I miss the days when the home console landscape was populated by truly left-field releases from major publishers.

Take, for example, Namco's bonkers Katamari Damacy, or Nintendo's Cubivore; these two seemingly unhinged 'swings for the fence' feel like products of a bygone era. Today, risks are taken less and less in the field of AAA publishing, and it often feels like the gaming landscape is poorer for that fact.

Thank goodness, then, that Steam and indie publishing exist, because Legacy Code looks (to my eyes, at least) like a curious successor to those two aforementioned releases.

Recently shown off at the Tokyo Game Show, Legacy Code is described as a "quirky physics simulation" by its developer, Room 127. It's due to be published by Kodansha Game Creators’ Lab in 2027, and was selected as a finalist at Sense of Wonder Night 2026 at TGS.

The objective is to "manufacture enigmatic machinations" known as Mechanimals by combining various objects. It's here that the Katamari Damacy vibes hit strongest for me personally, as some of the creations shown in the trailer look like they've been rolled up by the Prince himself.

Once you've created a convincing combatant, you use that creation to battle other hodgepodge beasts (that's where the Cubivore connection becomes apparent, in my opinion). "Frankenstein together all kinds of parts like heads, arms, and legs with motors, doll heads, character merchandise, electric fans, televisions, 3D puzzles, dentures, chains, cacti…the list goes on," says the PR.

Room 127 is building the game in its proprietary 'Marionette Engine', which allows your Mechanimals to come to life "no matter their design or anatomy." As you might expect, these monsters behave in different ways depending on the parts you've used to assemble them. Success in battle lets you earn more parts, evolving your Mechanimal in new and unplanned ways.

"Recognised for its originality, Legacy Code has been selected as one of eight finalists in this year’s Sense of Wonder Night at Tokyo Game Show, handpicked amongst more than 1,500 competing submissions," continues the PR. "Finalists are chosen based on their ideas that evoke a sense of wonder and change, and Legacy Code earned its place through its unique concept of creating unpredictable creatures created from scraps."

Yasuta, a programmer at Room127, had this to say about making it to the final list:

“We tried our best to create Mechanimals that would break the physics engine, but somehow, every combination of parts led to a living creature. Creativity truly knows no bounds in Legacy Code, and we invite all Tokyo Game Show attendees to try their hand at creating bizarre creatures."