Developer: Cellar Vault Games
Publisher: Chorus Worldwide
Platform: PC, Switch, Xbox One, PS4, PS5
Tested on: PC
Paper Ghost Stories: Third Eye Open – Review
Almost two years ago we were treated to a gem of a horror game called Paper Ghost Stories: 7PM. This unique title blended an interesting papercraft style with a Malaysian setting and cultural influences. But indie developer Cellar Vault Games was only gearing up for the main event! While 7PM was a short game to test the concept, they’ve now released a full-length title called Paper Ghost Stories: Third Eye Open. And it’s just as creepy as we hoped it would be!
Story
Paper Ghost Stories: Third Eye Open revolves around the childhood of a young girl named Ting. When the story starts, she is barely six years old and just moved to a new house with her parents. Outside, she meets a girl named Xiu. Rather quickly the pair figures out that Xiu is a ghost and nobody else besides Ting can see her. Ting seems to have some sort of special ability that puts her in touch with the world beyond the veil of life and death. As the years go on, with the game spanning Ting’s life from six years old to eleven years old, the girl has to cope with mundane problems like arguments between her parents and bullying at school, but also the fact that she can see the spirit world. Unsurprisingly, this brings a significant risk to Ting’s life as not all spirits are as friendly as Xiu. The mix of supernatural and coming-of-age elements is very refreshing and we love the execution.
The game manages to combine many smaller story segments across the years of Ting’s life into an interesting overall plot, with the player’s choices at important moments influencing how Ting’s life unfolds. Different endings depending on your actions will make replaying the game a worthwhile experience. You don’t need to have played 7PM to play this one, since it features all-new characters. However, there certainly are some easter eggs for keen-eyed players who have played the first game.
Graphics
Third Eye Open uses the same unique papercraft style that the first game did. We definitely love the look, and how it conveys motion. The layering of the cut-out characters on the backgrounds brings a lot of dimension to the game and we genuinely found it hard to tell if some parts were hand-drawn or not, in the best way possible. We’d say the art has an almost child-like quality to it, which fits with the plot exploring Ting’s childhood. All the attention to detail in putting together an authentic Malaysian setting was also appreciated. And yes, the ghosts can look pretty scary even if the art is so simple.
Sound
We enjoyed the soundtrack of the game a lot, and again, the inspiration from Malaysian influences was very clear. The game does not have any true voice acting, but the characters do make noises and exclamations from time to time. The sound effects were also nice. There was not really anything special in this department, but the game provides a solid performance in sound design overall.
Gameplay
Paper Ghost Stories: Third Eye Open is a horror game first and foremost, with some puzzles here and there though it’s a very narrative-driven experience. The game isn’t quite open-world but often allows you to explore the locations Ting travels through while giving you simple objectives in a journal to use as a guide on what to do. You play the majority of the game as Ting, though some segments break the monotony and mix it up by letting you play as the ghost girl Xiu.
In terms of puzzles, we have some very simple mechanics here. The game mainly consists of looking around and finding stuff, remembering codes or sequences you find in other areas, or similar stuff. It’s nothing groundbreaking, but it’s what elevates the game from being a pure walking simulator. Similarly, you will sometimes be surprised by quick-time events or have to get through small stealth sections. These can really drive up the tension and give the game a sense of urgency, which works well during the scary moments. Any important decisions that change the plot’s outcome are also timed. Though it’s really the excellent unsettling atmosphere that provides most of the horror, plus some jumpscares.
As a final note, just like in the predecessor 7PM, this game feels like a homage to Malaysian culture. Not only is that the country that the game takes place in and are the horror elements clearly inspired by Malaysian ghost stories, but we’d argue there’s even an edutainment quality here. The characters often use words and phrases that are untranslated directly from the language, with the game explaining what they mean. It also shows mundane cultural practices we liked learning about, accompanied by a similar explanation. This was a really nice touch.
Conclusion
Paper Ghost Stories: Third Eye Open gives us more of the exact thing we enjoyed when playing the prequel 7PM. A spooky atmosphere, heartbreaking story with dark elements, and unique art style will draw in any horror fan who likes atmospheric indie experiences. With how it all ties together, we really hope the devs will continue to make more games for the series.
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