Yomawari: Night Alone (Switch) Review:
Date Released: October 26, 2018 (Switch Rerelease)
Date Played: October 7th, 2021
This game was originally released for the Playstation Vita back in October of 2016. I remember hearing the game was pretty well received by both the critics and the general public so it was quickly put on my radar... but wasn't exactly the highest priority. After all, I'm not the biggest fan of handheld gaming and wasn't really into collecting too hard for the Vita. When they sequel to this game was released with a PS4 port, I knew I wanted to play it; but of course, I had to play the original first. Unfortunately, I just never came across it and let it slowly move down my priority list. After a couple of years, I was super excited to learn the game was being re-released on the Nintendo Switch with both games on the same cartridge. I'm in! Sign me up. I ordered a copy from Amazon. I patiently awaited the day for it to arrive. When it got here, I was dismayed to learn that the package had been crushed and the game case was destroyed. So, I returned it and requested another. Unfortunately, Amazon had already sold through their stock and could only issue a refund. I checked online and everywhere was sold out. So, I waited, and waited, and waited... until the game was going for over $130. That's totally insane. The only other time I've ever seen a game go into the 3-digit mark after only a year was Xenoblade Chronicles on the Wii. So lame.
It didn't look like Nippon Ichi Software was going to do another print of the game either. I was about ready to just pony up the cash and grab it when I found a copy on Ebay that was missing the manual. I was able to snag it for $85 (shipping and tax brought it up to $96.65). I wasn't happy... but at least I had it.
So for the 2021 annual horror month, this game was selected and I was ready to find out if my investment was worth it. I popped in the game and dove right in. Honestly, it didn't take me very long to develop a first impression. The game is very simple in terms of both story and gameplay, but has a unique aesthetic that I feel helps it stand out. Now, I know you're asking yourself, "So, was the game worth the $100 you spent?" Truthfully, no. Not in terms of the experience I had while playing through the game. Perhaps it will be worth it in terms of a monetary investment, but that's not something I typically think about too much. Let me just say that I hope the sequel to the game that is also on the cartridge helps with the buyer's remorse.
You play as a very young girl who is 4-7 years old. After a surprise tragedy at the beginning of the game (and the most shocking part of the game, by the way) your sister heads out into the town to help. It isn't long until your sister becomes lost and it's totally up to you to find her. The art style is presented in a very cutesy children's book way that is very endearing and makes the game stand out from the pack. You view everything from an isometric angle that only serves to add to the already unique visuals. The game itself is actually survival horror... surprisingly. You wander around a traditional Japanese town while searching various locales. You'll visit the school, Shinto shrines, lots of both the vacant and parking variety, a factory, the forest, an incinerator, street after street of housing, and many more places you might expect to see. It feels like it's a real town and is the real star of the game. As you explore, there are copious amounts of Japanese spirits that impede your way. These can be crying girls (a la The Ring), black spirits, huge tentacle monsters, ghost dogs, corpses hanging from a noose, and a plethora of other grotesque and thought provoking horrors. As you get closer to these spirits, your character's heartbeat will increase and your only recourse is to sneak by or run. That's right, there's no combat in this game. Sneak, run, or hide. Those are your only options. Luckily, you are equipped with a flashlight that will reveal the location of the marauding spirits when you shine the light on them. This does help the gameplay and adds a bit of strategy (this is especially true for the enemies that are attracted to light) but it leaves the whole experience feeling more like a stealth game than survival horror. There are way too many enemies scattered all over the map and you're in a constant state of anxiety. Many times these spirits polka dot the area and you have to find the best rout between them. You have a stamina gauge that allows you to run for a short distance before it depletes, but if you're in the vicinity of a spirit, it depletes almost instantly. With the overabundance of the spirits roaming around, managing this gauge becomes the real focus of gameplay. When an enemy catches you, death is instant. The fully black screen splattered with blood lingers for a few seconds and then drops you back at your last checkpoint. You'll be seeing the screen often... quite often. Death is inevitable. Even though there are a lot of checkpoints and dying never sets you too far back, a lot of the sneaking sections are very frustrating with their tight tolerances for sneaking by, running, or finding a hiding spot. This forces a lot of sections of the game to be an exercise in trial and error. On more than a couple of occasions I became highly irritated to the point of yelling out swearwords and wanting to slam down my controller. For a game that's only 5 hours long, that's too often.
There is a little bit of resource management like you would expect in this style of game. You collect stones, candles, fish, coins, matches, and a few other trinkets that can be used. Unfortunately, most of these are extremely limited in their usefulness and are only used a couple of times during the entire game. The game could have used some more items to play around with to add some variety to the whole situation. Scattered around the town are little shrines called Jizo statues. If you offer a coin to one of them, it will act as a quick save spot and also a teleport location to fast travel around the town. Obviously, these are invaluable and are a key focus of the game. Many sighs of relief were made when I saw one of these appear on my screen. The other key items of the game are basically just keys and other items that allow you to access areas previously closed off to you. Unlike most survival horror games, you don't really solve any puzzles to get these key items. Most are just lying on the ground or tucked away in some corner. Exploration is the name of the game of Yomawari. You find a locked gate, explore the area a little, find a key, unlock the gate, and then move on. There are a few minor puzzles that involve pulling a switch to empty a pool and another where you have to jump between two realities to avoid enemies, but other than those the only real puzzle elements are puzzling out how to sneak past enemies.
As mentioned before, the presentation of the game is quite good. There is very little music in the game and I honestly only remember hearing any music during the final credits. This gives the game a very isolated feel and certainly helps it live up to it's name, "A Night Alone." The sound design is very good and there are certainly a good amount of loud and shocking sounds to give you a little jolt. I encountered no bugs or issues while playing and the play control was spot on. The little girl walks pretty slowly, but I think that actually helps the game more than it hinders it. After all, do you want a 5 year old that can outrun every spirit that's after her? That doesn't sound very scary.
There you have it. Yomawari is a brief survival horror-lite game with a cute and appealing aesthetic. The story is rooted in a very interesting Shinto/Japanese folklore setting that helps it stand out from the crowd and keeps things fresh. The gameplay is very basic and never really improved or changed during my time with the game. I really liked exploring the city, but the overabundance of enemies never really made me feel like I was free to just enjoy my surroundings and soak in the world the developers created. Maybe if you were able to eliminate enemies instead of just avoiding them, then I would have enjoyed my time with the game a little more. The game isn't really scary, but it's almost always tense and a bit unsettling. I'm looking forward to playing the sequel. Hopefully, they decide to add a little bit more nuance to the gameplay.
Also, the ending. Boy, was that... eye popping.
Final Status: Beaten
Final Score: 7/10 (Good)
