They are recognisable, which makes their existence even more terrifying. The world is almost Studio Ghibli in design, especially in regards to the monsters. Graphically, the game is simple in style with some twists and flare. Fear and Frustration I guess I’m not going this way then? Most of the mysteries and puzzles posed by Yomawari: Night Alone offer little-to-no clear advice which could quickly become more frustrating than fun. Equally, those who prefer more solid direction will find the game overly-challenging. Yomawari: Night Alone strips you of any perceived power, and demands you respect it. That sensation of not being in control was a fresh one for horror games, which have for too long felt the need to empower the player. There are many gamers who will revel in this freakish land of opportunity, drinking in the on-edge setting and gameplay.

However, even after hours of play, you’ll still never shake off the feeling that the next hellish creature will be your downfall. More effectively, you are forced to decipher their strengths and weaknesses. You consistently feel weak and vulnerable. By making you blindly explore, you are forced to encounter the horrors surrounding you. You never feel truly safe, aware that around the next corner could be an unexpected monster or sprite. This trial-and-error atmosphere generates a real sense of permanent fear. It took me far too long to figure that one out. They can be avoided by tiptoeing around them. There are visual cues to use, such as the demon with bandages wrapped around their head. How do you learn this? Normally by dying. You quickly learn that each nightmarish entity has a different movement pattern, and different behaviour triggers. This flows over into how you deal with the hordes of monsters roaming around. Cue that lost feeling we all experienced as a child, and you’re immediately involved. You are given a vague objective (for example, find your sister) and are expected to explore in order to achieve this goal. This setup is more than just skin deep though it cleverly frames the gameplay mechanics for the rest of the game. Unfortunately, on the very evening they disappear, your hometown becomes more haunted than a building site on a Native-American burial site. The game places you as a little girl, looking for her lost sister and missing dog. Surviving Alone Even finding your sister is disconcerting in Yomawari: Night Alone This would be a real shame as this deceptively cute-looking game more than deserves our attention. With all this headline grabbing PR, it would be easy for people to miss Yomawari: Night Alone (on PS Vita and PC) from NIS America and Nippon Ichi Software. Resident Evil 7 has been grabbing all the horror game attention recently, especially with the staggered release of gameplay videos. (Full Disclosure – GameOrNought was provided a Steam copy of Yomawari: Night Alone by NIS America)

Yomawari night alone steam requirements