Recently, developer gingham games' new RPG "Dandchi Hiyori" has officially launched a trial version on Steam. It supports Simplified Chinese and is completely free to play.The game tells the heartwarming story of the protagonist Hoshino, who lives in Danchi, a Japanese-style residential area, and wants to revive the memory of his grandmother who suffers from dementia by reviving the local summer festival.

So, what is a danchi?

"Danchi Hiyori" is an RPG with a modern Japanese social background. The story takes place in a traditional Japanese residential area "Danchi".

The so-called danchi are large residential areas that were built intensively over a period of time.It is somewhat similar to a community in China, but with the slowdown in infrastructure construction in recent years, you can also understand it as the "Tiexi community" that was once everywhere in China and is now gradually declining.

In the context of an aging society, the aboriginal elderly people in "Tuandi" are also facing many problems."Alzheimer's disease" - dementia, which has attracted social attention in recent years, is one of the themes of the game story.

The protagonist Hoshino in the game has been taken care of by his grandmother since he was a child. After he entered his teenage years, he found that his grandmother, who had always taken care of him, became increasingly unable to remember things. Sometimes she even looked at her family with a strange look.

In order to help her grandma retrieve her memory, the protagonist Hoshino decided to hold a summer festival to help her grandma retrieve her lost memory.

Bringing back memories of summer festivals

Players who follow anime or understand Japanese and Korean culture should be familiar with the term Summer Festival.This is a traditional Japanese summer activity that usually includes food festivals, garden tours, fireworks displays, etc.

In the game, the Summer Festival used to be the most important event every year in the group where Hoshino lived. Neighbors gathered together and laughed in the summer breeze and the chirping of cicadas.However, as the population ages, this event has become more and more deserted. I don’t know when, no one has held it or even mentioned it.

Therefore, the goal of the player in the game is to play the protagonist Hoshino and solve the problems encountered by the neighbors by completing various tasks in the game, so as to reawaken their expectations and love for the Summer Festival that they have gradually lost due to various pressures.

But the ultimate goal is to use the Summer Festival, a grand event that has been held countless times in grandma’s memory, to awaken grandma’s memories and love that have been gradually eroded away by the disease.

An RPG where tears and laughter coexist

As an RPG game focusing on plot, "Dandi Hiyori" does not focus on the grand main line or dazzling special effects, but is committed to showing the human kindness and warmth that we ignore in real life through various details.

There are various interesting neighbor characters in the game who are interesting and humorous and can remind you of the close neighborhood relationships in your childhood.At the same time, the story of the game is not a pure dumpling-making happy ending plot structure.

The game does not ignore the pressure and harm caused to the family after grandma suffers from Alzheimer's disease.The powerlessness and despair of individual characters when facing the disease are also well reflected through the conflicts between characters.

If you are a player who likes to experience plot-based RPGs, or wants to learn about Alzheimer's disease through literary works such as games, you are welcome to experience the free demo of "Dandi Hiyori" and add it to your wish list.

The game trial is completely free and can provide 2-3 hours of game time. The official version is expected to be launched next year. You can find the game by searching the Chinese name of the game "Tuanchi Hiyori" on Steam.