NIS has launched a website teasing a new game. 12 silhouettes originally and 1 shadow holding a knife.
As of right now its down to 10 silhouettes. What could this mean? Are they teasing another Danganronpa game? a completely different but similar game? Only time will tell.
Available for the PlayStation Vita and Steam October 25, 2016, NIS America brings Yomawari: Night Alone to North America and Europe just in time for the Halloween season.
Story
Poro and Sis are missing. It is up to you, the protagonist, to go out into the night to find them. There are scary things in the night, but not knowing where Sis is feels even scarier. You must explore your neighborhood and escape the scary things that go bump in the night.
The story is emotionally driven and becomes more than surviving the night to find your sister. Through the story the protagonist must come to understand mortality. [SPOILER] The protagonists initial denial of her dog, Poro, dying at the beginning of the game and her inability to admit to her sister that the dog has died starts her journey. Most objects you encounter are related to death or the dead somehow -you are not just trying to survive the night, you are trying to come to terms with the reality of death that surrounds you.
Game play
Yomawari: Night Alone is a 2D, top down survival horror. Armed with only a flashlight, you cannot fight any of the monsters you encounter but must try to outrun them or sneak by without them coming into contact with you. You have the option to “Hide” or “Run”, but your running meter is limited especially if the character is scared. Most times you’ll need to analyze how the monsters move in order to figure out how to avoid them. Game play is exploring, collecting objects, and puzzle solving.
Most events are fairly short, but worthwhile when you encounter them. The simplicity of the game play translates the vulnerability of you character so the player feels the terror of what surrounds your character.
Visuals
The overall atmosphere of the game is eerie. The visible play area is a circumference of light around your character and whatever your flashlight illuminates. You cannot rotate the camera, and quite often your vision will be obscured with the background; a tactic certain to make your heart pound a little bit because who knows what is lurking in the places you can’t see. What makes the game stand out is the simple hand drawn 2D animation. Each monster is not elaborately drawn out but they still manage to feel very creepy.
Audio
The audio, or lack there of, sets the tone of the game. Most background noise you hear is ambient noise (crickets/cicadas, electrical humming, etc), the character’s footsteps, and the heart rate system where the heart rate increases when ghosts/danger lurks nearby. This makes the game one of those games that will have you jumping out of your seat if you’re in the dark with your headphones.
Verdict
Pros: Each element (story, game play, audio, visual) work hand in hand with one another to create a chilling environment and one aspect of the game doesn’t over power the other. Even though it is simple, it gets is message across and still manages to pull out a few jump scares. This is one game I feel better playing with the lights on without my headphones, but the experience is that much more enhanced with them on.
I feel an emotional connection with the main character; a little girl who loses her dog and then her older sister. Her pure determination to find them drives the story forward, even when you (the player) don’t even want to go the end of the block because of what is waiting for you. I also enjoy that the mentality of a young girl remains in tact through story, especially with the collectible objects. As you read through each description, you discover the character has attached an emotional meaning with each object, much like a child would do.
There’s a slight replay value for those who like collecting trophies and achievements. There are variety of collectibles to pick up; some in some pretty hard to get to places. But, the completionist will find their way back into the neighborhood.
Cons: The game can be simple, or complicated. The game doesn’t necessarily tell you where to go, but seasoned gamers can easily pick up which direction to go. The challenge is eliminated when the game allows you to keep important objects even after you have been caught by a ghost. You don’t really have to go back and analyze the patterns of how the ghosts move since you can basically just run in, grab the object, die, and start at a nice cozy save point.
If you happen to miss the event spawn point, there will be a lot of back tracking and at times this can feel pretty tedious.
Yomawari: Night Alone is the perfect game for October or when you want a good scare. It’s not gory, but it doesn’t need to be gory in order for you to feel the terror of the night. With its quiet atmosphere, creepy creatures, and story Yomawari: Night Alone easily made it to the top of my Favorite Horror Game list. To get the most out of this title, play in the dark with your headphones; you’ll be jumping out of your seat a few times.
Will you be picking up this title? What if your favorite “scary” game? Let me know in the comments.
A girl went missing 15 years ago. All you have is a collection of letters from high school. You must investigate her disappearance by interrogating old school-friends, now adults, and uncover the mystery of the missing girl.
Taking place in the real life setting of Matsu, players get to experience an unseen side of Japan. Root Letter gives players a new experience and a different Japanese atmosphere.
Producer and Kadokawa Games CEO Yoshimi Yasuda, Director Zin Hasegawa and renowned character designer Minoboshi Taro combine to deliver a Visual Novel that explores human emotion, feelings of nostalgia and the desire to change the past.
Players can get Root Letter for the PlayStation 4 and PlayStation Vita November 8th.
MeiQ: Labyrinth of Death for the Playstation Vita is one of the latest titles from Idea Factory and, I have to say, I really had an adventure playing this JRPG. MeiQ is a JRPG with Mech Customization, a story of Machina Mages, and many dungeons full of creatures that randomly attack you.
MeiQ is set in a world that has fallen under an eternal night. Five Machina Mages now have to make their way through the four tower mazes and undergo various rituals, form contracts with various Guardians to restart the world, and bring an end to eternal night. You play as Estra, one of the five chosen Machina Mages who specializes in Earth-element Machina Magic, along with the other four mages: Flare, who specializes in Fire-element Machina Magic; Connie, who specializes in Wood-element Machina Magic; Maki, who specializes in Metal-element Machina Magic; and Setia, who specializes in Water-element Machina Magic.
Each character was unique and had distinct personalities that brought the story together. For example: the friendly rivalry with Flare and her smart alec remarks, each encounter with the Guardians, and how sometimes characters got in the way. There were times where you can tell the encounters with Connie were just filler and this sometimes got pretty annoying. For the length of the story, though, it isn’t a really long story and ends once you’re leveled up to a curtain point, however, the story is quite memorable and players will enjoy the journey. Players will enjoy making their way through each chapter, interacting with different character, and seeing what they have to do to make it though each tower to get to the very end.
When I started playing MeiQ, I did not know what I was getting into except that this was a new title from NIS America, and that it was a dungeon crawler. Little did I know the game was a little more than that.
When players first jump into this title they will notice the first person perspective, which is fun, but also has it flaws. While exploring the towers you will find yourself not really looking at the main view of direction that is presented, but instead looking at the overview map on the side of your screen. This is mainly because it is one of the only ways you can navigate through the towers without bumping into walls or heading in the wrong direction.
As for the battle system, players will notice they will have a party of mages and Guardians that are both recruited while progressing through the story. Guardians are one of the main aspects of the battle system. While in battle, you will notice your Guardians have certain move sets. Each move set is developed when you customize your Guardian using the equipment parts and crystals found through the maps.
This is where the game shines because you will find yourself customizing and enhancing the Guardians move sets and appearance to take on your foes. Each crystal and part has specific elements that will help you counter your opponents element. When entering the first few battles, players will notice their character is over powered and can take anything out in one hit, but this does not last long. Afterwards, battles get tougher and introduces players to how the mechanics of the game actually work. However, you will eventually have to grind to level up to take on new Guardians and enemies. This makes the game start to feel tedious when all you want to do is see what happens next in the story.
MeiQ: Labyrinth of Death holds its ground as a unique title with its battle system, story, characters, and even boss battles. However, the game felt too short, not all characters were memorable, and eventually the game became tedious after a certain point. I would recommend this game as something to play for a quick fix, but after beating the game, the replay value isn’t there.
Today, NIS has announced the the tactical RPG GOD WARS Future Past will be coming to North America and Europe in early 2017. You will be able to pick up this title on the PlayStation 4 as a physical release and PlayStation Vita as a digital release.
GOD WARS Future Past explores the historical side of Japan through folklore and traditional combat. Experience traditional stories of Japan through three warring nations.
Check out some screens below. Are you a JRPG fan like some of us on the NCG team? Will you be picking up this title for PlayStation?
New Challenger Gaming 