[Steam] PC horror game feature on ...... shiver at the start of summer

Dear readers of Akiba Research Institute, how are you doing? It's the middle of June, the temperature is rising, and summer has finally arrived! Speaking of summer, ...... is the time for horror stories, isn't it? My most memorable horror game is "Yume Dori Tankentai" on the original PlayStation. It was scary, it was moe, and it made me cry. I wonder if a remake will suddenly appear on current consoles like "moon" .......

So this time, I'd like to introduce you to some horror games on Steam that are perfect for summer. If you are not good at this, please be careful. ......

There is "something" in this convenience store.
Experiential horror adventure " The Convenience Store | Night Shift Case

Maker：Chilla's Art
Release date: February 17, 2020
Price: 310 yen (as of June 14, 2020)

It is said that spirits and ghosts are attracted to places where people gather. In today's society, a familiar place where people gather even at "Ushimitsudoki" would be a convenience store. In fact, many ghost stories set in convenience stores have been passed down through the generations.

The Convenience Store: The Night Shift" is a first-person horror adventure game set in a convenience store.

Before introducing the contents of the game, let me first introduce the main feature of this game.

The graphics are unique and eye-catching, with an eerie atmosphere, reminiscent of VHS, or old-fashioned videotape, with a rough image quality that gives the viewer an uneasy feeling.

In fact, this is not due to a lack of PC specs or poor game design, but rather to the intentional use of effects that result in a rough image quality. As proof of this, it is possible to remove the effects in the options, but as you can see from the screen shot below, the impression is very different without the effects, so although the screen is a little difficult to see, I recommend leaving the effects as they are.

With effects processing

Without effects processing

So, let me introduce the contents of this work.

The main character is a female college student. The main character is a college girl, whose personal information such as her name and the college she attends is not given in the film, and since the story is told from the first-person perspective, we do not know what she looks like or what she looks like. The main flow of the game is that the protagonist, a nameless college girl, goes to a convenience store located within a few minutes' walk from her home and works the night shift every day.

The game begins with a scene where she is getting ready at home before going to work. You eat your meal, change your clothes, grab a flashlight, and you are ready to go. When you step out of your apartment, you find yourself in the city at night. Although there are streetlights, it is dimly lit, and you are walking alone in an empty, quiet town. This alone is quite intimidating, and the atmosphere is indescribable.

Since I don't have a map or know where the convenience stores are, I inevitably end up walking by hand when I first arrive at work. As I wander through the dark streets, I see a shining convenience store across a bridge ahead of me. Have you ever experienced a sense of relief when you find a convenience store in an unfamiliar town? I never thought I would be able to experience this in a game. Thank goodness there is a convenience store .......

I went into the store, greeted the manager, went into the office, cut my time card, and now I was ready to start work!

The manager told me a disturbing story about a recent suicide on the bridge you just crossed, but I didn't care. The manager told me something disturbing like, "The bridge you just crossed recently had a suicide. As soon as I turned in my time card, the manager quickly left.

He has to handle everything by himself, including dealing with customers, receiving deliveries, and discarding expired products.

There is no time for fear. I feel lonely and anxious when I am alone in a convenience store late at night, and the momentary silence makes me feel lonely and anxious, but I don't mind, I don't mind.

I also feel that the automatic door opens by itself even though no one is there, but I don't care, I don't care. ......

So this work is structured in such a way that you experience mysterious phenomena, noises, and other weirdness while working the night shift at a convenience store.

The realistic construction and atmosphere of the convenience store, combined with the fact that the game is played from a first-person perspective, gives the player a strong sense of "experiencing" the game, and it might be more aptly described as a horror simulator rather than just a horror adventure.

Also, since no clear story or backbone is explained until the ending of the game, the player is left to slowly sense the disturbing atmosphere of "something happened here" from the characters' stories and the appearance of the place as he or she progresses through the game. This, too, is more like an "experience" than a game.

The VHS-style graphics are coarse and eerie, the story emphasizes a sense of atmosphere and does not say much more than is necessary, and strange experiences suddenly occur around you. In a word, this work is a "horror attraction set in a convenience store.

I won't go into the specifics here because it would be a spoiler, but if you are interested, please start working the night shift at this convenience store. We can't guarantee anything will happen, but you can try it out at .......

The Convenience Store - The Night Shift Incident" game purchase page

2. the monster Red Cloak is coming! High difficulty horror adventure " Aka Manto

Maker：Chilla's Art
Release date: September 23, 2019
Price: 520 yen (as of June 14, 2020)

Have you ever heard of the urban legend of the "Red Cloak?" It is a story about an unidentified monster wearing a red cloak who kidnaps boys and girls and takes them in his hands. It is quite old in the urban legend world, having been circulated in the early Showa period.

Aka Manto" is a first-person horror adventure game based on this urban legend.

This game is from the same developer as "The Convenience Store | The Night Shift Case," the first game we introduced.

Like "The Night Shift Case," it features coarse graphics with a unique atmosphere. Compared to "The Night Shift Case," which was VHS-style, this game has a retro-like flavor, like the first generation PlayStation games. This low-polygon look made the author feel quite nostalgic.

The setting of this work is a school at night. The main character is ordered by the bully girls to explore a dark and eerie wooden school building where red cloaks are said to appear. However, it is not easy to explore the school building, as it is pitch black with no lights, some doors do not open, and there are some areas that are blocked by boards that have been hammered down.

Players must find items as they explore the school and use them to solve the mysteries. However, in this title, only three items can be held at a time. This means that the player must choose which items to keep and which to discard, depending on the situation.

The crowbar is quite useful and I want to keep it without throwing it away. ......
If I throw away the lighter, I will lose my light and it will be pitch black. ......
I think I should throw away the 'red paper' that I don't know what to use for now here: ......
No, but this looks like an important item that will definitely be used for something later on. ......

It is inevitable that you will be scratching your head every time you find a new item. This is one of the factors that make this game a high difficulty game.

That's right. This title is not just a mystery-solving horror adventure, but a very high difficulty game.

If you get hit by an enemy, that's the end of the game. Moreover, there is no save function, so you have to start over from the beginning.

The "enemy" is, of course, the red cape that gives the game its title. The Red Cloak, a monster with a face like a Noh mask, wanders around the school with a knife in his hand. When I first saw the Red Cloak walking past the door, I couldn't help but let out a small yelp. The Red Cloak, that's how impressive it is. To be honest, it is just plain scary.

In the school building, there are a number of items called "recorded tapes," and by listening to them, the story will become clearer and clearer. However, while you are listening to the tapes (or reading the text), the enemies do not stop moving. Furthermore, they do not stop when the item column is open. The player is literally always in the shadow of the red cape.

To be honest, I may have never played such an unforgiving horror game before. At least stop while opening the item section!

Once you enter the school building, the tension and fear that follows you around will make you feel like you are in a haunted house. If you like horror games or "games of death," you should definitely try Aka Manto, the monster.

Aka Manto | Red Cloak" game purchase page

3. Don't get caught by the muscular macho men!
Don't get caught by the muscular (?) Horror game " Protein for Muscle

Maker：Qmax Inc., ROUTE3 GAMES
Release date: September 2, 2019
Price: 205 yen (as of June 14, 2020)

Ghosts, killers, bugs, dark places, high places ....... What we are afraid of is really different for each of us. In a short story by writer Yasutaka Tsutsui, a sumo wrestler chases after him for a long time in a work called "Ran Toritate," which at first glance seems humorous, but it is a surrealistic and absurdly terrifying experience.

Protein for Muscle" is a first-person horror action game that allows you to experience absurd fears that may be similar to those of "Running Toride".

The film takes place at a bodybuilder training school in the dead of night. The goal of the player, who sneaks into the school in search of protein, is to collect the designated number of protein items placed in the school and escape from the school. If you want protein, why don't you just buy it? But if he needs 20 pieces of protein to escape from the school, he is a very greedy person. This is exactly what I mean when I say that he is a thief and a ferocious thief!

The Midnight Bodybuilders Training School, despite its humorous appearance, has an eerie atmosphere. The lights in the school are completely turned off, so protein collection must be done with a flashlight.

Protein, the target of the collection, can be found all over the school. On desks, on the floor, in lockers, and even in the bathrooms. The answer is simple: because this is a bodybuilder training school. ...... is, no, I'm incredibly biased!

The players' paths are blocked as they run around in search of protein, and the real protagonists of the game, the muscled macho men who roam the school, are the only ones who can be seen. When they hear you running or see your flashlight, they come running at breakneck speed, making thumping footsteps. If you are caught, you are out immediately, no questions asked.

Why do the macho men walk around in the dark without lights, why do they always pose, why do they wear only bikini pants, and why do they emit a mysterious red light from their chests? ...... There are too many mysteries, but there are no answers at all. There is no answer at all. The only thing that remains is the unfathomable fear that "this guy is not someone you can trust with common sense.

The title "Macho Man Chases You" and the screenshots may make it look like a funny and silly game, but when you play it, you will be convinced that it is a horror game, and you will get a sense of fear.

The sense of exploring in total darkness while being frightened by the shadow of the mysterious Macho Man may be similar to the popular game "Dead by Daylight" (DbD), in which you repair a generator to escape while running and hiding from a creepy killer, as felt by the author who is also a DbD player. I felt that the game has a similar feel to the popular game "Dead by Daylight" (DbD).

Despite its surrealistic setting, this game has a definite sense of excitement as a horror action game. If you are interested in this game, please try to escape from the scary macho man by yourself.

Incidentally, at the time of this writing, this title is not available in Japanese. I felt that even if you don't understand English, you will have no problem playing the game, but please be careful when you purchase the game.

Protein for Muscle" game purchase page

Horror games are a form of entertainment that shocks the instincts.

So, here are three horror games available on Steam.

Fear of death and the desire to escape from something unknowable are feelings based on the instinctive human need for survival. We would prefer not to experience this fear of death in the real world, but when experienced virtually in a game, it turns into a thrilling pastime.

In these times when we are still cautious about going out. This summer, try a virtual test of courage on Steam and shake your survival instincts to the core.

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

Twitter: https: //www.twitter.com/KINGakiko
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