Nippon Ichi Software’s storybook team has another sad fairytale on the way. NIS America has confirmed that The Grimm Reapress and the Drearytale Monster launches in North America and Europe on 13 May 2027 for Nintendo Switch 2, Switch, PlayStation 5 and PC via Steam. It comes from the developers of The Liar Princess and the Blind Prince and The Cruel King and the Great Hero.
If you’ve played either of those, you know the deal: hand-drawn art that looks lifted from a picture book, a small cast, and a story that’s quietly out to break your heart. This one sounds like the darkest of the three.
The story: Paper Mortis and the Libratarium
The world is in the grip of Paper Mortis, a magical disease that turns people into picture books, and those picture books into monsters. NIS America’s official page introduces Mono, a lonely girl from a family of famous opera stars who has spent her life neglected in the theatre’s attic. Her older sister is the only one who ever treated her as family. When the sister is taken to the Libratarium, a quarantine facility for Paper Mortis cases that has since been abandoned, Mono goes after her.
To get through, she makes a contract with Mär, a legendary monster who’s only in it for revenge. The pair travel through individual storybooks, called Grimmoires, each telling the tale of a girl who became one. Expect puzzles and boss fights along the way.
How it plays
The pitch builds on the series’ central idea: two mismatched companions who need each other to survive. Here, Mono can command Mär to attack enemies, tear up the paper world and solve puzzles, with abilities such as breathing fire and flying listed on the Steam page. There’s a catch: lean on him too much and he may go berserk. That push and pull between needing your monster and fearing him is a neat twist on The Liar Princess, where the wolf girl protected the blind prince while leading him by the hand.
Release date, platforms and editions
| Detail | What’s confirmed |
|---|---|
| Western release | 13 May 2027 (North America and Europe) |
| Platforms | Nintendo Switch 2, Nintendo Switch, PS5, PC (Steam) |
| Physical editions | PS5 and Nintendo Switch |
| Limited Edition | $89.99 US, pre-orders open on the NIS America Online Store |
| Developer / publisher | Nippon Ichi Software / NIS America |
| Players | 1 |
NIS America’s site lists the Switch 2 version as an Upgrade Pack, which suggests Switch 2 owners will buy the Switch release and upgrade it, rather than getting a standalone Switch 2 cartridge. If physical matters to you, check the details before pre-ordering. TechTimes notes that this is the first game in the storybook series to launch on PC alongside consoles.
Already out in Japan
Western players aren’t getting a brand-new release. The game launched in Japan in April 2026 as Shinigami Hime to Ishokan no Kaibutsu, so the 13-month gap is localisation time, which is typical for NIS America’s smaller Nippon Ichi titles. The upside is that it’s a finished game with a Japanese release behind it, not a project that could still slip.
Why it’s worth watching
Nippon Ichi is best known in the West for Disgaea’s spreadsheet-sized damage numbers. This storybook trilogy is the opposite: short, handcrafted games that trade grinding for mood and melancholy. The Liar Princess and the Blind Prince became a quiet cult favourite on Switch, and The Cruel King and the Great Hero kept the formula going. If The Grimm Reapress lands the same way, it’s an easy recommendation for anyone who’d rather spend a weekend with a tearjerker than a season with a battle pass.
The release date trailer is below.
For more Switch and Switch 2 release dates, see our Nintendo news.