Cotton Reboot! and its sequel, Cotton Reboot! High Tension!, launched digitally on PlayStation and Nintendo consoles on Thursday, October 22, 2026, Clear River Games announced. Physical editions follow on December 10. The Swedish publisher, last seen here bringing back Lufia I & II, is releasing both Japanese games from BEEP in the West.
Cotton Reboot! is out on Nintendo Switch 2 and PlayStation 5 for $29.99 (€29.99). Its physical editions cost $49.99 (€44.99) on Switch 2 and $39.99 (€34.99) on PS5. High Tension! is out on Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 for $24.99 (€22.99), with physical Switch and PS5 editions at $39.99 (€34.99). Pre-orders for the boxed copies are open at Clear River’s shop.
The witch is older than both of them. Cotton: Fantastic Night Dreams was a 1991 arcade shooter from Success, a cute-’em-up about a young witch on a broomstick, and it was ported widely, including to the X68000 computer. Cotton Reboot! is a remake of that X68000 version, made by Rocket Engine for BEEP. BEEP is an Akihabara shop that sells retro games and arcade boards, and it also makes and re-releases games (the retirement plan of everyone with a cartridge wall). The remake has been on Steam since November 10, 2021.
What a reboot of a 1991 witch shooter changes
Cotton Reboot! carries two games in one. X68000 mode keeps the original’s graphics, sound and gameplay. HD Reboot mode updates the visuals, remixes the soundtrack and smooths the play. This edition also has Nightmare Mode, rebalanced for score chasing with new enemies and easier power-ups for screen-clearing attacks. Then there are two new Super Attacks, new voice recordings, a Time Attack mode, and Appli and Needle, two characters who used to be paid DLC. The release does not separate what is new to this edition from what the 2021 version already had, apart from those two.
High Tension! is the second Reboot game, developed by Studio Siesta and Rocket Engine, and it first came out in 2025. It brings back old spells like Fire Dragon and Lightning, adds new mechanics, and returns the Fever system as Willow Fever. It has Story, Arcade, Time Attack and High Tension! modes, a stage select and a tutorial. Guest composers Hiroyuki Kawada (Time Crisis, Ridge Racer) and the chiptune group YMCK worked on the soundtrack.
If you buy one, buy Cotton Reboot!, because it puts the X68000 game and its remake in the same box. High Tension! is the sequel for people who finish that and want more witch. My wall has a Cotton-shaped gap, and December 10 is when it could stop being one.
