Right Mind has announced After-State: WoLong for PC, a surreal murder mystery in which Zhuge Liang investigates serial killings alongside Sherlock Holmes inside a snowbound lodge in the Underworld Olympics.
Zhuge Liang and Sherlock Holmes are about to meet in an afterlife where deduction is a competitive sport. Right Mind has revealed After-State: WoLong for PC. It is a surreal mystery adventure about serial murders inside a snowed-in mountain lodge and a clash between two legendary minds.
A new publisher
The announcement also introduces Right Mind as a global game publisher and IP operator. The company says it has already released 10 games and has five more in its launch pipeline. Its focus is on character-driven projects that aim to create an emotional response instead of relying only on data-led publishing formulas.
The catalogue includes Eastern Era, a martial-arts sect survival game; Dread Flats, a first-person Chinese horror title; and Trials of Innocence, a courtroom detective drama. Right Mind presents these projects as different versions of the same plan: use varied genres to tell stories that provoke a reaction.
The label takes its name from the brain's right hemisphere. It describes its approach through emotion, intuition and sensory thinking. Its stated creative influence is 'The Melancholy' by Haruhi Suzumiya, along with the idea that extraordinary events can hide inside ordinary surroundings. After-State: WoLong will be the clearest test yet of whether that idea can support a distinctive international game identity.
Inside the lodge
After-State: WoLong puts players in the role of Zhuge Liang, whom the publisher describes as the East's legendary mastermind. This is not a standard historical investigation. The game combines an afterlife, an Underworld Olympics and a closed-circle murder case where supernatural tricks can work outside the rules of the real world.
The central mystery follows an unpredictable series of killings and includes a large amount of witty dialogue. That suggests a game where reading testimony and understanding people matter as much as examining physical evidence. The announcement gives no release date or launch window. For now, the project is an announced game in development, not a near-term release.
Right Mind has released an announcement trailer. The supplied information does not say whether its footage shows captured gameplay, in-engine material or a cinematic sequence. The trailer confirms the game's premise and tone, but it does not show how the final investigation will play, how long the campaign will be or how much of the advertised mystery structure exists beyond the described features.
Deduction as combat
The clearest mechanical detail is a top-down investigation mode. Players will explore broad overhead maps that recreate crime scenes. The casework will therefore have a spatial layer instead of taking place only through dialogue screens.
Zhuge Liang's Yin-Yang System turns testimony into a psychological contest. Players must spot anomalies in suspects' statements. They can then present deductions from different angles, combining truths and bluffs to break through the suspects' defences. The description points to a system built around interpretation and pressure, not a simple checklist of clues.
Holmes is the game's most direct rival. Deduction Duels pit Zhuge Liang against the master of observation. The announcement warns that one mistake can cost the entire game. That setup could give the investigation a sharper rhythm than a standard visual novel, but the available material does not explain the failure conditions, progression system or frequency of these confrontations.
What players know
CnD Games is developing After-State: WoLong for PC. The game already has a Steam listing and a wishlist page at Steam listing. Right Mind has also made the announcement trailer and a press kit available. The supplied announcement confirms no price, editions, release date, system requirements or additional platforms.
The platform details are clear but limited. This is a PC project with a public Steam presence, not a game with a confirmed multi-platform launch. A wishlist listing lets players follow development. It does not show that production is complete or that release is close.
Right Mind's wider publishing plan goes beyond this one game. The company says it wants to extend its 'right-brain universe' from games into merchandise and related content while operating intellectual property across global markets. That is a business goal, not a delivered product range. The evidence available for After-State: WoLong is a strong premise, a defined investigation framework and an unusual pairing of historical and fictional detectives.
The contrast with Bungie's decision to restore vaulted content in our Destiny report is useful for players. Established publishers are judged by what they deliver. A new label must first turn its stated philosophy into a finished game. For now, After-State: WoLong has drawn attention because its concept is unusually precise, not because the announcement proves its final quality.
A similarly named project is separate from Right Mind's mystery adventure. Koei Tecmo and Team NINJA announced Wo Long 2: Wings of Ember on 16 September 2026 as a sequel to Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty. It is scheduled for release on 4 March 2027 for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch 2 and PC. It will also be available on Xbox Game Pass from day one, according to IGN. That action RPG belongs to the dark Three Kingdoms tradition, not the snowbound detective setting described here.
The separate sequel has its own development and testing timeline. Gematsu reported that a free alpha demo was available on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S and PC until 30 September 2026. The Japanese official Wo Long account said that players could try part of the 'Changban' battlefield in the alpha. Gematsu listed standard-edition preorder prices of $69.99, £64.99, €79.99 and ¥9,680. These details concern Wo Long 2: Wings of Ember, not After-State: WoLong. No price, release date or non-PC platform has been confirmed for Right Mind's game.
GamingTrend's account of the official announcement describes Wo Long 2: Wings of Ember as currently in development. It will include Japanese and English voice options, with text in English, French, Italian, German and Spanish. The distinction matters. The shared 'WoLong' name connects the projects only through their titles. There is no confirmed publisher, developer, story or gameplay relationship between them.
A closed-circle mystery limits its suspects to a place or situation where the culprit should be identifiable from the available evidence. In a game, that structure works only when the rules are clear and the deductions feel earned rather than hidden behind arbitrary solutions. Right Mind has confirmed a PC investigation adventure with a striking cast and a clear set of systems. It has not shown enough to judge how well those systems work. After-State: WoLong is a promising reveal, but that is all that can be said until CnD Games shows more of the playable experience.
