Then again, Yomawari’s cute-looking graphics present an interesting dichotomy. Areas like those already look depressing during the day but take on an almost macabre mood at night. I’ve been to my fair share of such neighborhoods, including in towns that have seen population declines as their youth move to bigger cities like Tokyo, Kyoto and Sapporo. The fact that the area you live in looks old can magnify the dread that you feel if you have an active imagination or memories of similar areas. Shortly after setting out to find your sister, your run across an assortment of ghosts and monsters that obviously have deadly intentions. It even has little touches, like the more noticeable sound that a glowing vending machine makes at night as well as the flickering of old lamp posts.Īt the same time, it also quickly becomes clear that this is not your typical neighborhood. From the narrow streets that don’t align perpendicularly to the stone walls and other familiar nuances I’ve seen in many a Japanese neighborhood, the game brought back a lot of memories. As someone who has lived in Japan and visited countless times, I loved the attention to detail Yomawari shows when it comes to its fictional town. Soon enough, you find yourself setting out on your own in the dark of night to track her down.Īt first glance, your neighborhood looks like many typical areas found across Japan. From here, things snowball as your older sister leaves the house and tells you to stay put and wait for her to come back. It starts off with a surprising scene that hits you like a truck. It gets to pick and pry at an emotional level, allowing it to make up for some of its limitations and provide an interesting experience.
By tapping into the same fears and insecurities that I and, I suspect, many others experienced in childhood, Yomawari is able to work on a deeper level than its admittedly simple gameplay. But oftentimes in life, it’s the simple things that have the most impact.
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