Cosmic Horror, also known as “Lovecraftian Horror”, emphasizes the terror of the unknown or phenomena beyond our comprehension. Spooky, right? Well WORLD OF HORROR, an RPG from Panstasz and Ysbryd Games has announced their early access for Steam. Time to get your uncomfortable on, but in a good way.
“WORLD OF HORROR follows the rural residents of a seaside Japanese town facing inhuman terrors in a world spiraling toward madness. Investigate the return of eldritch monsters and solve puzzles to collect arcane spell components. Struggle against malevolent legends of folklore like the Aka Manto and Kuchisake-onna, summoned by performing dark rites.”
WORLD OF HORROR is a roguelite retro horror RPG. There are 5 playable protagonists, each with unique stats and perspectives of the events unfolding. Combat is turn based, with boss fights that are all illustrated and animated using Microsoft Paint in a classic 1-bit graphic style. Yes, MS Paint. I’ve taken a glance at both the trailer and some photos, and I can safely say the art style does well setting a tone of, “eugh.”
Gives me the jibblies, and that’s the most extreme type of uncomfortable. There are 10 mysteries to choose from, and they all have procedurally generated events. Hence, roguelite. When investigating the horrors chance encounters wreak havoc on your stamina and sanity. Many of these encounters will unlock further scenarios for your next run through.
The game itself is inspired by the works of Junji Ito and H.P. Lovecraft. Panstasz has collaborated with Ubisoft script writer Cassandra Khaw, author of critically acclaimed horror novel Hammers on Bone. “Working with Cassandra has been a treat. She’s helped me tune up paragraph upon paragraph of chilling storytelling perfect for cosmic horror,” said Panstasz. Panstasz is the sole developer on WORLD OF HORROR, so having such an experienced horror writer to offer guidance was surely a boon.
WORLD OF HORROR will be available on Steam Early Access for $14.99. It will support English at the start of Early Access with more languages to follow. On full release you can expect additional mysteries, more characters, and dozens of new events.
WORLD OF HORROR hits Steam early access on February 20th, 2020 and will have a full release on Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, and PC in late 2020.
Will you pick up WORLD OF HORROR? Let us know over on the Informed Pixel Facebook page or on the Informed Pixel Twitter account. You can also tell me your favourite horror over on my personal Twitter, I like being scared. For more gaming news you can keep up to date at Informed Pixel.
