Developer NEKCOM and publisher 4Divinity revealed a new trailer for SHOWA AMERICAN STORY at gamescom Opening Night Live. The post-apocalyptic RPG is set in an alternate 1980s where Japan has transformed most of the United States, and lands on Windows PC via Steam and PlayStation 5.
The trailer shows protagonist Chigusa Choko traveling through California, meeting companions like Michael Hero and Bubba. Players see glimpses of recreation activities including playable arcade games, then shift to combat footage of Choko using melee weapons, firearms, and other contraptions against zombie and mutant enemies.
In SHOWA AMERICAN STORY, Choko wakes from the dead and travels across reimagined American cities—Neo Yokohama (formerly Los Angeles), San Francisco, Las Vegas, and Neo Tokyo #4 (formerly Austin)—searching for answers about what happened to her and the world. The game features real-time combat with weapon-specific attacks, dodges, counters, and executions. Players can mix and match weapons, level up stats, and unlock abilities by completing mini-games.
The game also includes dialogue choices that impact the world, a cast of companion characters, dozens of mini-games, and side-quests. According to the studio, SHOWA AMERICAN STORY blends strategic combat, comedy, exploration, and narrative focused on human connections.
NEKCOM, founded in 2011 in Wuhan, drew inspiration for the game from the 1980s Reform and Opening-Up era in China, when large amounts of American and Japanese pop culture entered the country. The studio applied Japanese cultural influence to a North American setting from a Chinese creative perspective.