Yokai Landlord: Monster Mystery! – Everything We Know

How good are you at sniffing out a lie or calling a bluff? You must be quite good to win at Yokai Landlord: Monster Mystery!, an upcoming social deduction game. Inspired by Werewolf, this game will task you with identifying monsters disguised as humans. Finding out the truth is tricky, and the consequences of failure are dire. 

The game is still under development and will launch in 2025. However, we know virtually everything about what to expect, thanks to a detailed official announcement. Here is our comprehensive preview of Yokai Landlord: Monster Mystery! 

What is a Social Deduction Game?

What is Yokai Landlord: Monster Mystery!?

Yokai Landlord: Monster Mystery! is an upcoming social deduction adventure game. Notably, it is inspired by Werewolf and built on the same concept and gameplay design. The concept involves you trying to identify Yokai (mythical monsters) disguised as people and living among your tenants. However, uncovering the truth is tricky, as the monsters are well-disguised and will try to sabotage your investigations. Interestingly, unlike most social deduction games, the Yokai cannot lie. 

Story

Yokai Landlord: Monster Mystery! is based on an intriguing mystery inspired by Japanese mythology. You inherit a residential building after losing your last remaining relative, leaving you all alone in the world. While nothing seems amiss with the property, a stranger comes to you out of the blue and tells you that some of your tenants are Yokai. 

Yokai is a Japanese word broadly used to describe monsters, demons, ghosts, and other evil creatures. Interestingly, these evil entities can disguise themselves in human form, making them easy to miss. Moreover, they are incredibly powerful and often seek to hurt humans in various ways. In this case, the Yokai turn into monsters and go on the hunt on the night of the new moon. 

The Yokai will kill your human residents if they turn into monsters on the night of the new moon. As such, you must identify and evict them before that happens. Moreover, you must avoid mistaking real humans for Yokai. 

However, identifying the Yokai is easier said than done, as they are masters of deception and take full advantage of the suspicion, panic, and uncertainty within the group to stay hidden. Besides identifying the Yokai, you must also try to figure out why the stranger warned you about them in the first place. 

Gameplay

Like most other social deduction games, Yokai Landlord: Monster Mystery! gameplay mostly focuses on dialogue. However, this game is also more hands-on, as you can run extra investigations on the tenants. Regardless of whatever strategies you use, you need good wits to see through the Yokais’ deception and uncover the truth. 

Dialoguing with your tenants is the main aspect of the game’s gameplay. As the landlord, the tenants will regularly approach you with requests or complaints. Moreover, some of the chattier residents will often try to strike up random conversations with you. The conversations can be about anything, and they could be important or pointless. However, what matters is the content of the conversation, as what the tenants say could reveal clues about the Yokais’ identities. 

Interestingly, the Yokai are utterly unable to lie, according to the mysterious stranger who informed you of their presence. Notably, lying is a core aspect of most social deduction games, and knowing who is lying is usually the best way of identifying the bad guys. In contrast, finding the Yokai in this game entails determining who is not lying. This is plausible as, while Yokai cannot lie, humans often do, even when they have no reason to. 

However, while the Yokai cannot lie, they set clever traps to deceive everyone and conceal their true identities. Moreover, they can try to shift the suspicion to human tenants, creating confusion and panic among the residents. Notably, every word and action matters. As such, you must be keen throughout. 

Notably, the Yokais’ human disguise profiles are meticulous. However, there may be discrepancies in their details. As such, you can also review the tenants’ profiles in the directory to learn more about them. Besides looking for inconsistencies in their profiles, you can also use the information to understand their personalities better. You can then try to reconcile what you learn about them with what you actually know about them from how they interact with other people and conduct themselves. 

Besides conversing with the tenants and reviewing their profiles, you can also review the footage on the building’s security cameras to observe their activities. While the Yokai are very careful among humans, they may slip and do something unusual when they think no one is watching. Notably, something unusual can start off as something usual. As such, you should be keen and take your time watching the video. 

Finally, you must evict the Yokai tenants as soon as you identify them. Notably, time is of the essence, as the disguised Yokai will turn into monsters and devour everyone on the night of the new moon. 

Development

Yokai Landlord: Monster Mystery! is currently under development by Shadow Glove, a developer based in Japan. It will be published by Shadow Glove and Fine Co., Ltd. when it is ready. 

Trailer

The official trailer for Yokai Landlord: Monster Mystery! essentially is a summary of the game’s background story. The first scene in the video showcases the mysterious stranger informing you about the Yokai hiding among your tenants. The stranger continues to explain that the Yokai cannot lie. As such, he then recommends that you should kick out the tenants who cannot lie. 

Unfortunately, the trailer doesn’t showcase the game’s gameplay. However, it does a great job of creating suspense and excitement. 

Release Date, Platforms & Editions

Yokai Landlord: Monster Mystery! will launch in 2025. Unfortunately, the developers were not more specific with the release date when making the official announcement. Moreover, the developers didn’t specify which platforms would be compatible with the game. However, it is certain that the game will run on PC, considering that it already has a Steam page. 

So, what’s your take on our preview of Yokai Landlord: Monster Mystery!? Let us know on our socials here or in the comments below.