Umihara Kawase Fresh! for PS4 launches October 30 in the west

Nicalis will release the PlayStation 4 version of Studio Saizensen-developed Umihara Kawase Fresh! on October 30 in the west, the publisher announced. Pre-orders for a limited physical edition are available now at the Nicalis Store for $39.99.

Umihara Kawase Fresh! first launched for Switch in April 2019 in Japan, and in July 2019 in the west. The PlayStation 4 version launched in April 2020 in Japan, followed by PC via Steam in May 2020 (without English language support).

Here is an overview of the game, via Nicalis:

A fresh new chapter in the storied series, Umihara Kawase Fresh! features open-world platforming gameplay starring a young girl who uses her fishing lure as a grappling hook, allowing her to progress through the quaint frontier town of Kingness.

Kawase is a traveling chef who has embarked on many magical adventures in the past. In Umihara Kawase Fresh!, she will put her navigating, grappling and cooking skills to the ultimate test as she completes various quests and discovers long-buried secrets of the town and its inhabitants.

Players will need to jump, climb, swing and slingshot their way across platforms all over Kingness in order to clear goals and reach a specific destination to advance to the next quest. Each completed quest can be replayed in Time Attack mode, where a timer is added to let players compete for the best times in online leaderboard rankings.

Along the way, Kawase can use the lure to collect enemies and various food ingredients to store in her magical backpack. Combining ingredients with special recipes creates dishes that can be consumed to earn temporary special abilities, like jumping higher or being able to survive underwater for a longer time.

The game includes two additional playable characters: Curly Brace from Cave Story and Cotton from the scrolling shooter Cotton: Fantastic Night Dreams. The PlayStation 4 edition also includes three new “Classic” stages that are based on familiar levels from previous Umihara Kawase games.

Watch a new trailer below.