Yomawari: Midnight Shadows

Have you ever had a game that told you at the beginning of the play that you should turn off the lights and focus on the screen that you are playing on? You would think well duh what else am I supposed to do when playing a horror game. Well, this is one of the little and subtle details that Yomawari: Midnight Shadows has offered to you.

Game storyline

If you have played Yomawari: Night Alone, then you will be very familiar with Yomawari: Midnight Shadows. The type of gamer that wants to run and gun. Of course, you would know that if you played night alone. It is very similar in a lot of ways to its prequel. The biggest difference really is that you play as 2 characters. You are constantly hopping back and forth between the characters though you will notice that you spend more time with Haru rather than Yui.

The game starts with the two characters watching fireworks and then they decide to go back home. On the way back home, they get separated. This is where it leads with the whole back and forth that you will be experiencing. As I mentioned you will be spending more time with Haru than Yui. This is not really a bad thing due to the fact that Haru has both a flashlight and a map. So, you will see that she has a clear advantage over her friend.

Gameplay

This style of game is not for the hack and slashers. This is more for the runaway, re-evaluate, and hide gamers. It is like a game of keep away if you think about it. You are given items like the flashlight to help you stun demons so you can work around and get around the demons. Although there is not a lot of jump scares and surprises, the game does give a sense of intense gameplay. You will notice that the game is great with its game mechanics with little things like the save points. To save you will have to collect coins and are encouraged to save at shrines. There are plenty of coins so saving will not be hard to do. So, do it often. Another great mechanic that you love is that when you die you got back to your last save point. You even get to keep all the progress that you made. The only part is that of course, you have to backtrack to where you left off at. When using your stamina, you have a lot when you are away from the demons. But the more demon gets closer you start to lose your calm and have less stamina to use. Making it harder to getaway. Yomawari: Midnight Shadows has a lot to offer with its 5-7 hours of gameplay of navigating, solving puzzles, and learning to get around demons and traps.

My review and verdict

Yomawari: Midnight Shadows would get a 7 out of 10 from me. It is quite similar to the first game which I find is a good and bad thing. The gameplay is great even with the game being 2D graphically. It is just another example that although graphics play a big part in a game, good gameplay and a great storyline can make up for the graphics of a game.

I would have liked to be able to spend more time with both characters equally but at the same time, Haru does have an advantage as she has both a map and a flashlight.

Pros

• Beautiful 2D design
• Intense and electrical atmosphere
• Great game mechanics

Cons

• Spending more time with one character than the other
• One character has a better advantage than the other