Taiwan-based indie developer HIGHFIVE DOG has announced an international exhibition campaign for City God Alice, the studio’s first commercial game. The RPG, which is themed around Taiwanese folklore and temple beliefs, is scheduled to be showcased at the Busan Indie Connect Festival, gamescom, and the Tokyo Game Show throughout 2026.
One Year Left and a Forgotten Contract
City God Alice is set in the fictional city of Jiantan Mountain City, which was inspired by the Taiwanese legend of “The Slaying of the Fish Spirit at Jiantan.” According to the legend, during the Ming loyalist era, General Lin Yin-Guan—who served under Koxinga—entered the Jiantan Mountains and defeated a destructive fish spirit, putting an end to the floods that had ravaged the Keelung River basin. Over time, this local history and folklore gave rise to a City God Temple tasked with maintaining the balance between the worlds of the living and the dead.
The main character, Lin Cheng-Dong, is a descendant of Lin Yin-Guan. His family has been plagued by a curse for several generations, which prevents some members of his lineage from living past the age of twenty-one. On his twenty-first birthday, he received a job offer from the Jiantan Mountain City God Temple: within one year, he would officially inherit the position of City God—at the cost of his own life.
Waiting for him at the temple was Alice, a doll-like girl who currently serves as the acting City God. Alice said that this fate was no coincidence. As a child, Lin Cheng-Dong had signed a contract with his own hand, exchanging a wish he could not let go of for his willingness to become the administrator of the underworld upon his death. However, he had completely lost all memory of that promise.
Over the course of the remaining year, players help Alice run the shrine and solve various cases involving gods, spirits, and the dead, while uncovering the truth behind the contract, the family curse, and the legend of the ancient fish spirit.
Managing the Shrine and Recruiting Spirits as Servants of the Afterlife
Players take on the role of a temple guardian responsible for managing the Jiantan Mountain City God Temple. Through an event card system, players respond to requests from worshippers, spirits, and even deities from neighboring regions, gradually restoring the temple’s followers and reputation. Resources such as offerings, spirit currency, and spiritual energy can be allocated to repair facilities, restore worship at the temple, and create puppet vessels used for combat in the afterlife.
As players explore dungeons, resolve various events, and advance the story, they can recruit the spirits of heroes, monsters, and other creatures from folklore as agents of the afterlife who assist with both temple affairs and combat. Each character has their own past, obsessions, and beliefs, and the player’s decisions—from case evaluations to temple management policies—influence their trust and loyalty. These relationships ultimately help determine the fate of Lin Cheng-Dong, Alice, the spirits who accompany him, and the future of Jiantan Mountain City.
Exploring Yuanchen Palace Through the Guan Luo Yin Ritual
The game alternates between side-scrolling exploration and specific top-down areas. Through a traditional Taiwanese spirit medium ritual called Guan Luo Yin, players enter Yuanchen Palace, a mental realm formed from the memories and obsessions of the deceased. Many locations in the game are inspired by the everyday environments of Taiwanese society—from homes, schools, temples, streets, forests, and hidden corners of the city to historic sites—which are then distorted and reconstructed into supernatural spaces that feel both familiar and unsettling.
The development team wants to convey that horror isn’t limited to distant or forbidden places—it can also lurk in the streets, temples, and mountains that people pass through every day.
Tactical Battles Using Sanitas as a Resource
City God Alice features a 2D turn-based tactical combat system with a horizontal layout. Players must take into account enemy positions, turn order, and opponent weaknesses, while harnessing the blessings of various heroic spirits to alter each character’s abilities and exorcism skills.
In addition to health and action points, SAN—which represents a character’s sanity—is also a crucial resource in combat. Cursed terrain, spiritual corruption, and psychological trauma can continuously deplete a character’s sanity within the mental realm. When a character’s mental state collapses, they may panic, become disoriented, or temporarily lose the ability to act. Some battles are also tightly integrated with the narrative, where the nature of the enemy and the player’s decisions can influence both the course of the battle and the story that follows.
Music by Youhuo, Composer of Legend of Mortal
The soundtrack for City God Alice was composed by Youhuo, who previously composed music for Legend of Mortal, Dream Flash Girl, and Haunted House. The soundtrack blends traditional Eastern instruments, religious ritual elements, and modern electronic sounds, tailored to various in-game environments—such as temples, forests, city streets at night, and the mind—creating an audio identity that fuses Taiwanese folk culture with contemporary sensibilities.
Supported Platforms and Languages
City God Alice is scheduled for release on PC via Steam, with interface text and subtitles available in Traditional Chinese, Simplified Chinese, English, Japanese, and Korean.
Page Steam City God Alice is now available, and players can add it to their wishlist to stay updated on developments, exhibitions, demos, and future release information.
Don't miss our exclusive report on TGS 2026
The TOKYO GAME SHOW is one of the world’s largest video game exhibitions, organized by the Computer Entertainment Suppliers Association (CESA) in collaboration with Nikkei Business Publications, Inc. and DENTSU INC. TGS has become the premier platform for video game industry professionals to showcase their latest innovations and technologies.
Festival game This event—the largest of its kind in Asia—is about to celebrate its 30th anniversary and promises to be on a different scale than in previous years. With the theme “The Longest Five Days of Nonstop Play,” this year’s event will make history. For the first time, the exhibition will run for a full five days.
The offline exhibition will be held at Makuhari Messe, Chiba, from September 17 to September 21, 2026. The format of the event remains a hybrid system, combining on-site exhibitions with online initiatives to reach a global audience.
Stay tuned for the latest and exclusive coverage of TGS 2026, only at PlayEatSleep.Fun.
