World of Horror

Structural complexity and a magpie's eye for pilfering makes for a strange, fragmentary journey into nightmare.

Atmospheric, imaginative, and enjoyably unpredictable-this is one of the year's best horror games.

Repetitive combat in World Of Horror can't entirely mar a unique, stylish and layered horror adventure that makes you want to play more the more that you play.

World of Horror seems to hit all its goals. While its approach to horror is rather derivative of Junji Ito, it’s applied in a creative way and with a vision of its own. I can’t say I was blown away because it really is exactly the game that it claims to be. However, I was immensely satisfied. It’s a wonderfully modular experience, but if you’re deathly afraid of numbers, then that’s where you’ll find the real horror.

World of Horror is one of the most unique roguelites we've seen on the Switch eShop to date, its expert fusion of text-based adventure, survival horror, and roguelike mechanics makes for a difficult, harrowing, and spooky adventure that we'd recommend you give a shot. Not everyone will be charmed by its extremely retro aesthetics, but if you can get into the right mindset for giving this one a playthrough, you'll find there's a lot to love.

This turn-based horror RPG took its sweet time to full release, but it was well worth it with an addictive gameplay loop, a compelling battle system, and a stunningly beautiful visual aesthetic.

For those who want to pull the lever on the slot machine, this is a comfy creepfest of odd and disturbing stories in bite-size fashion, though the simplicity and repetition may grow stale after a while.

WORLD OF HORROR developer Panstasz describes the game as a “1-bit love letter to Junji Ito and H.P. Lovecraft” and this could not be more accurate... Each mystery has random events, Old God effects, optional quests and multiple endings that result in high replay value - if the Shiba Inu merchant wasn't enough to sway you!

The art is spot on in its reverence to the Junji Ito works that inspired it, and the soundtrack matches the game's 1-bit graphics with a collection of fantastic 8-bit style jams, all of which come together to create a visual experience you're not likely to get anywhere else. I was also pleasantly surprised at how well the game's interface can be navigated using a gamepad as opposed to a mouse, though if you still prefer using a mouse cursor that is also an option built in as well. I'm not sure I would overall recommend the Switch version over the PC version of the game, but if portability is a big factor for you (an aspect this game lends itself to very well), then the Switch is a perfectly acceptable platform for stopping an old god from engulfing this sleepy Japanese town in madness.

Drawing from horror authors and their creations, World of Horror builds its own web of eldritch beings and cosmic occurrences. The roguelike nature of mysteries in the game ensures that no two runs remain the same. Though certain mechanics rise above others, World of Horror keeps things fresh with creepy visuals, multiple plot resolutions, and degrees of customization, even as its coastal town falls into decay.