Project Code M Developer Details Yoshiwara Setting and Approach to Mature

Hanada Keika has shared new details about its upcoming murder mystery game, Project Code M, via the NOVECT fanbox.

In the latest development journal, the studio explained how it plans to portray the neighborhood while keeping explicit material to a minimum.

Project Code M takes place in Tokyo’s Taito Ward, with locations including Asakusa, Ueno, Yushima, Uguisudani, and Yoshiwara. The latter is historically associated with Japan’s red-light districts, dating back to the Edo period, and remains known for its adult entertainment establishments.

Given the setting, NOVECT acknowledged that some players may be concerned about sexual content. However, the developer clarified that Project Code M will contain very little sexual material, despite its mature subject matter and storyline involving a series of murders.

Characters employed at adult establishments will appear throughout the game, but their involvement is tied to the central investigation. They serve as sources of information for the protagonists.

This does not mean the game will be entirely free of suggestive material. Adult establishments are part of the setting, and certain subjects will arise indirectly during conversations and investigations.

Players will also enter some of these establishments to speak with people connected to the mysteries. However, the team has fictionalized several aspects of these locations to avoid unnecessarily graphic or sexual depictions.

The developer also recalled traveling through Yoshiwara while working as a private tutor during university. Passing adult establishments on the way to a student’s home provided a personal perspective on how residential life and the area’s nightlife businesses coexist.

Aksys Games will publish the NOVECT-developed mystery thriller Project Code M on consoles in North America.