Professor Layton and the New World of Steam Takes Place in America

The existence of a new Professor Layton game was revealed at last month’s Nintendo Direct, but details on the project were scarce. Level-5 has rectified that by dropping new info at its 2023 Vision livestream event. A presentation and gameplay preview of Professor Layton and the New World of Steam revealed more about the game’s setting, story, and anticipated mechanics.

The livestream built off the brief Professor Layton and the New World of Steam teaser from February 2023. The story takes place a year after Layton and his apprentice Luke parted ways. Luke has since moved to America, and invited Layton to visit him in the city of Steam Bison, where advanced steam-powered machines are at the forefront of technology. There Layton and Luke’s roles are reversed somewhat. Though an authority on riddles in his native London, he’s pretty much unknown in America. By contrast, Luke is a rising star, the famous “Detective Luke”. The pair will reunite in a new and unfamiliar place, solving puzzles together and seeing Steam Bison grow and change over time.

Level-5 revealed that the Japanese voice roles for Layton and Luke have been retained. Layton will be played by Yo Oizumi, who also played Turnip Head in Howl’s Moving Castle. Luke will be played by Mio Imada, who played Kiruka Hasaki in the My Hero Academia: Heroes Rising feature film. The game’s puzzles were designed by QuizKnock, a group of entertainers based in the University of Tokyo who specialize in creating quizzes, puzzles, and other brain-teasers.

Professor Layton and the New World of Steam is in development for the Nintendo Switch. It doesn’t have a release window as of yet, but will be released globally.