World of Horror

World of Horror is an old-school RPG with card game elements. It's the debut game of Pantstasz, a single-person Polish studio founded by Pawel Kozminski. The game was published by Ysbryd Games.

Plot

World of Horror is heavily inspired by two world-famous horror authors: the British novelist H.P. Lovecraft and the Japanese mangaka Junji Ito. The game is set in a coastal town in Japan, where ancient powers have awakened. The people are falling into madness, and eldritch creatures start roaming the area. As the end of the world approaches, five heroes must face the horror and their own secrets.

Mechanics

World of Horrors was described by its creators as a roguelite - a more forgiving roguelike. The gameplay is reminiscent of an adventure game, tasking us with exploring different areas and looking for clues, used to solve cases such as contagious coma and unexplained disappearances.

There's no way to explore safely, however. All areas are full of unusual phenomena: suddenly deserting streets, doors appearing from nowhere, floods and eldritch creatures. These events can affect our character's state, funds and mental condition. The playable characters differ in terms of their stats, such as Charisma, Strength or Luck. Whenever we take an action, the game can check our stats to determine will we succeed. There's also the Doom meter, which increases constantly as we play - when it fills up, an eldritch god will awaken, causing an immediate game over. The end of the world can only be delayed by solving five mysteries, chosen randomly from many available occurences.

The gameplay revolves around cards, representing events, items, allies, etc. These cards can be chained together, meaning each scenario can play out in several ways. There's also magic, though using it has a steep cost. Occasionally we'll also encounter enemies, such as ghosts, eldritch entities and humans driven to madness. Combat is turn-based, heavily based on dice rolls and various modifiers.

Technical aspects

World of Horror features 1-bit visuals, reminiscent of Junji Ito's works, featuring several available color palettes. The 1-bit soundtrack enhances the unnatural atmosphere.

The game doesn't use jumpscares to build the atmosphere. It creates tension through gruesome descriptions and illustrations, visibly inspired by Ito and Lovecraft.

Last updated on 19 October 2023