Of every game that Level-5 produced during their late-2000s glory days, Professor Layton has had their most enduring legacy. The loss of Studio Ghibli for their collaboration with the Ni No Kuni franchise after the first title led to a more mixed reception to their second release, the Yokai Watch series burned out from a yearly release schedule, while the Inazuma Eleven franchise’s most recent game has been in development hell since it was announced in 2016 for the then-NX and won’t launch until 2025. In such a landscape, it’s no wonder Professor Layton and the New World of Steam is the company’s most anticipated release in their attempts to reassert themselves as a major developer through a slate of franchise revivals and new IP.

Professor Layton hasn’t been a prolific series in a decade defined by the company’s challenges in finding their next big hit. Following the release of Professor Layton and the Azran Legacy on Nintendo 3DS in 2013 the company has released just one additional title in the series: a spin-off featuring his daughter Katrielle Layton in 2017 that was accompanied by a TV anime in Japan. Not a global hit like that of the previous game but a well-received and successful release. But also a game that was released seven years ago at the time of writing.

Now, the professor and his pint-sized assistant Luke are back for an all-new game. Ostensibly a sequel set chronologically following the events of Unwound Future, the last game in the series’ timeline, this game brings back Hershel Layton as he visits the now-older Luke studying in an American town named Steam Bison. The visit wasn’t entirely unprompted, as a letter Luke sent to Layton noted strange happenings in this steampunk town. The town is ravaged by a cowboy-esque ghost named Gunman King Joe, warning against the steam engine-fueled revolution currently underway in the town.

Just as Tokyo Game Show was a statement of intent by Level-5 to reassert themselves as a major player in Japanese gaming with one of the biggest booths at the center of the show floor, Professor Layton had by far their biggest presence. This is the game the company is relying on to usher in their new era, and the game itself is a major departure from titles which came before it. Luckily for the company, the puzzling appeal of the series is as strong as ever.

The demo on the show floor drops us a brief way into the story after Layton and Luke have already reacquainted themselves, giving us 10 minutes to explore Steam Bison and meet its residents. Although this isn’t a major departure from what has come before, there were noted changes that take advantage of the greater power of the Switch.

Gone are the hand-drawn backdrops of the older titles, replaced with cel-shaded and dynamic panoramas that are more alive as a result. Everywhere you look there’s people walking and working, machinery clunking away, steam billowing. You still use a cursor to look around the environments for hint coins (with the aid of an invention by Luke to prevent the prior annoyance of aimlessly tapping the environment) and to talk to the various eclectic residents, but it certainly feels far larger than anything which came before.

Tonally however, it’s certainly different. While this may change with time, the scale made it feel less intimate or mysterious and whimsical than prior titles. Although I only had time to try my hand at a couple of puzzles, the focus on spotting the trick hidden within the visuals or wording of each puzzle felt more apparent than prior entries. This may have something to do with the new team handling these aspects - the death of previous puzzlemaster Akira Tago means responsibilities are handled by the group QuizKnock this time round - and it’s difficult to judge on such a small sample, but it’s worth noting.

Change is far from a bad thing, though, and the game retains the thing which matters most. At the end of the day, as I watched these characters interact, as I explored this world and took my hand at these puzzles, I felt like I was reuniting with an old friend. Despite a brief hiatus, it’s like they never left while still being different enough from what came before to avoid feeling like a retracing of the duo’s greatest hits. If this is a sign of what’s to come from the modern Level-5, there’s plenty to be excited for as we enter 2025.