PATRICIDE is a dark adventure RPG from solo developer Miyoshi Shizuka, previously developed under the title Inner Truth. Its new Steam store page officially opened on September 1, 2026, with the PC release currently planned for December 2026.
Its premise immediately enters heavy territory: girls who killed their father awaken inside a church and encounter the same father who should already be dead. Beneath its story of guilt, trauma, love and hatred, the game combines 3D exploration, action, turn-based combat and an Emotion System that turns empathy into a direct strategic mechanic.
Quick Summary
- Title: PATRICIDE
- Japanese title: パトリサイド
- Previous title: Inner Truth
- Type: dark adventure RPG
- Developer: Miyoshi Shizuka / 三好静香
- Publisher: Miyoshi Shizuka / 三好静香
- Development format: individual / solo game development
- Title-change announcement: August 23, 2026
- Steam store page opened: September 1, 2026
- Milestone: more than 1,000 wishlists
- Milestone date: September 4, 2026
- Announced platform: PC / Steam
- Steam status: unreleased
- Release target: December 2026
- Specific launch date: unannounced
- Planned Japanese price: ¥2,530 including tax
- Mode: single-player
- Announced OS: Windows 10 / 11
- Language: Japanese
- Language: English
- Language: Simplified Chinese
- Indonesian: not supported
- Steam full audio: not listed
- Protagonists named on Steam: Tsubaki and Kocho
- Premise: girls who killed their father
- Revealed opening location: a church
- Central mystery: their supposedly dead father appears again
- Story themes: guilt, emotional wounds, love, hatred and the past
- Setting: modern Japan
- Battle system: hybrid action and turn-based combat
- Battle movement: players can freely move around stages
- Tactical tools: cover and ranged attacks
- Enemy movement: pauses while the player acts
- Signature mechanic: Emotion System
- Emotions: can be equipped by characters
- Visual effect of Emotions: character expressions change
- Empathy: can target another character's anger or sadness
- Gameplay effect: can weaken enemies
- Additional effect: certain characters can be recruited as allies
- New Emotions: acquired as the story progresses
- Exploration: gap traversal, ladder climbing, lock picking and platform jumping
- Exploration rewards: hidden items and equipment
- Story Mode: combines camerawork with synchronized text
- Battle Mode: special moves feature cut-in animations
- Steam genres: Action, Adventure, Indie, RPG, Strategy
- Steam user tags: include Dark, Psychological, Story Rich, Anime and Turn-Based Combat
- Steam mature-content description: physical/emotional distress and violence
- Official age rating: unannounced in the verified sources
- Steam Next Fest: participation announced
- Japan-facing announced window: October 20–27, 2026
- Steam Next Fest demo: planned during the event
- Separate current demo: available through itch.io
- itch.io demo version: 2.9.0
- Demo download size: approximately 2.4 GB
- Engine listed on itch.io: Unity
- Other listed tools: Blender and Clip Studio Paint
- Current status: in development
Trailer, Steam and PATRICIDE Gameplay

Inner Truth Becomes PATRICIDE
Miyoshi Shizuka formally announced the project's new name, PATRICIDE, on August 23, 2026.
The developer described the change as difficult after using the previous title for a long time, but also as a necessary step for the project. The new name was considered much clearer in communicating what kind of game it is.
Famitsu provides the thematic connection more explicitly: “patricide” means the killing of one's father, directly linking the title to the story of girls who have killed theirs.
The game's page was also extensively revamped alongside the rename. Its itch.io development history still preserves numerous updates published under Inner Truth before PATRICIDE became the project's official identity.
A Father Who Should Be Dead Returns
Steam introduces Tsubaki and Kocho awakening inside a church.
There they encounter their father again—a man who should already be dead.
The game questions whether the reunion is real or an illusion created by overwhelming guilt and damaged hearts. Finding the answer means unlocking buried memories and confronting the past.
Its social backdrop is intentionally bleak as well. PATRICIDE presents modern Japan as a place where justice can amount to little more than words and responsibility is repeatedly pushed back onto the individual.
The father is therefore not the protagonists' only source of pressure. The society surrounding them contributes directly to the suffocating atmosphere the game is trying to build.
Action and Turn-Based Combat Share One Battle System
PATRICIDE is neither entirely real-time nor a conventional turn-based RPG.
Players can move freely around stages, use cover, reposition themselves and attack from range. At the same time, enemy movement pauses while the player is taking an action.
That creates room to read the battlefield without eliminating direct movement. Positioning, distance and the next action can all be considered at a more tactical pace.
Steam categorizes the game under Action, Adventure, Indie, RPG and Strategy, while its user-defined tags also emphasize Turn-Based Combat, Psychological, Exploration and Party-Based RPG.
The hybrid structure makes it considerably more mechanically active than its dialogue-heavy and anime-styled presentation might initially suggest.
The Emotion System Turns Empathy Into a Mechanic
PATRICIDE's most distinctive system is the Emotion System.
Players can equip an “Emotion,” which changes the character's facial expression and enables them to empathize with feelings such as another person's anger or sadness.
Empathy is not simply a dialogue choice. Breaking through another person's emotional barriers can weaken an enemy or even allow a powerful character to become an ally.
Additional Emotions become available as the story advances, expanding the options players have for different situations.
The system connects PATRICIDE's psychological themes directly with its combat mechanics. Emotional conflict is not confined to cutscenes—it becomes a tool that can affect survival and the balance of a fight.
Exploration Hides Equipment Behind the City's Surface
Outside combat, PATRICIDE includes 3D environments built for exploration.
Characters can squeeze through narrow spaces, climb ladders, pick locks and jump across platforms. Exploring thoroughly can uncover hidden items and equipment.
Steam describes a city whose glittering exterior conceals a concentration of human malice beneath the surface.
Story and battle presentation are also handled differently. Story Mode synchronizes text with detailed camerawork to convey character tension, while Battle Mode uses stylish cut-ins when special moves are activated.
The itch.io page lists Unity, Blender and Clip Studio Paint among the tools used for development, and it explicitly states that no generative AI was used for the game's content.
Steam Page Passes 1,000 Wishlists With Next Fest Demo Ahead
PATRICIDE's Steam page opened on September 1, 2026.
Only a few days later, Miyoshi Shizuka announced that it had surpassed 1,000 wishlists on September 4.
The next major step is Steam Next Fest. The Japanese press release carried by Famitsu lists October 20–27, 2026, with a Steam demo planned during the event.
Players do not have to wait until then to try a development build. Version 2.9.0 Demo is already available through itch.io as an approximately 2.4 GB download, adding features such as a Father Conversation Event at the Summer Festival, Dialogue Mode fast-forward and Help.
The full Steam release remains targeted for December 2026. A specific day has not been announced, and ¥2,530 remains a planned sale price from the press release rather than a currently active Steam purchase price.
Why This Matters
1) The new title immediately communicates the core conflict
PATRICIDE has a much more specific meaning than Inner Truth and directly points toward the protagonists' relationship with their father.
2) Empathy is more than a narrative theme
The Emotion System turns emotional states into mechanics that can weaken enemies or potentially turn characters into allies.
3) Combat tries to bridge action and strategy
Players still navigate a 3D battlefield directly, while pausing enemy movement during player actions creates time for tactical decisions.
4) The solo-developed project continues to evolve through public demos
PATRICIDE has a long history of public development builds on itch.io and is now moving toward broader exposure through Steam and Next Fest.
Game Information
For now, the additional important information currently known includes:
- PATRICIDE is an individual game-development project by Miyoshi Shizuka
- its official Japanese name is パトリサイド
- the project previously used the name Inner Truth
- the title change was officially announced on August 23, 2026
- the developer says the new title more clearly communicates what the game is
- Famitsu explains PATRICIDE as a term meaning the killing of one's father
- the new Steam store page opened on September 1, 2026
- wishlists passed 1,000 on September 4
- the game is targeting a December 2026 release
- a specific launch day has not been announced
- the currently confirmed platform is Windows PC through Steam
- no console version has been announced
- the planned Japanese sale price is ¥2,530 including tax
- that figure comes from the press release and is not yet an active Steam purchase price
- the game is single-player
- Steam supports Japanese interface and subtitles
- Steam supports English interface and subtitles
- Steam supports Simplified Chinese interface and subtitles
- full audio is not checked for any of those three languages on Steam
- Indonesian is not currently listed
- the Steam App ID is 4720410
- Steam genres are Action, Adventure, Indie, RPG and Strategy
- Dark, Psychological, Anime, Story Rich and Turn-Based Combat are Steam user-defined tags
- Tsubaki and Kocho are directly named in the current Steam description
- itch.io developer responses have also identified three protagonists: Tsubaki, Machiko and Kocho
- the current demo only provides access to part of Tsubaki's route
- modern Japan serves as the setting
- the characters awaken inside a church
- their supposedly dead father appears again
- guilt and trauma form a major part of the mystery
- Emotions can be equipped to alter character expressions
- empathy can be used toward anger and sadness
- the mechanic can weaken enemies
- powerful characters may also be recruited after their emotional walls are broken
- additional Emotions are obtained through story progression
- combat combines action and turn-based systems
- enemy movement pauses while the player acts
- cover and ranged attacks can be used
- stages support free movement
- exploration includes squeezing through gaps, climbing ladders, lock picking and platforming
- hidden items and equipment can be discovered
- Story Mode combines camerawork and text
- special moves in Battle Mode trigger cut-in animations
- Steam provides a content notice for physical/emotional distress and violence
- some characters are also described as wearing revealing outfits
- that description is not an official age rating
- an official age rating has not been announced in the primary verified sources
- the minimum Steam OS is Windows 10 64-bit
- the minimum processor is Intel Core i5-8400
- minimum RAM is 8 GB
- the minimum GPU is NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060
- DirectX 11 is required
- listed minimum storage is 10 GB
- the Japanese press release lists Windows 10 / 11 support
- Steam Next Fest participation has been announced
- the Japanese announcement lists October 20–27, 2026
- a Steam demo is planned for that period
- a separate development demo is already available on itch.io
- the current demo is Version 2.9.0
- its download is approximately 2.4 GB
- itch.io lists keyboard, mouse and Xbox controller inputs
- itch.io lists subtitles, configurable controls and high-contrast accessibility options
- itch.io lists Unity as the engine
- Blender and Clip Studio Paint are also listed as development tools
- the itch.io page states “No generative AI was used”
- the project's itch.io status remains In development
- developer information is available through the Official Website
- official updates are available through Miyoshi Shizuka Official X
- the 1,000-wishlist milestone is available through the PATRICIDE Official X Post
- the official video is available through the PATRICIDE Official Trailer
- the PC version can be wishlisted through PATRICIDE on Steam
- the development demo is available through PATRICIDE on itch.io
Closing
PATRICIDE gives the project previously known as Inner Truth a new identity that more directly reflects its central conflict. Its Steam page is now live, the 1,000-wishlist milestone has been reached, and a Next Fest demo is the next major step before the planned December 2026 launch.
A specific release date remains unannounced, as do console versions and an official age rating. The ¥2,530 price is currently a planned figure from the press release, while a development build can already be played through the itch.io demo.
- Miyoshi Shizuka Official X — Official PATRICIDE 1,000-Wishlist Milestone Announcement
- Miyoshi Shizuka / YouTube — Official PATRICIDE Trailer
- Steam — Official PATRICIDE Store Page, Release Window, Gameplay, Languages, and System Requirements
- Miyoshi Shizuka / itch.io — Official PATRICIDE Game Page and Downloadable Demo
- Miyoshi Shizuka / itch.io — Official Title Change Announcement from Inner Truth to PATRICIDE
- Famitsu — September 8, 2026 Article on the Steam Page, Price, Next Fest Demo, and Game Features