The Promise Mascot Agency is a yakuza inspired RPG where the player trains mascots for a dying town. This is in an attempt to redeem themselves in the eyes of the family boss. It’s a very different game to anything I have played before and the most similar game I can think of is Need for Speed – with mascot rallies instead of races!
The game starts off like Star Wars, with an expositionary wall of text, before rolling to a video of your character’s downfall. It’s all very dark which is not what I expected from the quirky characters I had seen in the promo pack.
The game then begins in earnest! Finally, you can begin collecting mascots and heroes for your agency. There’s a grittiness to the atmosphere which suits the game well. The mascots themselves? Bizarre. They’re billed as ‘low budget’ which accounts for their lack of visual appeal but they don’t seem to fit their own aesthetic.
For example, the ‘goth girl’ I was expecting would be grey/black/white with maybe a hint of red or purple. I’m thinking Wednesday Addams. Instead, she’s a weird green monstrosity which looks more like a toilet sign than a person.
Putting that aside, the gameplay itself is pretty good. There’s a lot to do – things to explore, collections, quests. Some of them are pretty challenging and the controls are similar to other driving games I’ve played, making them quick to pick up. I played for 21 hours without getting bored which is unusual for me. At £32.76 on CDKeys, it’s not a dreadful choice if you’re into odd Japanese games.
For all that, I can’t see myself picking this one up again. Promise Mascot Agency is an experience. I haven’t done drugs but I imagine this game is what they’d feel like. I have no regrets.
| Criteria | Scores | Our Score |
| Artistic Achievement | 1 – 5 | 3 |
| Gameplay | 1 – 5 | 4 |
| Value/Cost | 1 – 5 | 3 |
| Controls | 1 – 5 | 4 |
| Length | 1 – 5 | 4 |
Written By: ivetafox
Favourite Game – Long Live the Queen || Favourite Film – Sweeney Todd || Favourite Book – Wuthering Heights
About: Ivy is a disabled, autistic writer from the UK, passionate about inclusive gaming. When not reviewing, she can be found writing short stories and micro fiction or reading the latest gothic novel.
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Reminds me a lot of Gumball – alive objects with photos as backgrounds just works so well with the “drug experience” vibe, haha. (In the best way possible.)