Danchi Days is a pixel art game following a girl aiming to revive a local festival for the sake of her grandmother. It's a wholesome game that brings back the childlike wonder for you. I'm glad I got to experience this demo in the latest Steam Next Fest.
The game explains "Danchi" as a Japanese term for a place full of neighbors. As tiny children, Hoshino and Rio were taught by the Grandmother in the Danchi Daycare. At some point, Hoshino left the city. She she got back years later, but her Grandmother suffers from dementia now, the Daycare building was being transformed into a Senior Center, and Rio became a pessimistic boy.
Hoshino stubles upon an old Flyer for 'Danchi Festival' and seeing her Grandmother react positively to it. She decided to revive the Festival for this year. Hopefully, her Grandmother will remember more and more things.
This game feels like a Summer Holiday RPG, like Boku no Natsuyasumi and it reminds me of Harvest Moon games but has a bigger goal! I love the various aspects of gameplay, from the Looking and Sensing mechanics, the various Mini-Games, looking up info online (NeighborNet,) to browsing the Neighbors home pages.
I also love how Danchi Days despite being childlike and optimistic story. It has some dark corners. It doesn't suger-coat the reality that Japan is an aging country with more Senior citizens than children. Characters are softening the dark truths on Hoshino a bit, but they don't leave her completely out of the loop.
Hoshino is aware that her Grandmother's condition is terminal, but she can only try to make it better for her.
Another aspect I like is the Mystery behind Hoshino's assistant Moro-Q. She's the only one who can see him, but a flashback halfway through the demo, shows that he was the grandmother's partner back in the day.
The Demo ends in a nice cliffhanger too. Some 'hater' posts on the NeighborNet a rant against the festival, and the Demo story ends as the number of shares increases exponentially!
Danchi Days is set to release sometime in 2026. I hope to play it after it releases. I may even buy it Day 1 if it was priced reasonably for my region.
What Do You Think?
There's still time in the Next Fest at the time I post this article. If you can still find the Demo on the game's Store Page. I recommend you play it too!
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