Furyu has unveiled VARLET, the new “school life RPG” from the team behind 2021’s Monark (lately known as Team Noir).
A first trailer shows off its character cast — some of the voice actors include Shohei Komatsu, Minori Suzuki, and Aoi Koga — and a familiar combination of school life sections, dungeons, and RPG battles. It also reveals a planned August 25, 2025 release date for PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch, Steam, and Epic Games Store.
VARLET‘s narrative conceit is Johari, a “cross-reality, virtual reality network” implemented by Kousei Academy that fulfills a range of functions, including social networking and messaging. Aside from the usual social media effects, users who get too consumed by attention and approval-seeking are at risk of vanishing into Glitches — described in the trailer as worlds “born from each person’s hopes and desires” — and being replaced by monsters. That’s where the protagonist, a member of the Student Support Services, has to come in.
“As a member of the Student Support Services (SSS), a guild dedicated to solving the academy’s troubles, players must guide their friends, strengthen bonds, and fight to protect the school from impending doom,” says the game’s press release. “However, navigating these relationships comes with its own challenges – getting too close to multiple people may lead to unexpected consequences.”
Gameplay-wise, the highlighted feature is the Triad Stats system, which intends to allow players’ choices to affect their character progression. There are six “distinct” attributes that are split into the Light Triad and Dark Triad stats. The Light Triad stats “emphasize morality, sympathy, and altruism,” while “Machiavellianism, psychopathy, and narcissism” are what you’ll find on the opposite end.
“Players will determine their true nature, either as a guiding leader who uplifts and empowers allies in battle or as a ruthless ruler wielding immense power even at a personal cost,” says Furyu. While you’ll have to wait till August to really determine what kind of person you want the protagonist to be, there’s a “Triad Diagnosis” personality test that you can take right now.
As previously revealed by the game’s teaser site, VARLET‘s scenario is written by Gakuto Mikumo (METAL GEAR SOLID PORTABLE OPS story composer) and Ryutaro Ito (reprising from Monark), with Kazunari Suzuki (credited with supervision and cooperation on Monark) as scenario supervisor. Another previously announced Monark returnee is background music composer Tsukasa Masuko.
Source: Press release
