Bakudo, the latest game from Taiwanese indie studio Sayil Games and anime-publisher-turned-game-studio Shueisha Games, just made its debut at The MIX Summer Game Showcase, and it’s already looking like one of the most stylish curveballs of the year.
Described as a “hyperball boss battling sport of the future,” Bakudo throws you into a sci-fi school full of high-stakes ball combat, anime drama, and elite rivals who want to wreck you. You can wishlist the game on Steam right here.
Think Dodgeball, But with Anime Boss Fights
In Bakudo, you play as Yuria, a new student at the Bakudo Academy—your typical anime school that also happens to train warriors in the fine art of hurling high-velocity sports balls at each other. Yuria’s not just here to make friends and impress teachers, though. She’s looking for her missing father, and as you might expect, there’s a lot more going on under the surface of this suspiciously intense ball-combat curriculum.
To get answers, you’ll have to go toe-to-toe with the academy’s top students, known as the Eight Stars. These aren’t your average rivals—they’re full-blown boss fights, each with unique patterns, weaknesses, and ridiculous levels of flair. Combat is all about reading your opponent, dodging death, and countering with a perfectly-timed, supercharged shot to the face. And it looks damn cool while you’re doing it.
Sports Anime Energy, Turned Up to 11
Visually, Bakudo oozes style. The game leans hard into its anime roots with bold colors, over-the-top character designs, and dramatic special moves that would feel right at home in a sports shonen. It’s like Haikyuu!! met Furi at a digital art school and came out swinging dodgeballs made of plasma.
According to Shueisha Games producer Jonathan Wang, the team wanted to create something that blends the intensity of boss rush titles with the emotional high-stakes drama of sports anime. “In Bakudo, it’s not about winning or losing—it’s your unshakable conviction that changes everything,” Wang said, in a quote that could probably be the main character’s catchphrase.
Global Support, Indie Heart
When Bakudo launches, it’ll come with support for a whole bunch of languages, including English, Japanese, French, Spanish, German, Traditional and Simplified Chinese, and Korean. That means no matter where you’re playing from, you can fully experience the schoolyard sports warfare in your preferred flavor of text.
This is the first project from Sayil Games, a small indie team formed by five university friends who decided to build something big. Judging by the trailer, they’re swinging for the fences—and honestly, it looks like they might just nail it.
