Publisher PQube has announced a western release for Iwakura Aria, the thriller visual novel from Japanese developer MAGES.
Iwakura Aria is coming west sometime in 2025 for Windows PC (via Steam) and Nintendo Switch. The thriller visual novel was originally released for Japan back in June 2024.
Here’s a rundown on the game, plus a new trailer:
The Iwakura mansion holds a dark secret. Ichiko the new young maid joins looking for nothing but safety and security, but would soon find herself entangled with the beautiful daughter of the Iwakura household. Unravel the secrets of the Iwakura mansion in this gripping suspense visual novel.
After the war Japan experiences rapid economic growth, and in the cracks of society one girl gets left behind. With no future to look forward to, she grasps onto a thread of hope, a possibility of a new life, as the maid to the Iwakura household. However, the Iwakura family holds its own secrets, most connected to its heir Aria, and Ichiko finds herself sucked into another world contained within that mansion.
In the midst of people’s hopes and expectations, Aria and Ichiko have lost sight of their true selves. To whom do the lives of these girls – who continue to play the roles they are given – belong?
In order to take back control of their own lives, courage and willpower are needed, and the fateful meeting between them may just be the key to unlocking their hidden strength.
This is the story of one summer in 1966 that shaped the future of the Iwakura family, and their new maid.
Features
- Heart Pounding Revelations – Play as Ichiko, housekeeper to the Iwakura mansion, and uncover the chilling machinations at play as you grow closer to Aria and her dark fate.
- Change the Future – With nine different endings to unlock, the choices you make affect the outcome of the future and the life the protagonist is living 33 years after the events of the main game.
- Unlock Secrets – Use the map to explore different rooms of the mansion to piece together key information needed to uncover characters’ hidden secrets and the greater secrets at play.
- Ichiko’s Sketchbook – Carefully detailed drawings of what captivates her interest, these drawings can also reveal hidden clues to the twisted heart of the Iwakura mansion.
- Renaissance Dream – Illustrations in a painterly style, and cut-out frames which piece together multiple images into one scene, by illustrator Hyakunen and graphic designer Nakada Fumi, bring the story to life.
- Gripping Connections – The bonds between the women of the mansion pull together the story, from friendship to love, these strong emotions underpin the suspense which builds with each chapter.
