Kemuri Details Combat, Co-op, and Yo-kai System

Every so often, a game comes along that looks incredible while leaving you completely unclear on what you'd actually be doing in it, and that's been the story with Kemuri since its debut. The supernatural co-op action game is being made by Unseen, the studio led by Ikumi Nakamura, the developer best known for her work on Ghostwire: Tokyo and for her unforgettable, often hilarious appearances on stage at events like The Game Awards.

Until recently, Kemuri had been kept under wraps, with little to go on beyond a flashy reveal trailer. That's now changed: a new gameplay trailer premiered at Summer Game Fest, accompanied by a wave of fresh details that finally give a clearer sense of what the game will actually play like.

Let’s take a look at everything we know about Kemuri so far, beginning with the release dates.

Kemuri is expected to release in 2027 for PlayStation 5 and PC. No information is available regarding the Xbox or Switch 2 versions, and considering the official website mentions only the PlayStation systems, it seems Kemuri will most likely be exclusive to Sony consoles.

As for what the game actually is, you take on the role of a Yo-kai hunter who strikes contracts with supernatural beings and then channels their powers through something called Possession Apparel. Essentially, you're teaming up with these spirits and borrowing their abilities to fight.

From what's shown in the footage, there's a solid variety of Yo-kai and powers already on display, which suggests a pretty engaging gameplay loop once everything comes together. There's also something satisfying about how tightly your progression and appearance are tied to the Yo-kai you collect, which gives the whole thing a bit of a Monster Hunter feel, except instead of farming monster parts for armor, you're hunting down spirits that boost your abilities directly.

The setting is Kemuri City, a place the developers describe as basically the closest thing to an afterlife. Visually, it's an enormous, sprawling vertical city built directly on top of a sealed, massive Yo-kai. You'll get to explore rooftops, narrow alleyways, and underground ruins scattered throughout the city, and the whole environment looks tailor-made for fast, fluid movement.

That brings us to traversal, which has clearly been a major focus for the developers since the very first reveal.

You can already see characters running along walls and gliding across cables in the footage, and if you've ever played Sunset Overdrive, this kind of movement system will feel right at home. Verticality seems baked into everything about how you'll get around Kemuri City. One of the standout mechanics is called the Foxwindow, and it's your main way of interacting with the Yo-kai scattered throughout the world.

It's a hand-sign technique you've probably noticed in the trailers, where your character peers through a gap formed by their fingers. This ability lets hunters spot paranormal activity, track down hidden traces of Yo-kai, and step into Yo-kai domains that have formed out in the world. It also seems to let you summon monsters directly into the environment.

According to the developers, though, activating the Foxwindow isn't risk-free, since enemies can notice when you use it, so you'll need to stay sharp while exploring those domains. Then there's the Yo-kai system itself, which sounds like it's been given a ton of thought.

The developers have explained that the Yo-kai in this world are born out of stagnant human emotions and unresolved thoughts, which naturally leads to a wide range of types and personalities. That means you'll run into all kinds of different Yo-kai as you explore, some dangerous, some helpful, with discovering and collecting them forming the backbone of the entire experience.

Once you fight and form a contract with one, you gain access to its powers as Possession Apparel.

This is a genuinely fun concept since you're essentially wearing ghosts and monsters as your outfit and combat kit. Getting possessed doesn't just hand you new abilities, either; it actually transforms your appearance, too. The whole point is to track down as many Yo-kai as you can to keep expanding your character's strength, and if this system has real depth to it, it could end up giving Kemuri serious replay value, much like the loop that keeps people coming back to Monster Hunter.

Another piece that should boost replayability is multiplayer. Kemuri supports both solo play and online co-op for up to three people. If you go solo, the press materials mention that other hunters and their contracted Yo-kai will jump in to help you during both combat and exploration, which strongly suggests you'll have AI companions backing you up on missions. Playing online lets you team up with friends to take on anomalies scattered across Kemuri City, and based on the trailers, that cooperative chaos looks like a blast.

Visually, this game is stunning. The developers have described their art direction as a mix of anime, dark fantasy, and modern aesthetics, and it shows. Instead of leaning on motion capture, the team is using handcrafted keyframe animation to nail a more stylized, exaggerated look, and that choice is already obvious in the footage, with movements that feel packed with personality and flair.

Combat and traversal details are still pretty limited overall, but slowing down the trailer footage reveals a lot. The movement system is genuinely impressive, letting you run along walls, glide through the air, and even swing across the environment, likely powered by specific Yo-kai abilities you pick up along the way. The combat in this game is also very intricate, including projectiles, combos, and move strings.

This isn’t restricted to the ground level as well.

Since there are obvious instances of prolonged air combats that involve the players staying up in the air and stringing their attacks together. It is like Sunset Overdrive with anime flavors, and this in itself is enough reason to set the game apart from others. Furthermore, there are three hunter types known at the moment, including Katana Hunters, Bow Hunters, and Shaman Hunters.

Those seem to represent the class choices you have upon start, providing a base for you to further develop and grow as you travel around and get additional Yo-kai to add more moves to your arsenal. In other words, all the data presented above suggest that Kemuri represents one hell of an interesting and promising game project that goes unnoticed by many, mostly due to the slow dissemination of information since the first teaser trailer from 2023.

Even with this new gameplay footage, there's still plenty left to learn, but what's been shown so far has been consistently impressive. Hopefully, the next update brings an extended look at an actual mission or a full Yo-kai capture sequence so fans can finally see the complete loop in action.