Steam] How about a scary experience on Halloween night? PC Horror Game Special Part 3

How are you doing, Akiba Research Institute readers? It's the second half of October, and the popular "Atsumare: Animal Crossing" Halloween event has arrived. In Japan, we are not so familiar with the full-blown Halloween, but I am excited to see a little bit of horror and festive atmosphere. So, in honor of Halloween, we present the third installment of our Steam horror game feature.

• 1. Japanese horror "Sachie -Death Road
• 2. "Cat in the Box": Exploring a House of Horror
• 3. scary or cute? Cute? Gokumon Penguin

1. Japanese horror adventure set in the dark night
Sachie -Death Road

• Sachie -Death Road- ( FooNnProject)
• To be released on August 9, 2020
• Price: 520 yen (as of October 11, 2020)
• Copyright: (c) 2020 FooNnProject

Fear of darkness is said to be a fundamental emotion that has existed in humans since long ago. The fear that something terrible may be lurking in the darkness is a universal feeling felt by everyone, from children to adults.

Sachie -Death Road-" is set on a dark nighttime road that stirs up such fears of darkness.

This work is a 3D type horror adventure game.

The main character is a woman who works for a black company deep in the mountains. She has only one week left before she retires, and on her way home late at night after working overtime, she encounters a "certain ghost." The story is told at .......

The protagonist is a woman who works for a black company, which is quite a modern setting, isn't it? But still, it is too dangerous to walk home alone from such a dark place deep in the mountains. ......

The game takes place on a road in the mountains on the protagonist's way home.

The graphics are simple, yet have a great atmosphere. The nighttime paths dimly lit by dim streetlights are rendered with exquisite lighting that is neither too dark nor too bright, giving the game an eerie feeling that makes you feel unintentionally unnerved when you play.

The game is also characterized by its realistic touch in every detail, such as the texture of the wooden road signs and the sooty condition of the old vending machines.

In the game, you control the main character and advance to a certain point to complete a day, and the game repeats this process. At first, the return journey is only a little bizarre, but after a few days have passed, a big, obviously monstrous apparition appears in front of the player.

The figure, dressed in white and flickering with strange, inexplicable movements, is probably "Sachie," the name of the title of this work. Instinctively feeling that I should not approach the figure, I walked timidly, avoiding Sachie, but the next moment, I saw her in front of me with a cry!

While I was gawking at her terrifying face, the screen was stained with a spray of blood and the game was over. ......

Sachie is a terrifying presence that quickly drove me to game over, but the clue to her is simply "sound. Sachie has a habit of overreacting to sound and coming to the location where the sound was made.

The player must take advantage of this habit, being very careful not to make any noise, while guiding Sachie by tossing objects that have fallen. The game feels like a stealth action game, and I felt a sense of tension that made me hold my breath.

By the way, even if you are caught by Sachie, it is not immediately game over, but you can escape by following the arrow keys displayed on the screen before your stamina runs out. When Sachie's face suddenly appears in front of you, you may be caught up in a rush ......, but keep your composure and quickly press the keys.

The appeal of this game is that while there are scenes that require action, it also contains a strong adventure element.

On the protagonist's way home, there are various items such as a grave overgrown with tall weeds and a mysterious note left by someone. The sense that the truth of the story will slowly emerge as the protagonist investigates these items is the true thrill of a horror adventure. Furthermore, this title has replayability, as the ending changes depending on the clearing conditions and procedures, and even after clearing the game once, it is possible to play repeatedly in search of another ending.

The visual of Sachie dressed in white, as if she were in a Japanese horror movie, makes a big impact in this title. If you are interested in this game, please try it and experience the terror along with the main character on the mountain road at night.

2. "Cat in the Box," a horror adventure in which you explore a house of horrors for a "buzz video

• Cat in the Box" (Gustav)
• Released on May 1, 2020
• Price: 720 yen (as of October 11, 2020)
• Copyright: (C) 2020 Gustav

Have you ever heard of the software program "RPG Tskool"?

As the name suggests, "RPG Tskool" is software for creating RPGs, and its greatest feature is that it can be easily created as if it were a game without any programming knowledge, The legendary indie game "Dreamy" was also created using "RPG Tool".

Cat in the Box" is another horror adventure game created with RPG Toolkool.

The main character is a girl who is a video distributor. The story begins when she arrives at an eerie abandoned mansion where a religious group once lived, with a video camera in hand, in order to film a video to be shown on her channel. This abandoned house is said to have been the scene of a girl's disappearance in the past. The atmosphere was somewhat unsettling, but with a sense of "I'm sure I can shoot a buzz-worthy video here! The girl is elated and rides into the ruins, but in a case like this, it is a promise of horror ...... that things will not end well.

In the ruins, the girl encounters a mysterious killer and is chased by him. Moreover, for some reason, the door at the entrance of the ruins leads to another space, making it impossible to get out. There is no way out, and she is in desperate need of escape.

In the midst of all this, the girl meets a mysterious person who never appears, who says that he is also a prisoner in this mansion. Using the advice given by this person as a hint, the story of the game is to explore the mansion and try to escape .......

In order to escape from the mansion, the player controls a young girl and explores every corner of the map.

The game features 2D, downward-viewing graphics reminiscent of retro games from the Super Nintendo era, and the CRT TV-like effects that are applied to the entire screen create a unique and eerie atmosphere.

Darkness is an essential element in horror games and real-life haunted houses to create a sense of foreboding, and the intentionally dark screen of this game is no different, giving players a sense of thrill as well as anxiety. In addition to graphics, sound is also an important element in horror games, and the sound in this title is also meticulously crafted.

The game's high quality sound enhances the player's immersion in the world of horror, with atmospheric background music that is somewhat sad and quietly frightening, and a variety of realistic sound effects such as the sound of doors opening and footsteps echoing on the floor.

The game is a royal-style exploration adventure in which the player proceeds by walking around the map and investigating suspicious areas. However, it is by no means a game where you just quietly and unobtrusively proceed with your exploration.

In this work, during the exploration, a tag-team part with an entity chasing the girl may start. If caught, the game is over immediately, so you must use the dash button to escape as fast as you can, but the girl has a stamina status that prevents her from dashing endlessly. Therefore, the game requires action-game-like behavior, such as releasing the dash button to recover stamina when the pursuer's speed slows down, which gives the game a sense of tension similar to a so-called "death game" and adds a sense of rhythm to the game. This gives the game a sense of tension similar to so-called "deadly games" as well as a sense of liveliness.

The game is stress-free, with the ability to save before starting a game of tag, so even if you get caught and the game is over, you can retry immediately.

I have already introduced the horror elements and gameplay of this title, but my biggest recommendation for this title is, without a doubt, the character of the main character, the girl.

When the girl speaks, a graphic of her face is displayed along with the text window, and the girl has a wide variety of expressions! She changes her facial expressions from smiling, smug, frightened, crying, and so on.

The girl's character is full of humanity in the best sense of the word, and is just like a character in a movie. The character of the girl, who is full of human nature in a good sense, is just like a character in a movie.

Cat in the Box" is not only a horror game, but also a puzzle-solving and action game, with plenty of elements to enjoy. If you are drawn to the retro game-like graphics and the girl's character, by all means, try to escape from the mansion with the girl.

3. scary or cute? Cute? Stealth horror action " Gokumon Penguin " where you fight a mysterious penguin

• Gokumon P enguin" (MIYAKOpubl)
• Released on June 25, 2020
• Price: 720 yen (as of October 11, 2020)
• Copyright: (C) 2020 MIYAKOpubl

While the type of horror works in which one is chased by a killer or other terrifying character is a staple of horror stories, the type of horror works in which one is chased by an unidentifiable monster also has its own charm.

The "Gokumon Penguin" introduced here is a first-person horror story in which a mysterious monster (?) appears. The "Gokumon Penguin" is a first-person horror action game in which a mysterious monster (?) makes an appearance.

This is a so-called stealth-type 3D horror action game.

The player's objective is to hide from the "monsters" that roam the abandoned facility where the game takes place, and to obtain the key to escape. What are these "monsters"? It is, of course, the "penguin" of the title. And this is the most important feature of this film.

There is a saying that "there is a fine line between fear and laughter," and the penguins that appear in this film are a perfect mixture of fear and laughter. Despite their humorous appearance, the penguins in this film have a certain fearful look in their eyes. The wooden sword in his hand is also somewhat unsettling. However, when you actually encounter this penguin in the facility, it makes a lively footstep sound as it walks. ......

The objective of this work is to get the key to open the exit, but even after searching all over the facility, the key is nowhere to be found. That's because the key is actually in the possession of a penguin.

The penguins are baked in the kitchen, and the player gets the key. I mean, is penguin meat delicious ......?

Anyway, the above is how to get the key.

But then, why don't you just run to the kitchen at once when the penguins find you, instead of using stealth? But it is not that easy. Players cannot run for a long time because they have a set amount of stamina that is consumed during the dash, and when the stamina runs out, the penguins will catch up with them.

Therefore, players must first find "meat," an item placed in the facility, and eat it to increase their maximum stamina. The sensation of sneaking around in search of meat, trying not to be spotted by the penguins, is still very exciting, no matter how cute the penguins are.

If a penguin catches you, you have to start over from the starting point, and if you repeat the process three times, the game is over.

As you can imagine from the wooden sword-like weapon in his hand, when the penguin catches the player, he will beat him mercilessly with the weapon in his hand.

A movie plays during this scene, and the penguin's abusive line is very unique. I win!" Hard work doesn't always pay off!" I like it!　Give me more of that look! and so on, all of which have a certain irritating quirkiness to them. There are more than 50 variations of these lines. I'm going to go through all of these abusive lines! I'm going to see all of the abusive lines!

There are four difficulty levels that vary the number of penguins that appear, so this title can be enjoyed by a wide range of players, from those who are not confident in their action skills to those who are looking for a challenge. The scares are moderate, so this game is recommended even for those who are not good at horror. If you are impressed by the visual of the penguin, please give it a try.

This Halloween, go trick-or-treating with horror games!

So, we have introduced three recommended games.

Halloween is a festive event with a strong image of fun, but sometimes it is good to enjoy it in a horror-oriented way. This Halloween, we hope you will enjoy playing the horror games you are interested in. Happy Halloween to you all!

Author：Nero Hyakkabe

Freelance writer who buys too many games. I currently have more than 300 games in my stack. Also a novelist. Author of "Goaken Unrated Edition" (Kodansha) and "My Mother's Lie" (in "Malicious Kwaidan") (Takeshobo).

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