Is this Nintendo's Darkest In-House Game Ever?

There's no denying that over the years Nintendo has remained largely associated with kid and family-friendly games. And while there are exclusives and Nintendo IP that you could very easily consider mature or even adult, often these titles have been handled by second and third-party studios, such as with Eternal Darkness (Silicon Knights) and Metroid Prime (Retro Studios), while in-house the closest we can think of from a perspective of truly dark is fan-fave, The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask.

There are others, of course, and a lot of Nintendo titles tackle concepts of lost civilisations due to roaring catastrophes or powerful entitles, and plenty of Mario titles have also had those moments that make us say "whoa, that's dark for ol' Ninty," but this August we might be on the cusp of a truly original in-house title set to push the limits of that family-friendly branding in Emio - The Smiling Man: Famicom Detective Club, a sentiment only more solidified after a recently posted video with interesting comments from the game's producer, Yoshio Sakamoto. Check out:



Some of the best horror in popular culture is derived from urban legends, and often these can be traced back to actual crimes, perpetrators or straight-up cold cases. Here's the actual official breakdown of what to expect from Emio - The Smiling Man: Famicom Detective Club.

In Emio – The Smiling Man: Famicom Detective Club, a student has been found dead in a chilling fashion, his head covered with a paper bag with an eerie smiling face drawn on it. This unsettling visage bears a striking resemblance to a recurring clue in a string of unsolved murders from 18 years ago—as well as Emio (the Smiling Man), a killer of urban legend who is said to grant his victims “a smile that will last forever”.

The game is set to release on Nintendo Switch here in Australia this August 29. Check out a handful of screenshots in our carousel below.