Nice little game, unfortunately a bit short and the performance could be better. Let's see how the other parts perform ;) for 7€ the price is okay.

This is one of the many games that Serafini have been creating, and although I enjoyed some aspects, there were others that made me feel meh.

Firstly, there should be a trigger warning, and a content warning more specific than mature themes.
Secondly, the story is a little difficult to follow, and confusing as it unravels to our character.

This should not take away from the graphic beauty of the atmosphere, the creativity of the creatures and mechanics, and the dynamics between graphical changes within the game play. I do wish there was a bit more story and explanation between the disjointed relationships of characters. There are some issues with the animations also, that can reduce immersion.

Further, the game is relatively short at about 1.5 hrs to complete, possibly double that to complete achievements. I think this game is a great start, and a great debut for the dev/publiser. I look forward to seeing how their other projects turn out, and if they build on this one, and update some animations. In the end I would give this a 4 outta 5 shady unicorns.

Oh God, that was so bad. As a horror fan, I can say that the writer didn’t even try.
The atmosphere tricks you at the very beginning, creating tension, but by the middle of the game, it becomes so boring that it's just dreadful. The entire plot is based on the first five sentences found in the notes of the first location. And even with those five sentences, they could have done something much more remarkable.
The game Hollow Cocoon, made by a single person, is far more intriguing than this mess.

The gameplay here is incredibly dull, and the monsters are ridiculously dumb.
I wouldn’t even mind if the monster were dumb as long as the story was good, but in this game, everything is bad.

LOVE THIS GAME!!
This game offers a unique and engaging experience that blends horror with innovative mechanics. While it shares some similarities with other horror games I've played before, it stands out with its creative features.
The transition from 3D to pixel arts was...AMAZING!! Sound design...Amazing!!
BUT the game feels a little bit short, (while it is reasonably priced :D), I personally would have liked to see a more complete story telling.
Hope to see more good works!!

Full Playthrough here https://youtu.be/QaBKlnkhLD0
this game not just a Walking Simulator game, but the survival elements and puzzles are nice, not that difficult. superb graphics. not demanding spec, we can slide control the "DLSS" quality. smooth control handling. no Bugs so far. no cheap jumpscare. interesting story.
suggestions :
1. please add HUD for how many Item we have in hands and what to do, for example : 2 / 8 . "Turn on Red Candle : Done "
2. add motion blur turn off option, since I hate it, it makes the object blurry, not sharp.
3. add zoom button, to explore the beautiful game graphics, since this game has photorealistic quality IMO.

Terrible game. Ending made NO sense whatsoever and was immensely disappointing. Seems as though most reviews have been paid for as well.

I can't really recommend this. It's not a terrible game, but it's extremely mediocre. My main issue is it's length. This company has demos longer than this, and there is just something of 'being incomplete' here. Many people are criticizing the confusing story, but that's one aspect I have no problem with...I get it. It's just that it all breezes by way too fast. When I saw the credits, I was shocked. I am still somewhat excited for Follow, Unfollow, etc, but I do admit that this game gives me reservations going forward. As for a couple positives; there are no glitches or bugs that I have noticed. The game is beautiful. And The Gashadokuro is truly a disturbing creature!

I just wish there was a lot more here.

i was hoping for something like the "Fears to Fathom" series. and maybe it will get there in terms of quality eventually, but its definitely not there yet.

+ relatively creepy/disturbing story/atmosphere
+ music / sound effects are really good
+ cheap (then again i think its too expensive for what it is offering. 5 euros max would be justified)

---- gameplay. essentially 0/10. its not even that this is a "walking simulator", this is essentially a busywork simulator. you literally only run around in a circle sometimes clockwise other times coutnerclockwise and hope for something to happen and then you finish the game by completing busy work.
- you essentially see EVERYTHING the game has to offer by just looking at the steam store screenshots

the series does have potential, but please focus on the gameplay more in future entries.

Some optimization issues, too much focus on chase sequences, and a lackluster and short story make it a tough recommendation at full price.

Horror fans know the drill—small, mist-covered villages, eerie legends, and a protagonist stumbling into something far worse than they expected. This game doesn’t stray far from the formula, and while it attempts to deliver an unsettling atmosphere, it struggles to break free from horror game clichés.

You play as Naomi, a woman drawn to a mysterious village shrouded in fog, lured by the promise of a life-changing opportunity. Instead, she finds herself trapped in a living nightmare tied to a tragic local legend of a murdered girl. The story is serviceable but doesn’t offer much depth beyond its initial setup, leaving horror veterans feeling like they’ve been here before.

This is the first entry in what is planned to be a series. Aside from being indie horror games, there’s little detail on how future titles will connect. To find out more, we’ll have to wait for the next title.

Optimization is one of the biggest hurdles. The game offers only three graphical presets, none of which significantly improve performance. There’s no true "low" setting, meaning if your system doesn’t fit the requirements, you’re out of luck. Better optimization is a must if future titles are to avoid the same pitfalls.

Gameplay sticks to the tried-and-true horror gameplay loop: explore, trigger events, and interact with objects. There are no waypoints or object markers, but given the game’s relatively small and contained areas, it’s not hard to figure out where to go next. Unfortunately, exploration itself is rather limited, as there are only two main locations.

One is a foggy street, a looping circular path that changes according to the story, and the other is a classic Japanese home that is set in the past and is connected to the legend. In an interesting artistic choice, the sequence in the classic home features deliberately low-resolution textures and subtitle-only dialogue, mimicking an old-school horror aesthetic. Also, the house part can be considered act two, while the street is act one and three.

The house is relatively empty, with only your mother walking around. However, it has a mirror version where the mother is a monster. Your objective is to traverse the dark, twisted version of the house, collecting eight shards of a shattered mirror while avoiding the relentless creature. This might have been an effective horror element, but the constant high-pitched screaming of the monster turns tension into annoyance.

While you can run indefinitely to evade her, she often corners you in tight spaces, making encounters feel more frustrating than frightening. The low-poly graphics also add to the confusion, as it’s sometimes unclear which walls are actual doors. Strangely, you can also skip this entire part by leaving through the door behind the house.

The last part returns to the foggy street, now serving as another monster chase sequence. Here, you must carry four candles, one by one, to a central shrine while avoiding yet another pursuer. The twist? Running too fast extinguishes the candle, forcing you to alternate between slow walk and sprint. This leads to an abrupt and underwhelming ending. With a runtime of around two hours, the game feels quite brief for its price tag. Waiting for a discount might be the best option.

The game includes hidden Elysium Pieces, offering an incentive for thorough exploration. However, their placement is often frustratingly obscure. The screen flickers to indicate proximity, but you need to be extremely close to actually spot them. Worse still, progressing too far in the story renders pieces unobtainable unless you start a new game.

Completionists won’t see that as a problem because you will need at least two playthroughs to earn all achievements: one to avoid damage and one to intentionally fail certain sections and get yourself killed. Also, pieces won’t show up again if they were collected before. When all pieces are found, you’ll see a button in the main menu that plays a short audio clip that may connect to future titles.

Ultimately, the game relies too heavily on monster chases, sacrificing storytelling and environmental depth in the process. With the entire narrative essentially condensed into four notes found early on, the game fails to build a compelling mystery. If the planned series continues in this direction, it risks becoming little more than a string of chase sequences with minimal world-building.

There's nuggets of a really cool story in there but aside from a super aesthetic middle segment the game is a tedious walking simulator with some horrible unreal engine graphics that can not be turned off. The forced DLSS makes everything a blurry, artifact loaded mess. The final segment of the game is also very obnoxious.