Promise Mascot Agency Review

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Occasionally, it can be tough determining the boundaries for the types of games we feature, including Promise Mascot Agency, as it may not immediately fit our usual genre. However, during a recent ID@Xbox event near GDC, we felt the game was similar enough to warrant further examination. In essence, RPGs are about managing resources, and that’s also a key aspect of how Promise Mascot Agency functions.

Promise Mascot Agency, as its title hints, is a game centered around the management of a unique mascot booking agency. The mascots here aren’t your typical people in costumes; instead, they are more like Yokai, each with their own extraordinary abilities that resemble Japan’s folklore. However, unlike traditional mascots, these characters are less conventional and often have edgy personalities. For instance, you might encounter a split eel character who fears the decline of unagi obsession in Japan, or a cat-yam hybrid with an affinity for adult videos. Despite their unusual traits, they maintain a charming design that determines which mascots can be assigned to each task.

Initially, managing a mascot agency may seem like a straightforward task, involving sending mascots on jobs, acquiring upgrades, and so forth. However, the reason behind your involvement in this business is that you, Michizane, are an exiled Yakuza. You’re trying to make amends for a botched job that cost your Yakuza family 12 billion yen. As you become comfortable with the gameplay, you’ll need to monitor a meter that indicates the precarious situation of your family, which can be alleviated by regularly sending money through ATMs scattered across Kaso-Machi. Regrettably, completely repaying this debt is unattainable, so your primary objective becomes exploring the island, conversing with locals, and unraveling the mystery behind the grand conspiracy you’ve found yourself in.

To put it another way, managing your agency in this game is primarily about acquiring flexibility. Although you have minimal influence over what the mascot will do during a task, by driving your Kei truck around Kaso-Machi, you can locate various helpful items. You can earn money by cleaning up the rundown town by colliding with the neon-pink trash bags scattered across the island, buy items to boost a mascot’s chances in difficult situations when they go on jobs, and even find vehicle upgrades that make navigating the town smoother.

Absolutely, using a mascot for tasks doesn’t ensure that problems won’t arise, especially when your fanbase grows, enabling you to take on tougher jobs with increased rewards but also greater challenges if things go awry. The only way to maximize your earnings is by deploying Mascot Support Heroes. These heroes are symbolized as cards that you can discover scattered across Kaso-Machi, purchase from vendors, or earn as rewards for completing NPC Town Quests. You might need to find merchandise exclusive to an Idol group hidden in their town’s vending machines, locate all the shrines on an island, or simply assist as many people as possible and make a positive impact. The more you aid each character, the stronger their Support Hero cards become.

Unfortunately, when you’re in a tough spot and a mascot asks for your assistance, your ability to control the situation is quite restricted. You don’t pre-build decks from your Support Heroes, but certain mascots do have preferences for specific events. However, there are no real barriers preventing you from using any mascot that meets the criteria. In most cases, the Support Heroes will take care of things.

Once you’ve collected all the vehicle upgrades and unlocked fast travel spots across the map, the game’s tension quickly fades away. Even if a mascot is inexperienced or untrained, they can easily handle the toughest tasks as soon as you’ve completed tasks like finding abandoned arcade games, fishing out kitchen knives, or completing other objectives that the game provides.

In essence, this system isn’t inherently problematic, but it can create a situation where success seems largely dependent on luck. Once you enhance your cards for additional actions and hero draws, things can quickly escalate. The concept of failure doesn’t lead to monetary loss; instead, you receive a minimum guarantee. When recruiting mascots, the salary negotiations seem insignificant, as they don’t significantly impact your gameplay, whether you underpay or overpay. This lack of consequence encourages you to keep assigning jobs back-to-back without much thought. Since jobs require waiting for completion, you’ll always spend downtime working on objectives that gradually make jobs easier and less challenging over time.

As I cruise around this virtual island, I’m on a mission to uncover fresh mascots and tick items off my list, all while enjoying the ride. The game’s driving controls might be a bit cumbersome, but it seems deliberate, fitting snugly with the game’s overall quirky appeal. The mini tales attached to each character could be a tad too sweet for my preference, even bordering on glorifying the Yakuza in a way that makes me uncomfortable. Still, I found myself drawn into the game’s narrative journey.

I had envisioned a strategically demanding resource management sim at the start, where every move required meticulous planning. While it does appear that the game will head in this direction initially, the core gameplay mechanics ultimately feel more like decoration. They serve as a reason to take a spin in my Kei truck through a made-up Japanese town. It’s not necessarily a flaw, especially considering we cover games with a narrative focus. However, Promise Mascot Agency felt slightly different from what I expected – even though the end product was an enjoyable adventure about revitalizing a fading town.

7

Versions tested: PC (Steam Deck, Desktop)

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2025-04-07 16:26