A true gentleman would never leave his fans waiting indefinitely. Twelve years after his last appearance on Nintendo 3DS and eight years after a disappointing “sequel” alongside his daughter Katrielle, Professor Layton is finally back in full force. Last year, Japanese studio LEVEL5 unveiled Professor Layton and the New Steam World, the first opus developed exclusively for the Nintendo Switch. After a first teaser in CG images and brief gameplay images, the long-awaited title has finally been given a trailer worthy of the name. Between a glimpse of the upcoming mystery and new clips recorded in-game, here's everything you need to know about the latest information regarding Layton's return, still scheduled for 2025.
A new ghostly antagonist
For their new adventure, Layton and Luke land in Steam Bison, the fastest-growing American city in the continent. Thanks to the power of steam, the impressive city seems much more advanced than previous destinations presented in the franchise. But what would a Layton game be without still-inexplicable adventures? A ghost gunslinger named Gunman King Joe is determined to put an end to the city’s rapid progress and warns our two heroes: “Do not seek progress… Do not seek a new world… Heed my warning.” As you can see, the legendary duo intends to solve this mystery, because ghosts cannot exist… Right?
Satisfying graphics and gameplay adapted to the platform
Since its transition to 3D, the Professor Layton franchise has lost some of its charm. But thanks to the leap in power offered by the Nintendo Switch, the developers have managed to offer us the best of both worlds. The environments benefit from textures with particularly worked artistic direction, reminiscent of the drawings of the first opus. The characters, with softer lines than the settings, therefore stand out better and perfectly complement this new visual approach for the license. According to an excerpt of a puzzle, it would also seem that the artists have worked twice as hard to offer us ever more beautiful puzzles.
In the absence of a stylus and a touch screen in living room mode, the gameplay also benefits from some adjustments. The gameplay sequence broadcast today presents us with a large area composed of four distinct tables, which can be explored using the directional buttons on the controller. It is then possible to inspect these environments using a cursor and interact with the characters. All that remains is to hope that the controls will be sufficiently intuitive. Especially since with “the largest selection of puzzles in the history of the franchise“, the lack of touch controls may be felt…
We should get some initial feedback at the Tokyo Game Show this week, as the title will be playable at the show, with a demo version available in English and French. Japanese. As for the general public, we now have to wait until 2025 (without further details) before being able to enjoy this ambitious opus. So, are you eager to find Layton and Luke again?
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