{{short description|2025 video game}} {{Use mdy dates|date=July 2025}} {{Infobox video game | image = Once Upon a Katamari cover.jpg | developer = [[RENGAME]] | publisher = [[Bandai Namco Entertainment]] | title = Once Upon a Katamari | series = ''[[Katamari]]'' | platforms = [[Nintendo Switch]]<br />[[PlayStation 5]]<br />[[Xbox Series X]]<br />[[Windows]] | released = October 24, 2025 | genre = [[Puzzle video game|Puzzle]], [[Action game|action]] | modes = [[Single-player]], [[multiplayer]] }}
{{nihongo foot|'''''Once Upon a Katamari'''''|ワンス・アポン・ア・塊魂|Wansu Apon A Katamari Damashī|lead=yes|group=lower-alpha}} is an [[Action game|action]]-[[Puzzle video game|puzzle]] game developed by RENGAME and published by [[Bandai Namco Entertainment]] for [[Nintendo Switch]], [[PlayStation 5]], [[Xbox Series X]], and [[Windows]]. The game is the first original console installment in the ''[[Katamari]]'' series since ''[[Touch My Katamari]]'' (2011); it was released on October 24, 2025.
==Plot== {{More plot|section|date=April 2026}} The King of All Cosmos and his family clean the castle together. While doing so, they stumble upon a strange scroll. Bored after finishing, the King tosses the scroll into the air, destroying the Earth, Moon, and stars. With everything ruined, the King orders his son, the Prince, to clean up the mess. Using the scroll, the Prince time travels to specific dates to restore everything with the Katamari.
==Gameplay== {{see also|Katamari (series)#Gameplay and setting|l1=Gameplay in the Katamari series}} The game carries on the gameplay of previous ''[[Katamari]]'' games in which players must roll a sticky ball, known as a Katamari, over hundreds of objects, allowing it to grow in size and reach a desired size within a time limit. In ''Once Upon a Katamari'', the [[King of All Cosmos]] has once again destroyed the earth and stars. The Prince is tasked with rolling a katamari across time to restore the sky.<ref>{{cite web |last=Seedhouse |first=Alex |date=3 August 2025 |title=Roll Through History In Once Upon A Katamari On Nintendo Switch |url=https://www.nintendo-insider.com/roll-through-history-in-once-upon-a-katamari-on-nintendo-switch/ |access-date=28 August 2025 |website=Nintendo Insider}}</ref>
== Development and release == In February 2025, Bandai Namco filed a trademark for ''Once Upon a Katamari''.<ref>{{cite web |last=Khan |first=Zarmena |date=3 March 2025 |title=Beloved PS2 Series Might Be Getting First New Game in 14 Years |url=https://www.playstationlifestyle.net/2025/03/03/ps2-game-series-once-upon-a-katamari-leak/ |access-date=20 May 2025 |website=Playstation Lifestyle}}</ref> This led to industry speculation over a new entry. The game was officially announced during a [[Nintendo Direct]] on July 31, 2025,<ref>{{cite web |last1=Hagues |first1=Alana |title=A Brand New Katamari Game Is Coming To Switch |url=https://www.nintendolife.com/news/2025/07/a-brand-new-katamari-game-is-coming-to-switch |website=Nintendo Life |access-date=31 July 2025 |date=31 July 2025}}</ref> and was released on October 24, 2025.<ref>{{cite web |last=McWhertor |first=Michael |date=31 July 2025 |title=A cult-favorite series returns after 14 years to Nintendo Switch |url=https://www.polygon.com/gaming/618024/once-upon-a-katamari-damacy-release-date-trailer/ |access-date=28 August 2025 |website=Polygon}}</ref>
== Reception == {{Video game reviews | MC = 79/100<ref name=MC>{{cite web | title=Once Upon a KATAMARI | url=https://www.metacritic.com/game/once-upon-a-katamari/ | website=[[Metacritic]] | accessdate=2026-02-15}}</ref> | IGN = 9/10<ref name=IGN>{{cite web | first=Charlie | last=Wacholz | date=2025-10-22 | title=Once Upon a Katamari Review | url=https://www.ign.com/articles/once-upon-a-katamari-review | website=[[IGN]] | publisher=[[Ziff Davis]] | accessdate=2025-10-22}}</ref> }}
The game received "generally favorable" reviews according to the [[Review aggregator|review aggregation]] website [[Metacritic]].<ref name=MC/>
Charlie Wacholz of ''[[IGN]]'' praised the game, saying it's "the best the Katamari series has been since the PlayStation 2 era".<ref name=IGN/>
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== Notes == {{Notelist}}
==References== {{reflist}}
{{Katamari Damacy series}}
[[Category:2025 video games]] [[Category:Katamari]] [[Category:Puzzle video games]] [[Category:Single-player video games]] [[Category:Video games developed in Japan]] [[Category:Multiplayer and single-player video games]] [[Category:Nintendo Switch games]] [[Category:PlayStation 5 games]] [[Category:Xbox Series X and Series S games]] [[Category:Bandai Namco games]]
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