Dark Auction makes opening bid with playable prologue

• Announcements by Jack Allin
• Published:

Surreal mystery adventure from the scenario writer of Another Code: Two Memories and Hotel Dusk: Room 215 coming in January 2026

Normally the only mysteries at an auction are: who will win each item, what the auctioneer is actually speed-babbling about, and how you managed to buy something just by accidentally scratching your nose. Not so in Dark Auction, an upcoming surreal mystery adventure by Japanese developer IzanagiGames.

It's 1981, "somewhere in Europe," where eighteen-year-old Noah Crawford lives alone with his father Leonardo, a "failed writer and eccentric obsessed with researching 'Dictator X.'" Just as Noah's mother traumatically abandoned him when he as younger, so too does Leonardo suddenly disappear after ignoring his son's pleas to give up his desperate pursuit. Now it's up to Noah to follow in his father's footsteps to find him, last seen headed for the infamous Geheimnis Castle deep in a forest, a remote place veiled in secrecy. 

What Noah finds there is far beyond anything he could have imagined: a mysterious auction run by a parrot-headed man for six distinguished guests selected by the "Orev Association," an order dedicated to unearthing new historical facts. But this is no ordinary auction. To win items specifically selected for them, each guest must "use a memory-reproduction device known as EPO, offering fragments of their own memories as payment to compete in the auction." It's a dangerous procedure, however, as "memories burdened by secrets or trauma are often distorted, blurred, or even rewritten into false versions of the past." If a memory is "incomplete or corrupted," the auction will be compromised and the consequences for the participant can be dire. Having intruded on this private gathering unbidden, Noah has no way to escape the castle alive unless he agrees to "follow the rules" and fill in for his father in completing the auction – or die trying. 

If Dark Auction gives off a vaguely "Cing" vibe, it comes by its inspiration honestly, as the game's story comes from Rika Suzuki of Another Code: Two Memories and Hotel Dusk: Room 215 fame. There are both similarities and differences in its gameplay and presentation, however. This game features an eclectic mix of third-person 3D castle exploration (with directional help from an on-screen minimap); first-person slideshow examination screens for clues and new information; sepia-tonied hand-sketched flashbacks; and visual novel-styled, choice-driven conversations with the strange avian auctioneer and fellow guests known only by descriptors like "The Pale-faced Man, "Blue-eyed Girl" and "The Blonde Woman." To succeed in his quest, Noah must not only make a successful memory offering of his own, but also "step in to restore each target’s memories to their true form." Helping make sense of everything you encounter is the game's "World Cloud" system, in which keywords you've uncovered in your investigation will be stored and used for deductions that "play a key role in solving the auction’s mysteries." 

You can already mark your calendars for January 28, 2026 for the full version of Dark Auction on PC, PlayStation 5 and Switch platforms, but there's no need to wait for an early look thanks the playable prologue available now for Windows PC as part of the upcoming Steam Next Fest.