{"rewrite":{"id":"r_f3e5019538f38669a431e02b","clusterId":"c_444bf1b4fa903bfbdf2f01c2","slug":"veritas-tales-witch-of-the-dark-castle-demo-appears-at-steam-next-fest","model":"deepseek-v4-flash","headline":"Veritas Tales: Witch of the Dark Castle Demo Appears at Steam Next Fest","summary":"Developer Digitalis Publishing and publisher 15 Industry released a demo for the reading fantasy adventure Veritas Tales: Witch of the Dark Castle at Steam Next Fest starting June 16 Japan time. Players can play the first 30 minutes as warrior Havlock or magician Paneri. The full version is scheduled for July 9. The game was created by former Vanillaware developer Yoshio Nishimura over six years in the mountains of Nara, with all 300 illustrations hand-drawn and no generative AI used. Music is by Hitoshi Sakimoto.","whyItMatters":"The demo gives a first look at a handcrafted gamebook-style RPG from a veteran developer who spent six years working alone in rural Japan, with a full release coming in less than a month.","webCardHtml":"\u003cp\u003eDigitalis Publishing and 15 Industry made the demo for Veritas Tales: Witch of the Dark Castle available at Steam Next Fest starting June 16 Japan time. The demo covers the first 30 minutes of the story and lets players choose between two characters: the warrior Havlock or the magician Paneri. The full version is due July 9.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe game is a digital gamebook RPG with a scenario of about 300,000 characters. Players turn pages to advance the story, and dice rolls affect outcomes. Combat can be handled through brute force, negotiation, or avoidance. The developer, Yoshio Nishimura, previously worked on Odin Sphere and Dragon\u0026#39;s Crown at Vanillaware. He spent six years in the mountains of Nara completing the game, drawing all 300 illustrations by hand with no generative AI. Hitoshi Sakimoto, known for Final Fantasy Tactics and 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim, composed the music. The full version is expected to take over 20 hours and includes replay elements.\u003c/p\u003e","blueskyPost":"Veritas Tales' demo is a dice-roll reading adventure from a former Vanillaware artist who spent six years hand-drawing 300 illustrations in a mountain cabin. The full game ships July 9.","twitterPost":"Veritas Tales: Witch of the Dark Castle demo is a dice-roll reading adventure hand-drawn over six years by a former Vanillaware developer.","threadsPost":"Veritas Tales: Witch of the Dark Castle's demo is a dice-roll reading fantasy adventure. It was hand-drawn over six years by former Vanillaware artist Yoshio Nishimura, working alone in Nara's mountains. The full game launches July 9.","newsletterBlurb":"The demo for Veritas Tales: Witch of the Dark Castle is now available at Steam Next Fest. The reading fantasy adventure was created by former Vanillaware developer Yoshio Nishimura, who spent six years hand-drawing all 300 illustrations. The full game launches July 9.","attributionJson":"[{\"source\":\"Denfaminicogamer\",\"url\":\"https://news.denfaminicogamer.jp/news/2606162n\",\"title\":\"NeverEnding Story-like 'Reading' Fantasy Adventure 'Veritas Tales: Witch of the Dark Castle' Demo to Appear at Steam Next Fest; Dice Rolls and Player Behavior Determine Fate\"}]","lintFlagsJson":null,"lintHits":0,"costUsd":0,"inputTokens":4270,"outputTokens":666,"status":"published","repairAttempts":0,"nextRepairAt":null,"factsAttemptedAt":1781582043,"createdAt":"2026-06-16T03:48:33.000Z","publishedAt":"2026-06-16T03:49:57.000Z","updatedAt":"2026-06-16T03:49:57.000Z"},"cluster":{"id":"c_444bf1b4fa903bfbdf2f01c2","canonicalTitle":"『ネバーエンディング・ストーリー』ライクな”読書型”ファンタジーアドベンチャー『ヴェリタステイルズ：暗黒城の魔女』の体験版がSteam Nextフェスに出展。サイコロの出目やプレイヤーの振る舞いで運命を決まる","representativeArticleId":"a_e82ff304629e726a71c48e78","sourceCount":1,"writtenSourceCount":1,"writeAttempts":0,"isSolo":true,"entitiesJson":"{\"anime_titles\":[],\"manga_titles\":[],\"work_titles\":[\"Veritas Tales: The Witch of the Dark Castle\"],\"studios\":[],\"people\":[],\"type\":\"release\",\"domain\":\"games\",\"is_roundup\":false}","contentType":"news","status":"published","firstSeenAt":"2026-06-16T03:00:44.000Z","lastSeenAt":"2026-06-16T03:00:44.000Z","updatedAt":"2026-06-16T03:49:57.000Z"},"attribution":[{"source":"Denfaminicogamer","url":"https://news.denfaminicogamer.jp/news/2606162n","title":"『ネバーエンディング・ストーリー』ライクな”読書型”ファンタジーアドベンチャー『ヴェリタステイルズ：暗黒城の魔女』の体験版がSteam Nextフェスに出展。サイコロの出目やプレイヤーの振る舞いで運命を決まる"}],"entities":{"anime_titles":[],"manga_titles":[],"work_titles":["Veritas Tales: The Witch of the Dark Castle"],"studios":[],"people":[],"type":"release","domain":"games","is_roundup":false},"keyFacts":["The demo for Veritas Tales: Witch of the Dark Castle launched at Steam Next Fest on June 16 Japan time.","Players can play the first 30 minutes as warrior Havlock or magician Paneri.","The full version is scheduled for release on July 9.","Developer Yoshio Nishimura, a former Vanillaware artist, spent six years hand-drawing all 300 illustrations in the mountains of Nara.","Hitoshi Sakimoto, composer for Final Fantasy Tactics and 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim, created the game's music."]}