I thought I knew what to expect the first time I jumped into World of Horror. This eye-catching RPG roguelite revels in its purposefully bleak 1-bit visual design, but that simplicity doesn’t correlate into simplistic game design. Within just a few minutes of booting up, as I pondered the graphic and brutal death of my first character, I realised that I was in for a tougher time than I had first thought.
The low-fi visuals are more than mere historical dressing – the game is set in the early ‘80s – they also contrast the sheer volume of information that’s presented to the player at any one time. It’s one of the most visually compelling games I’ve played, and this less is more approach takes me back to a very different but similarly brilliant title, Downwell. Another point of similarity: both games let you change the filter to a colour scheme that suits your eyeballs better.
Speaking of your eyeballs, I feel compelled to segue from there into another point about World of Horror’s harrowing visual design. This is not a game for the squeamish; within minutes of starting I had explored a school and therein uncovered a rotting corpse, performed a ritual (incorrectly), and died at the hands of a twisted psychopathic demon lady with scissor hands.
It’s grainy and basic, but I bloody love the way this game looks and feels. As a huge fan of The X-Files, I’m rather partial to a bit of retro-supernatural entertainment. World of Horror’s ‘80s setting is brilliantly implemented. I was immediately transported back in time thanks to the antiquated user interface. The technology of the era and your interactions with it are constantly integrated into the story in clever ways – this is A* environmental storytelling.
What is World of Horror?
I’m keeping this as vague as possible because this is a game where the less you know going in, the better. That makes this kind of review one of the hardest to write. That being the case, let’s go back to basics, and look at things more mechanically. This should help us avoid touching on narrative elements that are best left… undisturbed.
Pinning it down: World of Horror is a roguelite RPG with gripping turn based combat and a truly haunting setting inspired by the works of Junji Ito and H.P. Lovecraft. The game, through visual storytelling and slices of written text, takes you back to the ‘80s, to a small town in Japan that appears to be the epicentre of the end of the world.
In this previously unassuming town, the very fabric of reality is coming undone and the strangest, nastiest things you can imagine begin to unfold in front of your eyes. It’s the work of the old gods, who are awoken and aim to bring cosmic destruction to all before them.
You experience this through the computer interface you can see in the attached screenshots. There’s a window where you’ll see things happen, and then navigation tools and information all around. If you played any RPGs in the ‘80s and early ‘90s, you’ll get repeatedly punched in the face by the nostalgia of the setup here (and if you didn’t, count yourself lucky).
The game is built around your investigations into the supernatural activities that are happening around town. People are going missing all over the place, and you are going to dig deeper into these cases and try and work out what’s going on, and whether it can be stopped.
CSI: Shiokawa
For each new run, you’re given a selection of cases to investigate, with each one linked to a wider story arc. Each new game will feature a different cosmic god, so you never know what weird, brain-melting misery you might be about to see next.
Throughout all of this, your character has to manage their stamina and their reason. Failure to keep either in check will result in a Game Over, usually because some gnarly creature with too many hit points didn’t take the hint to leave you alone.
Your interface lets you visit different parts of town, and when you’re there you can explore, meet people, and read relevant plot points. The story is constantly being pushed along, though, and the individual cases I played never seemed to drag on too long.
For the most part, investigation and exploration is as simple as going somewhere and pushing a button. The representation of your actions is usually limited and uninspiring, but this juxtaposes wonderfully with the splashes of pure terror that keep wrenching you back into the story.
Turn-based terror
As you explore the town, you’ll inevitably stumble into combat encounters. You have a range of tactical options available to you, and it quickly became apparent how much you’ll have to explore these options in order to progress.
Dodging, for example, is absolutely essential. Simply spamming an attack isn’t going to cut it, if you’ll pardon the pun. Not only can you spend some of your action points on dodging, you can also spend them on preparing your attacks, increasing the chances that you’ll connect and take some health points.
If you’ve got a weapon equipped, it’s only natural that you’ll do more damage. You’ll scavenge weapons and items from the world around you whenever the opportunity arises, and then store them in the game’s very rudimentary inventory system.
You might even need to use a spell or two along the way, to tackle beings from other dimensions, because you can’t just smack everything you meet with a branch (believe me, I tried). There are rituals to perform at various points, too, further deepening your interactions and helping connect your actions to the theme.
World class horror
I want to tell you about all of the terrible things that have happened to me while playing World of Horror. I’m going to show some restraint, however, and leave the game’s haunting narrative for you to explore and experience in your own way.
I will say that World of Horror is a highly engaging game, and as such it requires you to put in the effort. Your exploration of this world will take place in your imagination as much as it will on the rickety old screen where these procedurally-constructed stories are told. It’s the kind of game where you get out what you put in.
It’s worth the work, though. The game’s harrowing story, the innovative visual storytelling, and the infusion of roguelite replayability makes for a gripping experience that more than makes up for its sometimes clunky and obtuse interface.
It might not be my usual cup of tea, but there’s something uniquely compelling about World of Horror and its mysterious monochrome presentation. If you’ve got any interest in horror gaming, the strange and unconventional investigations that are stitched together in a typical run can create a truly unpredictable and unsettling adventure that’s well worth experiencing for yourself.
World of Horror was developed by panstasz and is out now on PC (Mac, Windows), PlayStation 4/5, and Switch. I reviewed the game on PC.
If that’s not enough terror, we’ve got more horror roguelikes and roguelites right here.
