young monk raised in the Firebird Temple, who embarks on a journey through interconnected worlds to save her homeland from the Amber Storms, a corrupting force that infects and distorts all living things. By her side is a mysterious red bird sealed within her staff, an element central to both the narrative and the gameplay.

The staff is the core of every encounter and functions as a weapon, a traversal tool, and a key to uncovering the world’s secrets. In combat, players chain combos on the ground and in mid air, launch the staff as a projectile, and pull it back to continue attacking in a single fluid motion. Outside of battle, it enables gliding, wall hooking, sliding, and momentum driven parkour across highly vertical environments.

The game’s universe spans multiple myth inspired biomes, ranging from medieval Asian inspired landscapes to flooded underground mines, floating bamboo islands, and a volatile otherworldly dimension. Enemies exist within a living ecosystem where they fight each other, trigger traps, and react to environmental hazards, making each area dynamic and unpredictable.

The free demo offers approximately 45 minutes of content across three distinct locations. Monk Forest introduces the core mechanics in a lush canopy setting, Bamboo Location focuses on verticality and traversal using flexible bamboo stalks, and Underwater Location builds tension with breath limited exploration and constant environmental threats.

Throughout the experience, players face more than ten enemy types, survive the Chaos Arena, outrun a massive Serpent in an intense chase sequence, and confront the demo’s climactic boss, the Bumblebee. A complete tutorial system introduces features such as gliding, air dashing, double jumping, wall clings, and swimming, alongside a versatile combat system with light attacks, charged strikes, aerial combos, staff throws, uppercuts, and finishing moves.

The narrative blends environmental storytelling with direct encounters and dialogue, exploring themes of growth, self discovery, and resilience through both exploration and combat. The proposal seeks to integrate mechanics and meaning, connecting personal progression with practical challenges in every new territory visited.

Regarding the creative process, Serge, the game director, stated: "It was a real challenge to bring together such different worlds - in terms of atmosphere, mechanics, and gameplay dynamics. The goal was to create a distinctly unique experience for each location while still uniting them through a shared meaning. I hope we managed to achieve that."

Stanislav, the art director, also commented on the production challenges: "If you think that creating a pixel-art metroidvania saves development time... think again. And when the visuals combine both 2D and 3D elements, enhanced by modern technologies, it becomes a challenge of its own. Still, it's been exciting to explore and refine our approach to asset creation."

Among the main highlights are the so called Kung Fu Parkour, featuring expressive momentum driven traversal, and a highly mobile combat system that encourages constant movement. The striking 2.5D visuals combine pixel art characters with fully three dimensional environments, while the staff centric design connects parkour, combat, and narrative into a cohesive experience.

The experience also features varied myth inspired biomes, unconventional boss fights ranging from underwater escapes to rhythm based challenges, and a memorable soundtrack with distinct themes for each location and encounter. The demo supports both controller and keyboard, is available in English, German, Russian, Japanese, and Simplified Chinese, and will remain playable during Steam Next Fest February 2026 Edition, further building anticipation for the full release.