World of Horror (Computer)
Official GBAtemp Review
Product Information:
- Release Date (NA): October 23, 2023
- Release Date (EU): October 23, 2023
- Publisher: Ysbryd Games
- Developer: panstasz
- Genres: RPG, rogulelite, point-and-click
- Also For: Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4
Game Features:
The reawakening of the Old Gods foreshadows the end of the world; and the signs are palpable in the seaside town of Shiokawa, Japan. Strange sightings and events are getting the residents to question their sanity. With a series of unsolved mysteries plaguing your hometown, some of which involve your own schoolmates, you decide to investigate and face the cosmic horrors.
Unique atmospheric horror in MS Paint-drawn 1-bit art style
One of World of Horror’s main draws is its low-res, yet impressive visuals. The 1-bit art style harkens back to nostalgic gaming eras. Despite being intentionally of low resolution, the scenes, which play out in a visual novel style, are full of details. The cosmic horrors, ranging from mutilated, bloated corpses to eldritch encounters, convey the influences of Junji Ito's works and feels like playing through a manga. Even more impressive is that the art was completely done by the solo developer in MS Paint.
The retro visuals are supplemented by an eerie, chiptune soundtrack which, combined, offer a unique horror atmosphere. To add to the retro appeal, you can adjust the monotone colour filter as well as view the game from an old on-screen monitor. It’s definitely one of the most unique-looking games (not just in the horror genre) in recent years and deserves to be lauded for that. The nostalgic and mangal-like presentation is so compelling that I even wish that World of Horror was available as an actual ROM that could be run on retro handheld devices like the Anbernic RG405M.
Take on a world of cosmic horror in a roguelite RPG fashion
For its gameplay, World of Horror adopts RPG and roguelite elements while you select actions in a point-and-click fashion. Your home serves as your base where you can refill your stamina as well as select which mystery to investigate from a series of 5 mysteries available. Once selected, you will be able to explore locations relevant to that mystery such as a festival area, downtown and a nearby forest.
During exploration the roguelite elements kick in and you will make random encounters and find items to assist you in your investigation and solve puzzles during that investigation. Some of NPC encounters are more hostile than others, with outcomes that depend on your character’s stats. If an encounter leads you to engage and succeed in combat, you gain exp points that you can use to buff up your attributes from stamina to luck.
Combats during investigations can offer a steep challenge which can occasionally feel unfair, especially when starting out. With time (and patience), your stats can improve to help you better tackle encounters and you can even recruit party members while exploring who will assist you in combat.
As you complete investigations, you will gain keys, five of which are required to enter Shiokawa's Lighthouse. The latter location is where the final act of the game takes place and has its own sets of puzzles to solve.
Seeing the game through the ending in the Lighthouse can take around 3 hours but you can easily go through multiple re-runs. Even if you successfully clear an investigation, they each have multiple endings; and there are 20 investigations plagued with eldritch horrors and you won’t see all of them in a single playthrough.
You likely won’t see all of what even a single mission has to offer from the first try, as even individual encounters and what you end up discovering while exploring can vary. For example, some in-game options are only available if you have specific allies in your party. Each playthrough will also include a different Old God who will influence your stats differently. This adds a welcome layer of replayability as single runs can be relatively short.
Beautiful, horrifying world
World of Horror is definitely an impressive title with its unique presentation and episodic (and challenging) mystery solving. However, it is not without its own set of persisting issues. In addition to the challenging, sometimes unfair combat, the UI itself can be challenging to get a grasp of. This is because of the visual overload that it presents takes a while to get used to. Navigating through the cluttered UI is easier with a mouse but playing on a handheld gaming PC, it is apparent that the game has not been fully optimised for controller input. This feels like a missed opportunity as the nostalgic presentation entices D-pad controls.
Perhaps also due to the cluttered UI, some gameplay aspects are left unclear. For example, some scenes have interactive on-screen items which you can click on but such an option is not specified. Similarly, the fact that you can recruit more party members isn’t made clear. While leaving the player in the dark and figuring out some gameplay elements can add to the horror element, World of Horror could do with a better tailored tutorial (there is one mission you can tackle as a tutorial but even completing leaves some elements unclear).
The random encounters also adds to the horror atmosphere with a layer of uncertainty regarding what you will discover following your next action. However, the execution could be improved as NPC encounters can feel too random and don't flow well with the course of your choices.
For example, while investigating a school, I met a person working for a company that doesn't seem to be associated with the school in any fashion. There was no option to question his presence in the school from my part, which is particularly odd as I was investigating the murder of school girls. And encountering someone who doesn't fit the location would normally lead to some questions. But it seems like these encounters mostly serve as fillers until you find clues in the area you are investigating so that the plot progresses.
But if you can look past these issues, World of Horror will offer a visually unique horror game that often feels like playing through a Junji Ito-esque manga.
WORLD OF HORROR - v1.0 Launch Trailer
Verdict
- Unique, atmospheric presentation
- Branching paths in each investigation
- Original gameplay mechanic
- Random encounters don’t always feel cohesive to the story
- Some gameplay elements aren’t made clear
- Cluttered UI
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