‘He’s tiny, dumpy and funny – so his BMX tricks are hilarious’: Tanuki: Pon’s Summer, an adorable slice-of-life adventure

Published 4 August 2026 · world

Denkiworks’ debut lets players pull off tricks and pull pints in a stunning, Japan-inspired setting A freeloading tanuki, mounting debt, and a town full of

Denkiworks’ debut lets players pull off tricks and pull pints in a stunning, Japan-inspired setting A freeloading tanuki, mounting debt, and a town full of possibilities will sound familiar to fans of Animal Crossing. Alas, while you won’t find accountability from Tom Nook, Kyoto-based studio Denkiworks has stepped in to heal your financial trauma with a BM filled adventure in which a mammal finally pays the price for their years of bad behaviour.

“Even Japanese people ask why it’s a tanuki,” jokes Liam Edwards, a game designer at Denkiworks. “They have such a mythological background to them; they’re almost like dragons in terms of their mythology.” In Tanuki: Pon’s Summer, you play as an adorable but irresponsible critter named Pon, who’s bled the coffers of the local shrine – his home – dry by buying video games and snack food instead of preparing for its semicentennial matsuri.

As a result, the shrine is in total disrepair, and important architecture and cultural artefacts – such as the ema stand and the chōzuya –

are left cracked and broken, unbefitting a festival half a century in the making. Continue reading...

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