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Europe's largest video game showcase, Gamescom, kicked off earlier this week with a two-hour showcase featuring new and previously announced games. The event included fresh looks at Final Fantasy 7 Revelation and The Witcher 3: Songs of the Past, as well as debut trailers for Hoyoverse's Elden Ring-like Nodusfall and the long-rumored Lego Skylines. But for me, China-based developer Nekcom Entertainment's absolutely wild trailer for Showa American Story was the best surprise of the show.

This single-player RPG is coming to PC and PlayStation 5 and takes place in an alternate-history version of the United States in the '80s, where Japan has culturally colonized America. You play as Choko, who has returned from the dead to enjoy a classic American cross-country road trip, kicking ass and taking names as she squares off against zombies, monsters, and human survivors of various backgrounds. Think Yakuza meets Lollipop Chainsaw.

At first, I was skeptical. Who wears booty shorts to a temple? But once we were introduced to the brilliantly named character "Michael Hero," I started to believe. Like Yakuza, there are sword fights, fist fights, and portly nude men. Sometimes you'll fight hordes of goons at once, while other brawls will just be you delivering a swift knee to some poor loser's nuts. There also appears to be a side quest where Choko scouts locations for pink films, aka Japanese softcore porn. You can play hopscotch in a playground and shooters in arcade cabinets. Best of all, you can use the good old American flag as a melee weapon, both as a sweeping polearm for crowd control, and as a rocket-powered finisher that sends your unlucky foe skyward as you and other onlookers solemnly salute the USA. Just don't let it touch the ground!

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The trailer also suggests that Showa American Story will satirize American culture in ways that many western-made games have been squeamish about in recent years. "America was never a place. It's a dream. A dream drunk on bourbon, refusing to wake up at four in the morning," says the President in a voice-over. "Is this the twenty-first century we dreamed of?" Considering a bag of Doritos currently costs $8, a PS5 Pro costs $900, and there is nary a Back to the Future 2 hoverboard in sight, I think we can all agree the answer is a pretty firm "nope!"

This actually isn't the first time we've heard about Showa American Story. The developers shared another trailer for the game back in November 2024, and it was first announced back in January 2022. Showa American Story doesn't yet have a firm release date, but the official site says it will launch sometime in 2026.