World of Horror - cosmic horror adventure/RPG with 1-bit aesthetics

[LESS T_T]

Early Access on February 20th:



Interestingly press release uses two paragraphs to praise Cassandra Khaw: https://www.gamasutra.com/view/pres..._Stalks_Early_Access_on_Steam_Feb_20_2020.php

WORLD OF HORROR Stalks Early Access on Steam Feb. 20, 2020

WROCLAW, Poland – Jan. 16, 2020 – WORLD OF HORROR, the unsettling cosmic horror retro RPG from Panstasz and Ysbryd Games, brings its tales of dread to Steam Early Access for Windows on Feb. 20, 2020. The full release will terrify Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, and Windows and Mac OS X platforms in late 2020.

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.

Fight to survive this nightmare roguelite reality with turn-based combat. Each of the five playable characters available in Early Access has their own stats and perspective on the horrors unfolding in their hometown. Defeat gruesome bosses, all illustrated and animated with disturbing images made in Microsoft Paint with a classic 1-bit graphic style.

Choose from among 10 mysteries with procedurally generated events in Early Access, investigating unleashed horrors as chance encounters wreak havoc on your stamina and sanity. Explore dark corners for clues and hidden helpful items to reach the best of many ghastly endings. Unlock new events from encounters and achievements along the way, starting the next run with a deeper pool of terrifying possibilities for WORLD OF HORROR to draw from.

Inspired by the works of Junji Ito and H.P. Lovecraft, WORLD OF HORROR is a psychological thriller with uncanny urban sites and twisted storylines. Collaborating with Panstasz on the writing for WORLD OF HORROR is Cassandra Khaw, script writer at Ubisoft, author of the critically acclaimed horror novel Hammers on Bone, and writer behind games like Wasteland 3, Sunless Skies and She Remembered Caterpillars.

“Working with Cassandra has been a treat. She’s helped me tune up paragraph upon paragraph of chilling storytelling perfect for cosmic horror,” said Pawel Kozminski aka panstasz, the solo developer behind WORLD OF HORROR. “Her background and insight into horrific mindsets has helped me flesh out the unsettling nature of the mysteries, characters, and items you’ll find in WORLD OF HORROR.”

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. Several additional mysteries, more characters, and dozens of new events will be added for 1.0 launch.

For more information, please visit the WORLD OF HORROR website, visit the official Discord, or follow @YsbrydGames and @Panstasz on Twitter.

 

[Harthwain]

• It's positively disturbing on the atmospherical and visual front.
  
• The brief doubts of paranoia suggest that sanity will matter. Fingers crossed for a lot of weird stuff happening. Not enough games to that properly.
  
• I am hoping the search for clues and mystery solving will be interesting and require an actual investigation/analysis.
  
• Also, it's a roguelite with turn-based combat.

It could be a proper Lovecraft-inspired game since The Consuming Shadow (so, like, ~5 years). That game did the investigative part right, made your mental health matter and had really good sense of horror, despite looking like 2D flash action game with simple sounds. Wishlisted for the future.

 

[LESS T_T]

Early Access released:

 

[PrettyDeadman]

BASED

 

[Pope Amole II]

Got myself a streamer key, playing atm. First thing first, it's neither RPG nor roguelite - it's a literal CYOA. The events are freeform and the writing is minimalistic but that's the only genre you could assign this game to, especially as it heavily leans onto tabletop mechanics - dice rolls for the checks, for example.

Second, the music sucks. May sound like a petty thing but I think that it's huge in this genre. I'll scoop something from my vast dark ambient collection but, you know, would've been better if they went for something more atmospheric.

Third, the combat is also kinda meh. Well, one needs to see more of it but, atm, it looks to be really unbalanced and geared towards spamming samey action.

Nonetheless, the graphics & overall atmosphere seem to be ok so, despite these negatives, the game doesn't feel like it sucks. At least as of now.

ED: to add a bit more here - the game is pretty bugged at this point, lots of stuff is just broken. Also, the overall game balance is ludicurous. Some missions are taking a colossal toll on your resources, others are a cakewalk. Sometime you find a glorious katana at the start of the playthrough, other times you're forced to try and kick the otherworldly horrors to their death. Certain strategies are grotesque - my prom queen has channeled her crowd of followers into martial prowess through faith and, dexterously using a clawed hammer, were handling four precise power attacks per turn, literally pummeling all opposition into nothing.

The game also doesn't have that much content and quite soon you're just replaying the same short events over and over again. I dunno, I still kinda enjoyed playing it (for free), but I don't see you spending more than 10 hours here and that's kinda arguable for the price of twelve bucks.

 

[Tyranicon]

I'll pick this up eventually, but it seems like the game is getting a resounding meh+ so far. I just want one good Lovecraftian RPG...

 

[a cut of domestic sheep prime]

Well, I played the first mission (scissor lady) and "won" (ending b), but I can't say I was impressed by anything other than the art.

Story was nearly non-existent and gameplay was very simple.

Will probably refund it.

 

[buffalo bill]

I'll pick this up eventually, but it seems like the game is getting a resounding meh+ so far. I just want one good Lovecraftian RPG...

Infra Arcana

 

[luj1]

Still more atmospheric and did more with less than that Turkish turd

 

[thesecret1]

Gave this a spin and I must say it's pretty neat. Most events have multiple resolutions (a lot of them depending on your stats and items), most mysteries have multiple endings, and there seems to be a lot of attention to detail (I love how your injuries actually display on your character portrait, for example). I'm not sure I'd call this an RPG, roguelike, CYOA, or whatever else that's been listed in this thread. It has elements from all of those, sure, but at it's core, it's actually a resource management game.

Now, the drawbacks: while you are investigating a mystery, the random events never seem to actually be connected to that, so you go investigate neighbour's apartment for clues, then suddenly get attacked by a random corse on the stairs, and that's it. The actual investigation is off screen, with only the result being offhandedly mentioned. I found that rather jarring, especially when the random encounter happened to be particularly out of place. Another issue I've had is that the game seems too short. I get that the runs aren't meant to take too long, but still, it's very short even for that. Every time my character just started getting some interesting traits, the game just ended. Personally, I'd welcome an option to have a run last at least twice as long. Thirdly, and that's possibly connected to the short length of a standard run, the balance is not ideal. It's way too reliant on RNG, especially at the beginning, and the characters you have at your disposal also seem to vary in strength wildly. Some of them are downright overpowered and just mop the floor with anything that comes their way as soon as you give them a decent weapon or catch a good perk, while some of the others are just pathetic. The option to go recruit allies at the school is also sort of strange - is there any reason not to grab them all at the start of every single run, considering they each give you a stat boost (with stats mattering greatly)?

Still, I must say I've enjoyed this quite a bit overall, despite the listed shortcomings (most of which seems like they can easily be fixed by the end of early access).

 

[frajaq]

Is this one of those indie games made by a solo dev?

 

[Serious_Business]

Derpa

Resident fun-expert and overall crusty dry full-of-sand vagina says something about atmosphere and music in a game - thinks his math pleb tastes are sufficient to say something about reality, this is really quite something to behold

 

[Verylittlefishes]

This "1-bit love letter to Junji Ito and H.P. Lovecraft" is in Early Access now and looks pretty cool.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/913740/WORLD_OF_HORROR/

 

[True Ukrainian]

I played an earlier demo. Are there more unique events now? Or is it just shuffling the same cards about during a scenario?

 

[Catacombs]

The art looks awesome.

 

[The Wall]

Itz got great reviews and sells well. Lovecraft-chan sells, afterall!

 

[PrettyDeadman]

Itz got great reviews and sells well. Lovecraft-chan sells, afterall!

You mean Junji Ito sells.

 

[kaisergeddon]

The game wears that Junji Ito inspiration on its face, huh. It really apes his style. Unfortunately, it looks like a colossal meme project made out of spoonfed internet culture, and its publisher backs that impression up. From what everyone is saying it doesn't seem like there's a meaningful game yet beneath the admittedly cool Machintosh aesthetic. I'll wait until it's out of early access, and maybe I'll swing around to it. Kazuo Umezu would have been better inspiration, btw.

 

[Verylittlefishes]

Itz got great reviews and sells well. Lovecraft-chan sells, afterall!

You mean Junji Ito sells.

Ito is nice, I've recently bought this weird shit:

 

[Tyranicon]

Bought it. My first impressions:

• art is good but static (don't expect any decent animations)
• 8-bit music is imo, very grating after a while
• Writing was decent, but text didn't always connect very well to what was happening
• investigations were very abrupt and definitely had a cyoa feel
• Nailed the Junji Ito vibes, if not his storytelling
• Very RNG
• Combat is pretty easy once you know what you're doing
• It's satisfying to play
• A few minor bugs

Overall, I'm enjoying my time with it, and for $15, it's not half bad. Hopefully the developer continues to add content through Early Access.

 

[normie]

0.9.12 ‘HUNTER’S DAUGHTER’ update! (+0.9.13)

Major features for this patch include:

‘HUNTER’S DAUGHTER’ content

• a new character, Moriko, has been added with 3 character-exclusive perks and one generic perk
  
• a new powerful weapon, OLD SHOTGUN, comes with its own nasty surprise
  
• two new injuries curses and a new interaction
  
• a new character story: ILL-FATED

MODDING

• you are now able to create, export and import custom events!
  
• the update comes with an introductory pack containing instructions, example art and multiple events created by panstasz and members of the official WORLD OF HORROR Discord community
  
• to find more custom events, the most convenient place to look is in WORLD OF HORROR's official Discord channel[discordapp.com]
  
• the game is not compatible with Steam Workshop at this time

DEATH MODES

• feedback proved the current death mode (die at the beginning of an encounter) was complicated and not that fun
  
• to counter that, two death modes have been added: LAST STAND and SUDDEN DEATH
  
• SUDDEN DEATH kills all characters who drop under 1 STA/REA instantly
  
• LAST STAND allows characters to drop up to -5 STA/REA, which gives players a chance to rethink their strategy, forget a spell or use a healing item

Patch notes for all other changes since 0.9.11shf:

Spoiler

• Mizuki starting perk fixed by adding a new ally [HAUNTED ARTIST]
  
• NICE RING should now work as intended while equipped
  
• discarding treatment cards doesn't count towards discarded items for a quest
  
• YOU ARE ALREADY HERE visual bug fixed
  
• restocking illegal den now raises doom
  
• fixed intro display in FESTIVAL mystery
  
• added male sfx in the character screen
  
• fixed mystery board screen for EELS and RAMEN mysteries
  
• FESTIVAL mystery: map location worked on + allies are now recruitable
  
• BLACK HAIR/SEWING KIT interaction fixed
  
• BLACK SLUDGE doesn't eat all your empty bottles now if you try to take a sample
  
• various threat level bugs dealt with
  
• map tutorial messages added
  
• multiple HOLES won't cancel each other
  
• side-quest message won't cover the ending screen
  
• VOID spell works now!
  
• mystery-related items that could crash the game are now deleted after finishing that mystery
  
• combat damage correctly calculated if character has multiple copies of TORN MUSCLE
  
• brace for impact: can't lower the damage to 0 now, but it protects against injuries, scales better with STRENGTH (it's faster to use)
  
• dodge: protects against injuries if successful, scales slightly worse with DEXTERITY (slower to use), base dodge chance lowered from 50% to 40%
  
• KILL action works correctly now
  
• EVT-027: you can't use the "take the sludge sample" action if you don't have an empty bottle
  
• removing LIBRARY in the city history screen won't remove schoolyard instead
  
• MAP description updated
  
• restocking ILLEGAL DEN cost fixed
  
• KANA's eye remains consistent when talking to her
  
• you can't backstab KANA now, what's wrong with you?
  
• GYM DOLL fixed
  
• burning down the school is reflected in the schoolyard additional action
  
• ANATOMY CLASS perk working as intended now
  
• EVT-090 and EVT-091 third option fixed
  
• casting offensive spells when the enemy is dead now fixed
  
• resting doom increase fixed
  
• fixed the double cursor display while using the fullscreen stretch option
  
• new RIOTER
  
• THERAPY now works as intended
  
• fixed some graphical glitches when wavy effect is turned off
  
• primum non nocere achievement made slightly harder to get
  
• THROW exploit fixed, probably!
  
• STONE STATUES and free casting changes, should be more consistent now
  
• VEIL OF DARKNESS / FLOODS event fixed
  
• concussion injury nerfed a bit
  
• crowbar unique action fixed
  
• camp dog fixed
  
• thorough investigation bonus works now correctly on all types of sidequests
  
• MOONLIGHT SAILOR's mystery intro fixed
  
• game can't soft-block when the first enemy you have is a ghost and the combat tutorial is turned on
  
• EXTRA AMMO fixed
  
• added a hard cap on how fast combat moves can be
  
• attacks can no longer miss on 100% chance to hit
  
• CHAMPAGNE used in combat fixed
  
• level-up during ending screen fixed
  
• added proper explanation to the customer events screen
  
• BONE SAW / SMALL CANDLE crash and throwing exploits fixed
  
• it’s slightly harder to find Moriko
  
• OUTDOORSMAN typo fixed
  
• E91 typo fixed
  
• E131 overflowing text fixed
  
• HUNTED BY THE CULT effect is now working
  
• BLOODY SWEATER UI fix
  
• architecture student has a proper chibi sprite now
  
• STABLE CONDITION is now discardable
  
• custom events: you can now use the only-custom option even if you don't have all locations filled with custom events
  
• custom events: custom events won't crash the game for OLD GOD events now
  
• FOREST WATCHER event's third option fixed, finally
  
• combat ritual doesn't tell you the correct number of moves if you didn't perform all ritual steps
  
• talking with students shows their correct name
  
• FRAIL changed into ILL-FATED in the achievement description
  
• boost nerfed
  
• SMALL CANDLE lowers run penalty as described now
  
• SUICIDAL description changed to reflect actual rules
  
• SEVER NOWEAP name changed to fit better
  
• SWOLLEN JOINT prevents running
  
• ITHOTU rework, now both you and enemies deal extra damage
  
• perks that work when defeating enemies won't work when running from them now
  
• computer room text changed to reflect stamina change
  
• village magician has a correct name now
  
• setting the trash can on fire raises threat level now
  
• shadow shroud ignores threat level now as described
  
• ANCIENT RING fix
  
• KAZUMI ally fixed for stubborn receptionist event
  
• you no longer can rest for free at the festival mystery

If you find any issues, bugs or typos in the game, as always please report them to our official bug tracking sheet.

Thanks for reading!

 

[Verylittlefishes]

well I can't play this but deeply respect the author!

 

[normie]

0.9.14 ‘BIG BOOK OF BOTANY’

Major features for this patch include:

‘BIG BOOK OF BOTANY’ content

• a new mystery, BIZARRE BRUIT OF THE BLOOD-CURDLING BOTANIST, has been added with 4 endings
  
• new items, including a new powerful weapon
  
• three new enemies and two new enemy types: UNDEAD and PLANT
  
• a new random TOWN STATUS, making playthroughs harder and less predictable
  
• a new DOWNTOWN shop, VENDING MACHINES for all characters that don't want to rely on the dog shopkeeper for CIGARETTES
  
• macOS VERSION FINALLY!

COMBAT QUALITY OF LIFE

• (right click) now deletes the last combat action
  
• you can save and load your sequences
  
• BRACE now protects you against concussion

MODDING

• new modding options including:
  
• wavy_art (optional) (defaults to "0")
  accepted string: "0" or "1", makes the art move, use with wavy_speed
  
• wavy_speed
  (optional) (defaults to "0")
  accepted string: any value (like 0,0.5,0.1,1), speed of the wavy effect when wavy_art is defined as "1"
  
• wineffecta/faileffecta/wineffectb/etc
  (optional)(defaults to "")
  accepted string: "bloodsplat","whiteflash", adds an extra visual effect when selecting an option
  
• to find more custom events, the most convenient place to look is in WORLD OF HORROR's official Discord channel

BALANCE

• increased the price of RITUAL DAGGER by 1 (2->3)
  
• lowered some of the -DOOM% prizes you get from HOLY CANDLE
  
• police station: lowered the information cost from 30exp to 15exp
  
• SALT's damage increased (4->8)
  
• STEAK KNIFE's base speed increased (80->65)
  
• burning down the school now hurts the player wishing to avoid the boss fight
  
• CURSED DOLL’s damage increased (2-4 -> 4-6)

Other patch notes

• You no longer can accidentally explore the mansion while in the level-up screen during the VIGIL mystery.
  
• ITHOTU's description fixed to reflect the gameplay changes.
  
• CRESTFALLEN MASK/GRUESOME TOTEM equipping exploit fixed
  
• hidden the information about yet unfinished TRUE BELIEVER+ difficulty level
  
• CRAB FEST/CLIFFSIDE RITUAL event's description changed to reflect the stat changes
  
• reset your progress button now works correctly
  
• school bathroom's exploit fixed
  
• HUNTER RIFLE displays its boost stat correctly (PER)
  
• MUMMIFIED HEART now works correctly
  
• many typos and grammatical errors fixed
  
• BURNING MAN now reacts to spiritual actions correctly
  
• CIGARETTES won't be consumed if you're not an addict
  
• ancestral strength now boosts correctly the kick damage
  
• witness curse now works properly
  
• minor bugs fixed
  
• hospital text wraps correctly
  
• proper feedback when advancing in the botany mystery
  
• you can't fire at ghosts anymore

If you find any issues, bugs or typos in the game, as always please report them to our official bug tracking sheet.

Thanks for reading!

 

[orcinator]

Tried it, it's barely a game once the novelty of Pixel Ito with Lovecraft references wears off.

The combat is just repeating the same set of attacks for the entirety of your game and everything else involves making a spreadsheet so you'll know which option in each event checks which stat and what order to do the cases in (time to pop Kana's random gendered eye again!). No real choice or strategy once you figure out the mechanics. Not much in the way of writing either, A few sentences introducing the case, maybe a paragraph worth of text as you press the investigate button a bunch of times and then a couple paragraphs for the end of the case. Fine static sprites though.


Apparently it's based heavily on the Arkham Horror board game, I've never played it but from reading the wiki it does seem like one of the devs' main inspirations, too bad they fucked up translating it into something that could work as a single player videogame. Though there is a Arkham horror card game that I vaguely remember someone describing as just a series of random card draws and skill checks, so maybe the devs did succeed but picked a shit game to take inspiration from.

 

[Morpheus Kitami]

Has the combat gotten any better yet? I haven't touched it yet, but I remember people were saying the combat was either too easy or too hard. There's something screwy with the ghost combat too, I think?