Another chapter of the atmospheric horror series has emerged from the shadows! Eerie sound design and shadowy environments set the stage for gruesome and terrifying ghosts never seen before in the series.
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I won't be spoiling anything in this review but I will say I'd recommend playing the Long Night Collection first, and you'll understand that the vibe is kept consistent to this game as well. One thing to understand about Yomawari is its roots in Japanese folklore and ghost stories, one thing I'm only mildly familiar with. As a person who is mostly unfamiliar to these things it feels like being thrown into an unfamiliar world. It features very depressing themes and generally stories will feel unfulfilling or unanswered. I will also give a warning there are mild themes of suicide in this game (which the game warns you about in the opening, but before you buy might be helpful.)
The game is a competent avoidance and puzzle game, but unlike previous Yomawari titles they got rid of the hiding mechanic, opting instead for sneaking. This is done by holding both triggers and sneaking past ghosts that haven't seen you (btw this doesn't apply to ALL ghosts but most.) They kept the optional distraction items like rocks but as usually I never found a use for them.
Visuals are great as always from this studio, but one thing I've always found lacking for these games is how bosses sometimes feel like a memory game where you're simply repeating the boss based on a set pattern, not to mention you're managing a stamina bar which depletes faster when you're closer to a ghost. Lastly if it's something you like the game does have a lot of collectibles and mini optional ghost puzzles, each with little flavor text from the main character of Yomawari.
In the end the only thing keeping me from rating this higher is how legitimately frustrating one or two bosses felt, and I don't mean it in a "my skill is not high enough" but a "we're gonna throw random bs at you that you may or may not be ready for." This however is not something unfamiliar to the games either though so I expected it. Overall most of the times I died felt very fair so I'm not going to be too harsh on those moments.
In the end if you're looking for Japanese Horror based on scary stories told to children then you're definitely in for a treat. The overarching story in these games are always good and you might or might not expect where the ending leads you.
The game is a competent avoidance and puzzle game, but unlike previous Yomawari titles they got rid of the hiding mechanic, opting instead for sneaking. This is done by holding both triggers and sneaking past ghosts that haven't seen you (btw this doesn't apply to ALL ghosts but most.) They kept the optional distraction items like rocks but as usually I never found a use for them.
Visuals are great as always from this studio, but one thing I've always found lacking for these games is how bosses sometimes feel like a memory game where you're simply repeating the boss based on a set pattern, not to mention you're managing a stamina bar which depletes faster when you're closer to a ghost. Lastly if it's something you like the game does have a lot of collectibles and mini optional ghost puzzles, each with little flavor text from the main character of Yomawari.
In the end the only thing keeping me from rating this higher is how legitimately frustrating one or two bosses felt, and I don't mean it in a "my skill is not high enough" but a "we're gonna throw random bs at you that you may or may not be ready for." This however is not something unfamiliar to the games either though so I expected it. Overall most of the times I died felt very fair so I'm not going to be too harsh on those moments.
In the end if you're looking for Japanese Horror based on scary stories told to children then you're definitely in for a treat. The overarching story in these games are always good and you might or might not expect where the ending leads you.
Between the emotional roller coaster of the story and the constant jump scares, my heart had about as much as it could take. For those that do enjoy the genre and won’t be triggered by the subject matter, Yomawari: Lost in the Dark feels like a terrific game to make the hair on your arms stand on end.
I'm planning on doing a longer review sometime down the line, but I'll just do a quick one for now.
The game looks very similar to the first two games which isn't really surprising considering how low budget these games are. The 2D graphics do look a tad nicer, but it's a style that already looks great in general.
One of the biggest changes in gameplay is the more open freedom you have in exploring and advancing the story. Other than maybe the first part of the game, you could do the remaining areas in which order you want. That sounds nice, but it honestly made the main story less important to the areas you go to. They have their own substories, but are mostly irrelevant and detached from the main story itself.
Another new change is that there's no more hiding places like bushes. Instead, you can manually cover your eyes to avoid enemies which only works on monsters that haven't seen you yet. It's an interesting change, but can be annoying at times since you can only walk slowly while covering your eyes.
As for the story itself, it's has the signature dark emotional one that the series has been known for despite the cute character sprites and graphics. A key part of the story is uncovering the mystery of the MC's bond with the older girl. While I thought it was pretty decent by the end of the game, I didn't think it had the same weight and effect as the two friends in Midnight Shadows.
Overall, it's another decent Yomawari game, but feels like a step backwards compared to the more emotionally compelling story of Midnight Shadows.
The game looks very similar to the first two games which isn't really surprising considering how low budget these games are. The 2D graphics do look a tad nicer, but it's a style that already looks great in general.
One of the biggest changes in gameplay is the more open freedom you have in exploring and advancing the story. Other than maybe the first part of the game, you could do the remaining areas in which order you want. That sounds nice, but it honestly made the main story less important to the areas you go to. They have their own substories, but are mostly irrelevant and detached from the main story itself.
Another new change is that there's no more hiding places like bushes. Instead, you can manually cover your eyes to avoid enemies which only works on monsters that haven't seen you yet. It's an interesting change, but can be annoying at times since you can only walk slowly while covering your eyes.
As for the story itself, it's has the signature dark emotional one that the series has been known for despite the cute character sprites and graphics. A key part of the story is uncovering the mystery of the MC's bond with the older girl. While I thought it was pretty decent by the end of the game, I didn't think it had the same weight and effect as the two friends in Midnight Shadows.
Overall, it's another decent Yomawari game, but feels like a step backwards compared to the more emotionally compelling story of Midnight Shadows.
HASHUASHUAHSUAUSHUAHSUHAU LINDO LINDO LINDO LINDO LINDO LINDO
fica atras somente de yms por conta da historia msm
o plot desse aq tb é bom mas acaba sendo bem confuso
fora isso só tem coisa boa nesse jogo <33
fica atras somente de yms por conta da historia msm
o plot desse aq tb é bom mas acaba sendo bem confuso
fora isso só tem coisa boa nesse jogo <33
It's been quite a while since I've played the previous two entries to this series, so maybe I'm forgetting some details but I certainly don't remember those games feeling like they enjoyed wasting my time. Walk to one point, get an item, then take the item back to its original location or walk around in a linear environment looking for key items with no sense of danger inbetween. A lot of this game felt empty both in the overworld and in "dungeons". I remember the previous games doing this, but certainly not to this degree. All these mind numbing tasks culminated into me dropping the game right at the end when I had to revisit certain parts of the game, but now with a new mechanic and a lot of unskippable dialog. Also, it's hard to feel any type of fear when the game reuses a lot of the same enemies from the previous game with very few new enemies. Maybe I'm just sick of these games formulas, but this game felt like an utter disappointment. It still has great atmosphere and beautiful art, but I'd recommend checking out Yomawari: Night Alone over this. It goes on sale frequently for under $5.
Full video review: https://youtu.be/VaLxvyMRXBc
Somehow five years have already passed since the last Yomawari release and besides the time passing too quickly, I enjoyed that game a good bit. Super atmospheric, a large world to explore, and some decent puzzles too. This one though? Ehhhh....
Atmosphere
The atmosphere is easily the game’s best point. It is quite literally the same as it was five years ago: limited lighting, grainy world design, absolutely creepy yokai roaming about, and ambient sound design in place of a traditional soundtrack. For the type of story being told here, all of this works in the game’s favor.
That said, I was a bit disappointed that there’s really nothing “new” to differentiate the feel from the last release. It uses the same audio and graphical assets, has a very similar world design, and somehow feels a bit more empty.
Game World
One of the things I praised in the last release was that large world with plenty of stuff to find. This game has some of that, but it doesn’t quite match the extent of the former and honestly, it became boring to have to trek across identical, empty areas just to get to the next story objective.
Gameplay
I won’t make the case that Midnight Shadows was super involved gameplay-wise, but I can’t help but feel that Lost in the Dark took it even further down. Most of the gameplay involves running around, picking up items to get you to the next area, and then repeating. In fact, the first two “dungeons” or whatever were literally me searching however many rooms for a key or other item, picking it up and bringing it to unlock or activate something, and then repeating that in the newly unlocked area.
It’s back and forth busywork and maybe I’ve become less tolerant of such gameplay over the years, but the last one had a bit of this too, it just didn’t feel like to this extent. When you do get to a cool part - the boss encounters - those last maybe a few minutes before you have to cycle through the next hour or so of searching and pressing your one button to interact with things.
Performance
I ran the game at 4k 60 fps with no issues to speak of, although the settings are limited to just simple window and resolution options. Controls are simple enough that you can get away with doing keyboard and mouse, but it plays way better on controller and that is what I opted to use for my playthrough.
Overall
I cannot in good faith recommend Yomawari: Lost in the Dark. The last game - Midnight Shadows - may have been fun enough, but this is somehow worse while adding nothing really new. Great atmosphere, but with the same assets. A large open world to explore, but nothing really rewarding to find. A decently interesting story, but matched with some seriously tedious gameplay that left me bored after just a couple hours. Maybe in a bundle or on deep sale - but for now it’s not worth it.
Somehow five years have already passed since the last Yomawari release and besides the time passing too quickly, I enjoyed that game a good bit. Super atmospheric, a large world to explore, and some decent puzzles too. This one though? Ehhhh....
Atmosphere
The atmosphere is easily the game’s best point. It is quite literally the same as it was five years ago: limited lighting, grainy world design, absolutely creepy yokai roaming about, and ambient sound design in place of a traditional soundtrack. For the type of story being told here, all of this works in the game’s favor.
That said, I was a bit disappointed that there’s really nothing “new” to differentiate the feel from the last release. It uses the same audio and graphical assets, has a very similar world design, and somehow feels a bit more empty.
Game World
One of the things I praised in the last release was that large world with plenty of stuff to find. This game has some of that, but it doesn’t quite match the extent of the former and honestly, it became boring to have to trek across identical, empty areas just to get to the next story objective.
Gameplay
I won’t make the case that Midnight Shadows was super involved gameplay-wise, but I can’t help but feel that Lost in the Dark took it even further down. Most of the gameplay involves running around, picking up items to get you to the next area, and then repeating. In fact, the first two “dungeons” or whatever were literally me searching however many rooms for a key or other item, picking it up and bringing it to unlock or activate something, and then repeating that in the newly unlocked area.
It’s back and forth busywork and maybe I’ve become less tolerant of such gameplay over the years, but the last one had a bit of this too, it just didn’t feel like to this extent. When you do get to a cool part - the boss encounters - those last maybe a few minutes before you have to cycle through the next hour or so of searching and pressing your one button to interact with things.
Performance
I ran the game at 4k 60 fps with no issues to speak of, although the settings are limited to just simple window and resolution options. Controls are simple enough that you can get away with doing keyboard and mouse, but it plays way better on controller and that is what I opted to use for my playthrough.
Overall
I cannot in good faith recommend Yomawari: Lost in the Dark. The last game - Midnight Shadows - may have been fun enough, but this is somehow worse while adding nothing really new. Great atmosphere, but with the same assets. A large open world to explore, but nothing really rewarding to find. A decently interesting story, but matched with some seriously tedious gameplay that left me bored after just a couple hours. Maybe in a bundle or on deep sale - but for now it’s not worth it.