World of Horror has scared players on Steam since it appeared in early access back in February 2020, but fear not; updates will come. Or perhaps do fear, as the role-playing roguelite horror title will get even scarier with new chapters set to arrive later this year. The two new chapters–which a few lucky people got to experience at PAX East this weekend–differ in their horror approach. One will focus more on existential dread, while the other will be more combat-oriented.
For those who have yet to experience World of Horror, the game blends the visuals of Junji Ito with the storytelling elements of H.P. Lovecraft, with some Japanese folklore sprinkled in for good measure. Developer Pawel Kozminski created the artwork of the 1-bit game entirely in MS Paint. But that doesn’t stop the game from providing creepy and unsettling visuals. See below:
I should mention, I didn’t get to experience the new chapters for myself, and to quote The Call of Cthulhu, “We live on a placid island of ignorance… and it was not meant that we should voyage far.” Which is to say, we’re just not meant to know everything yet, and the kind folks at publisher Ysbryd Games recommended I play a current chapter before diving into the new sections. But this content will likely get added to the game soon. They were hesitant to provide a release window, but assured me that the game just has a few more updates until it comes out of early access and releases as a complete title.
As I mentioned, I hadn’t played the game prior to PAX East. While I love indie horror, I typically like to wait until titles exit early access before playing them. However, I found that the current iteration of World of Horror offers an in-depth gaming experience. Each time a player boots up the game, they receive five mysteries to play through from a random pool of chapters. Finishing these five will complete a session, but the game doesn’t stop there. Players can return for a new randomized slew of mysteries, and while a couple may be reruns, the new order of the chapters can shakes things up. For example, a player may find an item in one mystery that they can use to unlock something new in another mystery that they had previously experienced, just not in that order.
For each run through of the game, players receive a “seed” of that playthrough that they can use to replay the same sequence through a numerical code. Or they can give that code to a friend so that person can experience that same terrifying sequence.
World of Horror still offers variety in early access, but for people who’ve played through the existing mysteries, the upcoming updates should come as a welcome addition to the game. For those who have yet to check out the horror title, I highly recommend doing so, especially if you’re a fan of the works of H.P. Lovecraft or Junji Ito. On a side note, Fragments of Horror is an excellent anthology for people looking to get into the visual horror of Ito’s works. A variety of short horror tales, it offers a similar structure to World of Horror. The collection should at least tide players over until the additional content gets added.
World of Horror is on Steam in early access here, but rumors swirl that it may potentially arrive on other systems as well. Some things are not for mere mortals to know just yet.
