I (Should Not Have) Loved Paranormasight

…but I did.

Obviously, or else why would we be here?

For context, Paranormasight: The Seven Mysteries of Honjo is a Japanese horror visual novel game with point-and-click, puzzle-solving elements from Square Enix. And while Square Enix is the dev/publisher most likely to win both my wallet and my soul in the afterlife, Paranormasight is far from the typical game I would usually buy from them. In fact, it’s the kind of game I would generally avoid.

My favorite games tend to be RPGs – especially turn-based JRPGs, but also a whole array of RPGs from Soulslikes and blockbuster action/adventure Sony IPs (like Horizon Zero Dawn, etc.) all the way down to pixel art indie darlings.

Meanwhile, I actively avoid almost all things horror or even just horror-adjacent. I don’t generally find fun in being scared. There’s enough bad stuff in the real world; I don’t need it in my games, movies, shows, etc. too.

And while I appreciate visual novels for what they are, I don’t usually like to play them. I’d much rather watch my friend or a let’s play of someone else going through the game if it’s a story I care enough to follow. In recent years I’ve tried some visual novel-style games on recommendation from friends and fellow gamers, but I had trouble finding an experience that grabbed me. For example, despite its popular reception and recommendations, I personally bounced off AI: The Somnium Files.

So now that I’ve told you all about why I don’t tend to like horror games OR visual novels, why the hell are we here talking about Paranormasight?

Honestly, I don’t know if I could tell you exactly what it was about this game that pulled me in. If you told me a few weeks ago that I would buy let alone play and then semi-review Paranormasight, I wouldn’t have believed you.

But after seeing some reviews and videos from channels I follow daily, garnering overwhelmingly positive reactions from YouTubers that I really like, I was undeniably intrigued. The impulse buy was rapidly becoming inevitable – especially given the game’s budget price point. What would it really hurt to take a chance?

And now here I am, having finished the game, and even though my own playthrough is done, I’m watching a let’s play from one of my favorite YouTube go-to’s (shout out to NicoB) just to relive the experience and commiserate in the mutual reactions of surprise and appreciation. Plus, I’ve even gone and wishlisted a bunch of Danganronpa and Ace Attorney games (we’ll see how that goes down the road though…).

Getting back on track, I still haven’t answered the question, “Why Paranormasight?” though. I’ll do my best to break it down into a few key elements, all while avoiding spoilers because this is definitely one of those experiences where the blinder you can go into it, the better.

The first thing that struck me was the game’s art style – making this a case of “don’t judge a book by its cover” but in reverse. The thick black lines, the muted color palette, the character portraits – it all had something of a late 20th century comic book look to it, splashed through with a Twin Peaks kind of vibe (something that 100% came through in the mood of the narrative as well, making it a match made in… well not Heaven given the horror elements at play here but you know what I mean).

It's all very simple but very effective. The characters have enough of a range of emotions and animations to punctuate the scenes, there’s enough variety and depth in the environments to ground the setting, and there’s a surreal, unsettling, and unnerving tenor to it all despite the simplistic visuals. Essentially, the game’s look supports its narrative and vice versa – which is exactly what you want/need.

The music complements this exceedingly well, with a range of tracks that took me a bit by surprise. As the game shifts from night to day and back to night again, through various scenes of inquiry, investigation, drama, action, and resolution – there’s a flavor of music for almost every mood. It’s not all just super tense or striving to be spooky and haunting. But at the same time, none of it felt out of place and it’s almost enjoyable enough to listen to independently of the game.

Aesthetically, everything was creepy enough to scare but not to scare me off. And the mystery – which I won’t be getting into here – was able to pull me along, with some of the characters demonstrating a surprising amount of depth for such a contained experience (about a dozen hours or so).

Without getting too into it, a quick high-level overview of the setting and plot is that there are supernatural forces in Honjo taking the form of various curses that can (and will) be used to kill. You have to figure out the mysteries of the curses and navigate a variety of potentially deadly situations fueled by characters who will all make you consider the central question, “How far would you go to bring someone back from the dead?”

And I’ll leave it at that, with one small warning/reminder that this is a horror game – so if certain themes around murder, suicide, abuse etc. are triggering for you, you may want to approach this game with caution (or not at all).

 The game is also meta as hell – playing with the fact that it is, in fact, a game. I won’t get into the specifics of how this translates into the story and mechanics, but it is definitely clever at times. The use of the camera also helps in establishing the game’s horror and use of metafiction as well, often creating fixed angles that restrict or focus your vision, looking into characters’ conversations from specific viewpoints, or even hiding secrets in the environment for you to find (or run away from… up to you).

None of it is exceedingly groundbreaking, and if you were to ask me if Paranormasight is a 10/10 game, I would say no – it’s not. Objectively speaking, there are a few blemishes here and there and the initial impact of the horror wanes in the second half of the story once you get your bearings.

There are also some typos and UI oddities that speak to the game’s budget, and your experience with the controls/navigation may vary across PC, Switch, and mobile (although I played on Switch and generally found it to be fine). Plus, some of the elements could’ve been a little more user-friendly like how the game implements dialogue/scene skip when revisiting certain storylines.

At the end of the day though, those are mostly just nitpicks because the game seems to accomplish what it sets out to do. And if you ask me whether I’ll still remember this game come GOTY list time, my answer would be yes – I definitely will. It won’t be my actual GOTY, but it will be one of those games that I’ll always remember as one that took me by surprise in the best way possible. One of those gaming purchase gambles that pays off and then some.

Did the ending take me totally by surprise? No. But the fact that I could see some of the plot pieces coming together well before the end didn’t stop the final curtain call from landing with a solid punch. While I expected some of the major details to fall into place the way they should, the game still snuck up on me with how well its final message still managed to resonate and leave a lasting impression.

And I think that speaks to a well-told and well-constructed narrative, housed within a game that – while not perfect – is a must-play experience for anyone with at least a passing curiosity.

The lessons from this verdict align with two key things I preach as a gamer and beyond:

1.       Always have an open mind. When it comes to being a gamer (or consumer of media in general), it can be easy to fall into the habit of saying “I like these games. I don’t like those.” And while that will often steer you true, being too rigid can lead you to miss out on one-of-a-kind experiences that help you grow and evolve not only as a player, but as a person able to perceive, consume, and adopt different viewpoints. So if you see a trailer or this article/others like it and are interested in Paranormasight, I’m gonna say take a chance on this one.

2.       Encourage localization. You may not even know it, but Paranormasight was revealed recently in a Nintendo Direct – but only the Japanese one, not the international one. Square Enix did very little (next to nothing really) to market this game in the West, and it almost seems like a miracle that we even got it. The mind behind the game’s story, Takanari Ishiyama, has made games before that are still Japan-only. But hopefully, Paranormasight’s critical reception and potentially cult-popular following are enough to show Square that they can and should continue to translate these games and bring them to international audiences. It seems bizarre just how many games still fail to get localized in this day and age, and Square has often lacked faith in their more “Japanese” style content when it comes to appealing to global audiences – hesitating to allocate budget. But please, if anyone out there is listening, HAVE FAITH! Take a chance! Let audiences find you rather than worrying about shaping yourself to the latest trends. Good games are good freaking games – and that’s something that can and will resonate.

I went off on a bit of a tangent there so stepping down off my soapbox, I’ll just leave you with this. Paranormasight may not be the experience for everyone. And on the surface, it’s not the kind of experience I’d say is for me. But guess what?

For once in my life, I was – gasp – wrong. And I’m so glad that I was. I have zero regrets taking a chance on this experience, and encourage you to do the same if you’re interested. The game is currently available on Steam, Switch, iOS, and Android.