This review was originally written on 04/10/2018.

Technical Information

Developer: Hitodenashi no Kuukan
Publisher: AGM PLAYISM
Release Date: 09/23/2016

Aya — the protagonist — is feeling depressed on the eve of her mother’s death anniversary. So she asks her father to try to ease her pain by doing something special in her mother’s honor.
Her father agrees and puts her to bed. In the middle of the night, Aya wakes up to her father screaming and then discovers that the mansion they live in is filled with zombies and monsters… and that’s when the adventure begins.

Final Thoughts – Looking at the game as a whole

Graphics and UI

The visuals are simple, but not sloppy. The avatar art that appears during some dialogues is amateurish, but not poorly made.

The only thing that really bothered me was the lack of an option to return to the main menu or exit the game. Aside from that, it does what it needs to do.

Soundtrack and Sound Effects

Despite its simplicity, the audio is very well-crafted, atmospheric, and balanced.

Gameplay

Simple and easy gameplay. You only use the arrow keys to move the main character, the space bar to interact, and backspace to open the menu. Extremely functional for this type of game.

There are multiple save slots, which is perfect for replaying in search of achievements or new routes.

It’s a very simple game, made in RPG Maker, with light suspense and horror. During gameplay, you’ll come across some gore scenes, but trust me, nothing that will keep you up at night.
Despite the visuals and the engine it was made with, the game is purely exploration-based. I’d say it’s like retro-RPG gameplay with point-and-click mechanics.

Replayability and Game Retention

At certain moments, you can make choices that will change the game’s ending.
The curiosity to replay and see the other endings was the only thing that motivated me to go back. Personally, I found the story weak, cliché and predictable.

[blur]The ending where Aya ends up becoming just like her father was something I started suspecting as soon as she began uncovering more about him.
To me, it was always clear that her father was a maniac and that she’d end up struggling with herself to decide what was right: kill a psychopath or keep him alive because he’s her father and she loves him.
I didn’t like it, but there’s always someone who’s into those clichés.[/blur]