Yokai Parade

Yokai Parade is a resident idle game that sits along the bottom edge of the desktop while other applications are in use. Yokai such as a lantern ghost, a tofu carrier and a kappa walk past over time, and a currency called koban accumulates without any clicking required. The background can be cleared so the parade appears directly on the user’s wallpaper, and koban continue to accrue for a period even when the game is closed.

Koban are spent on a Growth board, opened one tile at a time. Depending on the tile chosen, income increases, rarer yokai begin to appear or the parade becomes more active. Purple tiles contain shrines or torii gates, and some yokai can only be encountered by opening them. A codex records each yokai seen, including alternate forms, star rarities and variants that appear on certain nights. Frequently seen yokai can be sealed so that unseen ones take their place, and reaching codex milestones triggers a celebration. A festival gauge fills gradually as the parade continues; when full, the night market holds a festival with fireworks, music and increased koban before returning to the quiet parade.

The game follows the PC’s clock, showing a morning sky in the morning and a night sky at night, with a moon that waxes and wanes daily and a specific yokai that may appear on a full moon. An always-night option is included. The visuals are pixel art lit by night market lanterns, the music changes with the time of day and becomes livelier during festivals, and a wordless four-panel comic explains the controls. Yokai move more quietly when the user is concentrating on other tasks. There is no winning, losing or failing.