World of Horror

World of Horror, also known by its Japanese title Kyōfu no Sekai (恐怖の世界), is a role-playing video game with a 1-bit pixel art style inspired by the works of H. P. Lovecraft and Junji Ito. The game was created by Polish developer Paweł Koźmiński and published by Ysbryd Games. It was released into early access on February 20, 2020 through Steam, GOG.com, and Microsoft Store. The full game was released on October 19, 2023 for macOS and Windows. It was released on October 26 for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, and PlayStation 5.

The game takes place in the year "198X" in the fictitious town of Shiokawa, Japan. The player must explore various locations and fight otherworldly creatures in order to halt a looming apocalypse.

Gameplay
World of Horror is a roguelite role-playing game, built around individual self-contained playthroughs consisting of five different "mysteries" that must be solved, each corresponding to one of five key that are used at the end of the playthrough to enter a locked lighthouse, in order to defeat one of several possible Old Gods that is threatening the town. The player must do this before the game's "DOOM" meter reaches 100%, which marks the point at which the entity is summoned. Each of the various Old Gods apply various unique effects or limitations on gameplay.

The game features turn-based combat where the player queues up actions and attacks to be used against hostile creatures, many of which are based on creatures from Japanese horror manga or urban legends, such as Kuchisake-onna. The game also incorporates adventure game and roguelike elements through its exploration and puzzle-solving mechanics.

Development
The game's developer, Paweł Koźmiński (a.k.a. Panstasz) worked on the game part time in between his work as a dentist. All of the in-game artwork was designed using MS Paint, with additional writing provided by author Cassandra Khaw. The game's music was composed by ArcOfDream and Qwesta. Interest in a console release has been expressed since 2020, and a release date was revealed during Nintendo's Indie World Showcase in November 2022.

Early access version
Jordan Devore of Destructoid called the game "a rare treat" and praised its modular format, as well as its "eerie chiptune soundtrack and rising tension during a long, hard-fought run," but also criticized its combat as becoming tedious over long sessions. Jenna Stoeber of Polygon called the game's horror "engaging", though she criticized the visuals as "mixed", and called navigating the interface "frustrating". Lane Martin from CGMagazine said it "strikes at the very bone of what can be truly terrifying".

Final release version
According to Metacritic, World of Horror currently has "generally favorable reviews". Kerry Brunskill from PC Gamer called it "one of the year's best horror games". Zoey Handley from Destructoid praised its creative approach. Rock Paper Shotgun described it as a "game that is absolutely being what it wants to be. And because of that, some of you are going to hate it".