Vadim "Yeo" Gilyazetdinov, the independent developer behind games like the River City Ransom/Street Gangs-inspired titles, The Friends of Ringo Ishikawa, and Fading Afternoon, has just announced his latest beat 'em up RPG.
The new project, titled The Concrete Sutra #1 (h/t: Gematsu), is scheduled to arrive on PC (via Steam) in March 2027 and is described as "the first episode of an epic action JRPG," set in a post-apocalyptic world, focusing on a pair of former bikers, whose leader went missing five years before the events of the game take place.
As we've come to expect from Yeo's previous games, it features a charming retro pixel-art aesthetic and pairs arcade-style brawling with deeper narrative elements, such as world exploration and side quests.
Unlike The Friends of Ringo Ishikawa, however, there's apparently "no grinding or skill trees" this time around, with the Steam page, which is now live, highlighting different kinds of weapons and items instead, including pills (according to the mature content description on Steam), which will allow you to cast magic.
Joining Yeo on the development team will be the artist Ueda M (who was involved in proofreading the Japanese localisation of The Friends of Ringo Ishikawa), and another pixel artist named Altai Demon.
Elsewhere on the Steam page, it is stated this first "episode" will contain two playable characters and will last roughly "1.5-2 hours," with a choice of game modes being available, including Story and Arcade.
Here's a brief story description:
"A gang of young bikers broke up when their leader suddenly disappeared. Five years later, the leader's closest friend River accidentally finds him in the outskirts of a post-apocalyptic world. It seems Cosmo didn't change too much, but something's bothering River. He sticks to his old pal to find out what he's up to.
You can view the trailer for the game below: