Horror games have only one real objective. To scare you. And given the limitless potential video games possess, you’d think it would be easy. It has its moments, in the case of long-running psychological horror Silent Hill.
But horror games run the very real and very big risk of failing if they go in too hard on the scare tactics, or go in too little, leaving the end result falling flat and lifeless like the zombies or ghouls or what have you in their IP. A rule of thumb is “show, don’t tell.”
And what Tamashii wants to show players, is, for lack of a better term, scary as hell.
To even undergo research for this game, I had to input my birthdate on Nintendo’s site; something I’ve not done prior. And upon seeing what Tamashii is bringing to the horror table, I understood why.
Tamashii is an amalagam of ‘obscure Japanese games from the 90s and late 80s’, a puzzle-platformer that makes itself known with truly ghastly and horrifying imagery, bringing together the unsettling, the gory, and the eldritch into a game that is utterly terrifying to watch, let alone play.
Inside a temple riddled with death and danger lurks a monstrosity bent on nothing more than absolute destruction and distortion. To stop him, you’re summoned from a faraway place to this hellish world of nightmares. Solve the puzzles, avoid the traps, and outwit/outmatch the monsters in your efforts to solve the mysteries, save the temple, and escape.
Tamashii features numerous aspects to its gameplay, including a time trial mode, a score attack mode, slow-mode accessibility, and plenty of Easter eggs to discover as you navigate this disturbing world. But the biggest draw is the work gone into making the world of Tamashii so utterly scary.
Filled to the brim with static distortions, flashing images, surreal and haunting creatures and shapes, with a spooky soundtrack to match, Tamashii won’t just test your wits or problem solving. It’ll challenge your constitution as well. If your mind and stomach can take it, pick up Tamashii when it launches on Nintendo Switch December 25th, 2019.
