Konami has revealed Rhapsody in Scarlet, a new action game for PlayStation 5 set in the jazz-filled streets of 1920s New York. The announcement was made during State of Play and State of Play Japan, with the company outlining a combat system built around magic, beast companions, and customizable attack combinations.
The story centers on Ellie Myers, a young magus who travels to New York hoping to pursue a career as a jazz singer. After becoming caught in the schemes of a mysterious mafia organization, she is drawn into a wider conflict alongside Ilya Jones, the leader of a magus organization known as the Seekers.
Magic and beasts drive the combat system
According to the official announcement on PlayStation Blog, Ellie can wield magic while commanding beast companions in battle. Her fighting style combines close-range and long-range attacks with area-of-effect spells and techniques performed by the beasts under her command.
Players will be able to assemble those abilities into customizable combos rather than relying on a single predetermined sequence. Konami identifies finding combinations suited to an individual playstyle—and adapting them for different enemies and combat situations—as one of the central parts of the game.
Ellie fights alongside a beast companion named Sköll, channeling both magical and beast powers to perform combined attacks. The mixture gives the combat system several distinct components: Ellie’s own attacks, broader spells capable of affecting an area, and companion techniques that can be incorporated into a sequence.
The announcement describes the resulting action as dynamic and combo-driven, built from Ellie’s close- and long-range attacks, area-of-effect magic, and beast techniques.
Ellie’s ambitions collide with a mafia conspiracy
Ellie’s original goal in New York is musical rather than martial. She arrives in the city as an aspiring jazz singer, but an unspecified incident leaves her entangled in the plans of a mysterious mafia organization. Those events bring her into contact with Ilya, the young leader of the Seekers.
Ellie and Ilya begin their partnership with opposing values and repeatedly clash. Their relationship changes as they continue fighting together, however, and the two gradually develop a stronger bond. They eventually confront a fate that threatens the balance of the world.
Cherami Leigh provides Ellie Myers’ English voice, while Akari Kito voices the character in Japanese. Ilya Jones is voiced by Hannah Grace in English and Saori Onishi in Japanese.
Ilya’s background also connects her to another part of the game’s magical society. She was raised under the tutelage of her father, Harold, who serves as the head of the Sorcellerie Quarter.
A fantasy interpretation of 1920s New York
The development team said it conducted on-site research and gathered historical references while recreating New York during the 1920s. Rather than presenting a strictly historical setting, Rhapsody in Scarlet combines that research with fantasy elements, including magic, beasts, and a magical district inhabited by them.
Jazz is intended to connect the setting, story, and action. The game includes music inspired by the sounds of the 1920s, with swing-filled audio accompanying its combat. That approach also aligns the soundtrack with Ellie’s ambition to become a jazz singer, making music part of both her personal story and the wider presentation.
The historical-fantasy combination is the announcement’s clearest distinguishing feature. Real-world period references provide the foundation, while the presence of magi, beast companions, and hidden magical spaces allows the game to depart from a conventional recreation of the city.
Wishlist access and Konami Press Start details
Rhapsody in Scarlet became available to wishlist on September 3, 2026, with PlayStation 5 confirmed as its platform.
The game was also scheduled to appear in the Konami Press Start streaming program on the company’s official YouTube channel. The broadcast time was listed as September 3 at 8 a.m. PT, 4 p.m. BST, and 5 p.m. CEST, corresponding to September 4 at 12 a.m. JST.
