A Steam demo for Sonokuni, VGC’s BitSummit Game of the Show, is available now

A playable demo for Sonokuni is available now on Steam.

Sonokuni was given VGC’s Media Highlight award at the BitSummit indie event in Kyoto earlier this year, and players can now try out the game on Steam to see why we liked it.

The game’s unique selling point is that it’s developed by Don Yasa Crew, a Japanese hip-hop outfit who decided to learn game development during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Inspired by Hotline Miami, the crew’s Don Sagawa created a top-down 2D action game where players have to perfect difficult action sequences using a variety of abilities.

“This may sound infuriating, but the combat is so satisfying, and the game is so conscious of the player’s free time that it never really is,” we wrote in our Game of the Show article.

“As soon as you die you hit a button and spawn right at the door to the room, there are no long checkpoints you have to play through again. It’s a die, try, die, try system and it nails the ‘one more go’ vibe with gusto.”

“Then, on top of all this, there’s the small matter of a filthy, gritty J-hip-hop soundtrack blasting on loop in the background.

“When it all combines, and you finally manage to pull off a perfect run with the bass thumping and Japanese rapping ringing around your ears, you feel cool as all imaginable hell.”

Don Yasa Crew has also announced that Sonokuni will have a speed run mode at launch, allowing players to compete to beat each level in the quickest time possible.