- Unveiled at Ukraine Game Festival 2026… Scheduled for release in Q1 2027
- A theater-themed logic puzzle that completes the best performance by grasping the actor’s personality and desires.
- Includes the first chapter and 18 puzzles… Arrange the actors and change the story to complete the performance.
Triomatica Games, a Ukrainian indie studio that won GDWC 2023 and PGA ’23 with ‘Boxville’, has released a demo of its new logic puzzle game ‘I Want to Play the Villain!’ on Steam.
This new title was unveiled for the first time at the Ukraine Game Festival 2026. Players take on the role of a backstage director, solving logic puzzles to complete the entire process from casting actors to finishing a performance. The demo version includes the entire first chapter along with a total of 18 puzzle challenges.
A single role changes the performance… A unique casting logic puzzle
‘I Want to Play the Villain!’ starts with the premise that every actor on stage has their own unique personality and backstory. Players must identify the actors’ traits and then construct appropriate roles and relationships to complete the performance.
Each actor has their own hopes, ambitions, fears, and preferred roles. Accordingly, one must go beyond simply assigning roles to restructure the casting, change costumes, and even adjust the story.
There are times when you must assign a dream role to someone and pair them with a specific actor. Conversely, you may have to exclude an actor who fears a particular situation from a scene.
The core of the game is the ‘butterfly effect.’ A single small change can completely alter the outcome of the entire performance. Players must closely examine various conditions and find the optimal combination, and through this intricate process, they can fully enjoy the deep fun unique to logic puzzles.
New stages and rules in every chapter… A performance that changes depending on your choices
The game consists of multiple chapters, each featuring a different setting, characters, game mechanics, and story. Since new rules and puzzle methods are introduced in each chapter, players must always find solutions tailored to new conditions.
The story is designed with a modular structure, allowing for different performances and outcomes depending on the player’s choices and casting. In essence, even with the same story, a completely different stage unfolds depending on which actor is assigned to which role.
The official version is expected to showcase a hand-drawn 2D animation style and warm, cinematic visuals.
The official launch is scheduled for the first quarter of 2027, and it is planned to be released on various platforms including PC, PlayStation 4 and 5, Xbox One and Series X|S, Nintendo Switch 1 and 2, iOS, Android, and Samsung Galaxy Store.
In addition, it is planned to support a wide range of languages, including English and Ukrainian, as well as French, Spanish, German, Italian, Portuguese, Turkish, Polish, Japanese, Korean, and Traditional and Simplified Chinese.
Ukrainian indie developer continuing the success of ‘Boxville’
Triomatica Games is an indie game studio in Ukraine founded in 2020 by artists and developers. They handle not only game development but also publishing in-house, consistently releasing story-driven puzzle games featuring unique characters.
The flagship game, the hand-drawn point-and-click puzzle adventure ‘Boxville’, was recognized for its development capabilities by winning the Grand Prize in the Mobile category at GDWC 2023 and the Best Indie International Game award at PGA’23.
Since then, the developer has continued its unique style in the logic puzzle genre by releasing sequels such as ‘Boxville 2’ and ‘Rabbit’s Hop’, a puzzle game where you guide rabbits into a hole.
‘I Want to Play the Villain!’ also follows this development direction, characterized by utilizing character personalities and relationships as core elements of the puzzles.
Although in the early stages, overseas media takes notice of the “novel casting logic.”
As the demo was released not long ago, it is currently in the early stages and there is not yet enough accumulated Steam user reviews. However, pre-release reactions from overseas media are generally positive.
Some media outlets noted that, unlike traditional maze escape or color-matching games, it is a unique logic puzzle where players cast actors to complete a perfect performance. It was also praised as a natural extension of the distinctive and story-driven puzzles Triomatica Games has showcased in their previous works.
Another media outlet introduced the game’s main appeal as the process of watching the actual stage change after formulating a plan, noting that clear cause-and-effect relationships exist within each puzzle.
There are also predictions that, targeting Nintendo Switch users, the game will appeal to a wide range of players through a puzzle structure that is easy to learn but difficult to fully master.
Although the official release date and price of ‘I Want to Play the Villain!’ have not yet been revealed, you can experience the first chapter for free through this demo.
As this is the next move by the development team that has already proven its quality with ‘Boxville’, interest from puzzle game fans both domestically and internationally is expected to continue ahead of the official release.
Information regarding ‘I Want to Play the Villain!’
| item | detail |
|---|---|
| Developer | Triomatica Games (Ukraine) |
| Publisher | Triomatica Games |
| Genre | logic puzzles, simulations |
| platform | PC, PS4·5, Xbox One·Series X|S, Nintendo Switch 1·2, iOS, Android |
| Release date | Demo release on August 17, 2026 / Full release scheduled for Q1 2027 |
| price | Undetermined (Free Demo) |
| Reactions/Evaluations | Early stages of user reviews, positive pre-reaction from overseas media |
| Steam Page | Shortcut |
