Today’s review is Towayami, a horror adventure game with a unique twist.
Towayami is set in a small town engulfed in a deep, impenetrable darkness.
It’s been cut off from the rest of the world, and no one is coming to help.
You play a character trying to find a way out and perhaps learn the truth about what caused this darkness.
Since the darkness is so all-consuming, no one can see anything. Fire and lamps do nothing at all.
As a result, you play with a black screen.
I’m not exaggerating.
An official and accurate screenshot
The upper corner lets you know where you are, and your cursor changes when your hover over something you can interact with. Right-click lets you examine things, while left-click lets you interact. It’s important to examine everything first, since some spots are dangerous.
In this way, you need to slowly examine each black screen to find items and use them to explore.
There are occasional sound cues, as well, which I would have liked to see more of, but most of the game is handled through careful clicking.
This was a very strange game to play. I went from feeling completely disoriented at the start to having a mental image of how places were laid out, enough to backtrack without too much difficulty. At the same time, I found it somewhat frustrating – it felt like pixel-hunting, albeit without actually being able to see the pixels.
My playthrough took me about two hours. From the ending screen, I learned I had missed some things along the way, but I don’t think I’ll go back for them. Nevertheless, Towayami has to be one of the most unique horror games I’ve played.
If you’re interested in horror games, stick around for more reviews and discussions throughout October, and don’t forget to check the introductory post to learn about this year’s contest and the prizes you can win!
