Shade of the Marionette Announced for 2027, New WitchSpring-World Action RPG Gets Its First Teaser

KIWIWALKS, the studio behind the WitchSpring series, has officially announced Shade of the Marionette: The Story of Piyorita on September 14, 2026. The project moves away from the series' familiar witch-training RPG formula toward a story-driven 3D action RPG, with a 2027 release planned for PC and consoles.

The story follows Piyorita, a quiet doll born without memories or emotions. After opening her eyes inside a white room known as the White Nest, she hears a strangely familiar Voice and is instructed to absorb the life force of other dolls until she becomes the sole Masterpiece.

Quick Summary

• Official English title: Shade of the Marionette: The Story of Piyorita
• Japanese title: 人形の影：ピヨリタの物語
• Developer: KIWIWALKS
• Publisher: KIWIWALKS
• Steam franchise: WitchSpring
• Type: story-driven 3D action RPG
• Steam genre: Action / RPG
• Announcement date: September 14, 2026
• Release target: 2027
• Steam status: Coming soon
• Official platforms: PC and consoles
• Specific console models: not yet officially detailed in the main announcement
• Price: unannounced
• Pre-orders: unannounced
• Steam wishlist: available
• Protagonist: Piyorita
• Piyorita's identity: a doll
• Initial personality: quiet, taciturn and calm
• Initial condition: no emotions or memories
• Starting location: White Nest
• Guide: a strangely familiar Voice
• Goal: become the Masterpiece
• Method: absorb the life force of other dolls
• Rivals: Failures seeking the Voice's approval
• Exploration setting: hidden rooms beyond the mirror
• Story structure: room-unlock order can alter scenes and story flow
• Combat: real-time 3D action
• Prominent combat style: swordplay
• Magic: integrated into combat
• Dash: unlimited dashes are listed
• Targeting assistance: supported
• Battlefield design: cover, elevation and movement routes have strategic value
• Bosses: can become controllable Dolls after meeting conditions
• Boss Dolls: parts can be upgraded
• Crafting: weapons
• Crafting: spells
• Crafting: traps
• Materials: collected during exploration
• Nest: preparation area between expeditions
• Costumes: can be changed in the Nest
• Coordinated skills: available with certain Dolls
• Single-player: supported
• Steam Achievements: supported
• Steam Cloud: supported
• Family Sharing: supported
• In-App Purchases: currently listed on Steam
• Monetization details: not yet detailed
• Steam language: English
• Steam language: Japanese
• Steam language: Korean
• Steam language: Simplified Chinese
• Steam language: Traditional Chinese
• Steam language: German
• Full audio: no language is currently marked for full audio
• First teaser: Piyorita Awakens
• First teaser content: Piyorita opening her eyes in the Nest
• Gameplay trailer: confirmed to be coming later
• Full combat footage: not the focus of the first teaser
• WitchSpring connection: builds on the WitchSpring world with a new story
• Direct sequel to a specific entry: not announced

First Teaser, Steam and Piyorita's World

Piyorita Awakens Without Memories or Emotions

The first teaser deliberately avoids a full gameplay showcase. Instead, it focuses on Piyorita opening her eyes for the first time inside the White Nest, a white room that somehow feels familiar to her.

Piyorita is introduced as a blank doll. She has no memories, her emotions have yet to take shape, and she is naturally quiet and restrained.

Yet several things feel strangely recognizable: the Voice that awakens her, the environment surrounding her, and even dolls she supposedly has never encountered before.

The Voice gives her a grim objective. To become the Masterpiece, Piyorita must take the life force of other dolls and use it to complete herself.

She is not alone in seeking the Voice's recognition. Other Failures also want that approval, viewing Piyorita with jealousy and hostility as they compete for the same position.

Room Unlock Order Can Change the Scenes You See

Exploration revolves around multiple hidden rooms beyond the mirror.

From the White Nest, players decide which rooms to unlock and explore. Steam explicitly states that the order in which rooms are unlocked can change the scenes witnessed and how the story unfolds.

That makes route selection more than a simple stage-select screen.

The order of exploration can affect how players receive information about Piyorita, the Failures, the Voice and a world that feels unfamiliar yet oddly remembered.

KIWIWALKS has not confirmed whether this system results in multiple endings, permanently branching routes or more localized scene variations. The confirmed point is narrower: unlock order can change scenes and story progression.

Witch-Training RPG Gives Way to Real-Time 3D Action

The biggest departure from the older WitchSpring identity lies in combat.

KIWIWALKS says Shade of the Marionette places stronger emphasis on combat and action themselves, rather than focusing primarily on character growth.

Steam describes fast, stylish action with targeting assistance and no complex command inputs to memorize. Piyorita can use unlimited dashes, swordplay, multiple weapon types and spectacular magic.

Three-dimensional space also matters. Cover, elevation differences and movement routes are designed as puzzle-like parts of battlefields, allowing positioning to influence how encounters are approached.

That gives Shade of the Marionette a noticeably different gameplay identity from WitchSpring R, which remains closer to a character-development RPG with turn-based combat.

Defeated Bosses Can Become Controllable Dolls

One of the game's most distinctive systems involves turning bosses into Dolls.

After defeating a room boss and meeting certain conditions, that boss can become a Doll that Piyorita can command or fight alongside.

Those Dolls are more than collectibles.

Materials gathered in the field can be used to strengthen their individual parts, expanding the player's tactical options. Steam also mentions coordinated skills performed with special Dolls encountered throughout the story.

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Back at the White Nest, players can manage captured Dolls, prepare weapons, traps and spells, change Piyorita's costume and arrange the next expedition.

Crafting connects exploration with combat: materials found in rooms can become new weapons, spells or traps before the next journey through the mirror.

Targeting 2027, but Major Release Details Remain Open

The announcement press release gives 2027 as the launch target for PC and consoles.

Steam currently remains listed simply as Coming soon, without a specific release date.

Denfaminicogamer also cites a development note pointing toward a current target around the latter part of 2027, while stressing that timing can still change. The safest formal release window remains 2027.

Specific console models have not been detailed in the main official announcement verified for this article. Pricing, pre-orders, a physical edition, age rating, public demo and exact launch date also remain unannounced.

KIWIWALKS has at least confirmed that this first teaser will not be the only video. A separate trailer featuring combat scenes and actual gameplay is coming later, although no date has been provided.

Why This Matters

1) The WitchSpring world is moving into much heavier real-time action

Shade of the Marionette retains KIWIWALKS' worldbuilding and story focus while shifting the core gameplay toward 3D action.

2) Piyorita's identity is directly tied to the game's mechanics

Becoming the Masterpiece is not merely backstory: she absorbs other dolls, turns bosses into Dolls and strengthens them for future battles.

3) Exploration order has narrative consequences

Unlocking one room before another can alter scenes and story flow, giving the campaign a more flexible structure than a purely linear route.

4) The first teaser intentionally saves gameplay for the next reveal

The initial video establishes Piyorita and the mystery of the White Nest, while combat and actual gameplay are being reserved for a later trailer.

Game Information

For now, the additional important information currently known includes:

• the official global title is Shade of the Marionette: The Story of Piyorita
• the announced Japanese title is 人形の影：ピヨリタの物語
• the game is a new KIWIWALKS project
• KIWIWALKS handles both development and publishing
• Steam lists WitchSpring as its franchise
• the game tells a new story built around the WitchSpring world
• it has not been announced as a direct sequel to one specific WitchSpring entry
• Piyorita is a named doll
• she was born without emotion or memory
• Piyorita awakens inside the White Nest
• a familiar-sounding Voice guides her
• the Voice orders Piyorita to take the life force of other dolls
• her goal is to become the Masterpiece
• the Failures also seek the Voice's approval
• the Failures show jealousy and hostility toward Piyorita
• multiple hidden rooms exist beyond mirrors
• unlocking rooms in different orders can change scenes
• multiple endings have not been announced
• combat uses real-time 3D action
• targeting assistance is supported
• Steam says complex command inputs are not required
• unlimited dashes are part of combat
• swordplay can be mixed with other weapons and magic
• cover, elevation and movement routes can affect battles
• bosses can become Dolls after certain conditions are met
• Doll parts can be upgraded using collected materials
• coordinated skills with Dolls are supported
• crafting includes weapons, spells and traps
• the White Nest serves as preparation space between expeditions
• Piyorita's costume can be changed there
• Steam lists Single-player
• Steam Achievements are supported
• Steam Cloud is supported
• Family Sharing is supported
• Steam currently lists In-App Purchases, though monetization details remain unexplained
• six interface/subtitle languages are currently listed
• they are English, Japanese, Korean, Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese and German
• no full-audio language is currently marked
• the current minimum requirements list an Intel Core i3-4340, 8 GB RAM, GTX 950 and 5 GB storage
• recommended requirements list an Intel Core i5-7500, 16 GB RAM, GTX 1060 and 10 GB storage
• the listing remains pre-release, so specifications may change
• the first teaser is titled Piyorita Awakens
• that teaser focuses on Piyorita's initial awakening
• a separate combat and actual gameplay trailer has been promised
• no release date for that gameplay trailer has been announced
• the formal launch target is 2027
• Steam still displays Coming soon
• a specific launch date remains unannounced
• pricing remains unannounced
• pre-order details remain unannounced
• specific console models remain unspecified in the main official announcement
• a physical edition has not been announced
• an age rating has not been announced
• a public demo has not been announced
• the official store page is available through Shade of the Marionette on Steam
• the first teaser is available through the Piyorita Awakens Official Teaser
• studio information is available through the KIWIWALKS Official Website
• background on the earlier series is available through the WitchSpring R Official Website

Closing

Shade of the Marionette expands the WitchSpring world through a new protagonist and systems built much more heavily around action. Piyorita, the White Nest, rooms beyond the mirror, crafting and boss Dolls form the core of her journey toward becoming the Masterpiece.

The game is targeting a 2027 release on PC and consoles, while its exact date, price, console lineup and distribution details remain unannounced. KIWIWALKS has also deliberately held back the full combat reveal from this first teaser, with actual gameplay footage planned for a future trailer.