The Good:
-nailed the PS1 aesthetic
-sound design is terrifying
-puzzles are reminiscent of Silent Hill and Resident Evil
-different endings

The Bad:
-inventory is effectively two spaces due to the lighter being required
-Aka Manto's spawn system makes no logical sense and appears to be bugged or otherwise broken
-random CTD that I can't reproduce; it just sorta happens sometimes

Overall, this is a promising game marred by some pretty buggy AI. It's a fairly simple game with a barebones, but acceptable plot which is discovered via scattered tape recorders. The tone and aesthetics are fantastic. The player is forced into some claustrophobic situations and you're on edge more or less the entire time.

However, the game quickly becomes very frustrating due to the way Aka Manto interacts with the player. It's clear to me that there should be a logic to the way it tracks and finds the player. There are red portals that spawn on random walls at random times and even floating Noh masks that appear to cause Aka Manto to rush to your location.

None of this matters. Aka Manto knows where you are at all times-- regardless of if you hide or avoid being discovered by the masks. Sometimes it literally spawns directly in front or behind you to instantly get in a cheap hit and whack jump scare. I've checked the discussions page and seen some other people with the same experience and the devs seem to be too busy working on new games to fix their old ones.

This unfortunately leaves me with no choice but to not recommend this game in its current state unless you really need some indie neo-retro style horror games in your life as they are admittedly very cheap to obtain.

The Good: -nailed the PS1 aesthetic -sound design is terrifying -puzzles are reminiscent of Silent Hill and Resident Evil -different endings The Bad: -inventory is effectively two spaces due to the lighter being required -Aka Manto's spawn system makes no logical sense and appears to be bugged or otherwise broken -random CTD that I can't reproduce; it just sorta happens sometimes Overall, this is a promising game marred by some pretty buggy AI. It's a fairly simple game with a barebones, but acceptable plot which is discovered via scattered tape recorders. The tone and aesthetics are fantastic. The player is forced into some claustrophobic situations and you're on edge more or less the entire time. However, the game quickly becomes very frustrating due to the way Aka Manto interacts with the player. It's clear to me that there should be a logic to the way it tracks and finds the player. There are red portals that spawn on random walls at random times and even floating Noh masks that appear to cause Aka Manto to rush to your location. None of this matters. Aka Manto knows where you are at all times-- regardless of if you hide or avoid being discovered by the masks. Sometimes it literally spawns directly in front or behind you to instantly get in a cheap hit and whack jump scare. I've checked the discussions page and seen some other people with the same experience and the devs seem to be too busy working on new games to fix their old ones. This unfortunately leaves me with no choice but to not recommend this game in its current state unless you really need some indie neo-retro style horror games in your life as they are admittedly very cheap to obtain.