Developer: Free Style
Publisher: Free Style
Platform: Switch
Tested on: Switch
Obakeidoro! – Review
If you’ve ever played Dead By Daylight and thought to yourself that it would be a whole lot better if it was about ten times as cute as it currently is, then Obakeidoro! might be your exact cup of tea. This asymmetric action game pits a group of adorable human children against one slightly less adorable monster intent on capturing them in a horrific game of tag. And as a bonus, you’re able to enjoy it online or offline with friends or alone.
Story
Before you’re even shown the main menu, the game bombards you with the opening cutscene, showing us siblings Alex and Alisa sleeping peacefully in their house. Sadly, the blood moon is rising, and before they know it a horrible monster is chasing them, whisking them away into another dimension for its demented idea of fun and games. The cutscene flows into a skippable tutorial demonstrating how to play the game from either side – monster or human – and then you can get into the real deal. That’s about the extent of the available plot, but it’s certainly a nice little setup.
Graphics
If you’re into anime, Obakeidoro! has a visual style that will probably appeal to you. The graphics translate to 3D very nicely, while still keeping that hand-drawn animation edge. The character designs for both monsters and humans are great, though the maps could use some more variation. They’re different enough on a basic level, but they do all share the same drab color scheme. Overall the game definitely looks more cute than scary, but that seems to be the main theme throughout all facets of this game, compared to other asymmetric action games that revolve around being chased by a killer.
Sound
Moving on to the sound design, we have a very similar experience. The music leans more towards being endearing than it would being frightening, but as we’ve mentioned, that’s much of Obakeidoro‘s appeal. There’s no voice acting, but you can expect cute little squeaks from our human protagonist, and horrifying evil laughter or growls from the monsters chasing them. The music also serves a purpose when you’re playing as the bad guys, as it gets louder if you get near a hiding human, to help you find them more easily.
Gameplay
Obakeidoro! is an asymmetric action game, similar to Dead by Daylight and its clones, though with noticeably less depth and easier mechanics. You either play as the humans or the monster, and each match only lasts for exactly three minutes, giving the game a much more casual feel than others in the genre.
When playing as a human, your goal would simply be to survive. Only one of the humans has to make it past the countdown for the match to be considered a win for all human players. To aid you in survival there is a hide mechanic, as crouching down will make you harder to spot by enemies. You will also have a lantern which you can use to stun the monster, leaving them dazed for a couple of seconds and giving you a chance to run away. You can only use it once, though it resets if you get freed from the monster’s cage. Speaking of cages: if you get caught, the monster puts you in one. Other human players can then attempt to unlock the cage by pressing a handful of buttons, though this is very risky since the monster will be patrolling around his jail. Playing as the monster, your goal would simply be to catch all humans before time runs out. You can track humans by their footsteps if they’ve been moving around, and sometimes little ghosts, which are called Hooligans, will also inform you of their hiding spots.
This is all rather simple stuff, as you can tell. The game does add some variety with its many maps, which come with different difficulty levels, depending on their size and hiding spots. Each of the various monsters also has a unique ability, so you can diversify your play style. Lastly, the lanterns also exist in types, some of them having a larger radius or allowing you to stun the monster for a longer period. All of these things – maps, monsters, etc – are unlocked with in-game currency you earn simply by playing the game. Some of it is locked behind ranks you can acquire, also by playing the game.
The game can be enjoyed by yourself, with the other roles being taken up by the CPU. There is also a split-screen and local multiplayer to be enjoyed with up to four players. If you want to get into it with strangers, online multiplayer is also a thing. It should be noted that Obakeidoro! plays extremely different with real people as opposed to the game’s AI, which simply isn’t as advanced. This might be something to keep in mind.
Conclusion
Overall Obakeirdoro! is a fun little game in the asymmetric action genre. We doubt it will consume as much of your time as Dead by Daylight ever could, but its simplicity is what gives it that enjoyable indie charm. To top things off, it’s freaking adorable too! We were thoroughly entertained by this pick-up-and-play experience and can see ourselves playing a few sessions now and then in the future.
Obakeidoro! - Review,
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