NIS America has unveiled a haunting new fairytale adventure at PAX West 2026, introducing The Grimm Reapress and the Drearytale Monster, a hand-drawn storybook experience from the developers behind The Liar Princess and the Blind Prince and The Cruel King and the Great Hero.
Coming to Nintendo Switch 2, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5 and Steam, the upcoming adventure appears to be shaping up as another emotionally driven tale from the team, this time placing its characters inside a world where the line between stories, people and monsters has completely fallen apart.
At the centre of this strange world is a mysterious disease known as Paper Mortis. Rather than simply making those infected sick, the supernatural illness transforms people into picture books, while picture books themselves can become terrifying monsters. That bizarre premise sets the stage for an adventure that looks every bit as whimsical as it is unsettling.
Players take on the role of Mono, a young girl desperately searching for a way to save her sister after she contracts Paper Mortis. With her sister’s condition seemingly incurable, Mono ventures into the Libratarium, a mysterious location filled with storybooks and the remnants of the people who have been transformed by the disease.
Mono won’t be making the journey alone, however. Along the way, she joins forces with Mar, a monster driven by a powerful desire for vengeance. The unlikely partnership between the two is expected to play a major role in Mono’s quest, as she pushes deeper into the Libratarium in search of her sister and a possible cure.
The adventure will take players through a series of different storybooks, each offering its own tale to uncover. These books aren’t simply environments to explore, either. Players will learn about the girls whose stories ultimately became the picture books themselves, suggesting that the world has plenty of tragedy and mystery waiting beneath its charming illustrated exterior.
Gameplay will combine exploration with puzzles, combat and boss encounters as Mono works her way through the Libratarium. While the premise has plenty of room for darker themes, the game’s presentation is deliberately rooted in the look and feel of a traditional illustrated storybook.
That hand-drawn presentation is one of the game’s most distinctive features. Rather than relying on a conventional fantasy aesthetic, The Grimm Reapress and the Drearytale Monster is designed to look like a living picture book, giving its characters and environments a handcrafted appearance that should make the game’s various storybook worlds stand out.
The contrast between that storybook presentation and the game’s grim subject matter could ultimately prove to be one of its biggest strengths. A disease that transforms people into books, monsters emerging from those books, and a young girl willing to venture into a dangerous library to save her sister give the adventure a considerably darker edge than its colourful artwork might initially suggest.
The project also reunites the creative talent behind The Liar Princess and the Blind Prince and The Cruel King and the Great Hero, two games known for combining distinctive illustrated visuals with emotional fantasy narratives. While details on how The Grimm Reapress and the Drearytale Monster will build upon those previous ideas remain limited, its storybook-focused presentation already gives it a clear identity.
NIS America has confirmed that The Grimm Reapress and the Drearytale Monster is in development for Nintendo Switch 2, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5 and Steam. A release date has not yet been announced, so fans will have to wait for more details on when Mono’s journey through the Libratarium will begin.
For players who enjoy their fantasy adventures with a darker, more melancholic twist, this is certainly one to keep an eye on. Beneath its charming picture-book artwork is a story about illness, desperation, vengeance and the lengths someone will go to save a loved one, making The Grimm Reapress and the Drearytale Monster one of the more intriguing new adventures revealed at PAX West 2026.