Review of Paranormasight Switch: tamper with a curse, go to hell
Our Verdict
Paranormasight is a masterpiece. With a dizzying web of interwoven narratives, an uncanny ability to blur the lines of fact and fiction, and a thoroughly thrilling atmosphere, it’s truly the gold standard of engaging visual novels and a must for anyone fascinated by the deliciously dark world of the supernatural and the occult.
Paranormasight: It seems like The Seven Mysteries of Honjo was specifically designed with my interests in mind. I've always been a huge fan of visual novels, and when I'm not playing video games, you can probably find me devouring webtoons and horror manga—the more weird and obscure, the better. If you're interested in reading about other topics related to these, check out my feature on Crunchyroll's Junji Ito anime on our sister site, the Digital Fix. I was eager to start playing the new mystery horror visual novel from Square Enix as soon as I heard about it. And what a delightfully hand-dirtying treat this is.
After a really long and gruelling week, I began listening to it while lying in bed on a Friday night (I know, I'm such a party animal, aren't I?). I was seeking for a little bit of spookiness to help me drift off to sleep. I told myself, "Just 30 minutes, just to dip my toes in, because I want an early night." Hours later, when the dawn is rising, I'm still stooped over my Switch like a gremlin, telling myself to read "just one more chapter." I'm not sure what more evidence there is of the nerve-wracking, mind-numbing genius of this game than that.
The main mechanic of Paranormasight's gameplay is a visual novel that is presented in brief, repeated chapters. Of course, there are dialogue options, some far more significant than others, but in most cases, you have complete control over where your cursor goes. You can click on objects and the surrounding area to learn more about them, on characters to engage in conversation with them, or on the think or recall buttons to have your character analyse the circumstance and put the puzzle pieces together. This method provides a genuine level of immersion to each place and is quite comparable to previous interactive visual novels such Spike Chunsoft's AI: The Somnium Files or Danganronpa games.
Even though I've never been a fan of using a joystick to move the cursor, Paranormasight has a feature that many Switch games overlook: touch screen controls. The cursor on the Switch may seem a bit clumsy at times. Your fingertip may be used to flick over the screen to tap, scroll, zoom, and more. I genuinely think this game is best enjoyed on the Switch in portable mode. Combine that with the faultless Switch performance and the pure delight of playing this game in bed or on the couch as if you're burrowing into a good book. Although I'm sure the PC version functions just as well with a keyboard and mouse, this one's mobility is very appealing.
I could summarise the main plot for you, but giving away a visual novel's plot is just as wrong as giving away a puzzle game's solution to every level. Rather, I will establish the foundation. But before we get started, let me just say that the game deals with some extremely serious subjects, such as abuse, violence, suicide, and carnage. As such, please read the adult content notice on the store page and keep that in mind before playing.
The central narrative of Paranormasight centres around a set of urban tales called the Seven Mysteries of Honjo, all of which have a curse attached to them. A few individuals become "curse bearers" when the Feast of Shadows arrives in Tokyo, Japan on a tragic night in the late 20th century. The event momentarily raises the spiritual energy in the Sumida Ward and causes the "curse echoes" of the Seven Mysteries of Honjo to become active.
All curses have terrible consequences, but before a curse bearer may unleash their curse on a victim, certain requirements must be fulfilled for each curse. A curse bearer's curse stone, an ancient netsuke sculpture charged with the curse's energy, collects soul dregs when they murder someone with their curse. The curse bearer is said to be able to utilise the curse stone to execute the Rite of Resurrection, which raises any one person from the dead, once it contains enough soul dregs. However, if you meddle with a curse, you'll almost always wind up in a hearse.
Based on true legends from the Japanese Edo era, the Seven Mysteries of Honjo (you can read more about these stories in this excellent essay on the Seven Wonders of Honjo). There are more than seven mysteries, however; much as with the actual Seven Wonders, the seven were selected solely on the basis of their mystical importance. The in-game files include information on each of the Seven Mysteries, along with stunning paintings by Kuniteru Utagawa.
The files enlarge to reveal information on the curse associated with each of the Mysteries, as well as an image of the curse echo, a story about its bitter memory, and a picture of its curse stone.
The bitter memories, in my opinion, are unique to this game, but they nonetheless capture the spirit of the classic Edo-era tales, and the designs of the curse stones and echoes are really amazing. I feel terrible joy every time I get a glimpse of one of the horrifyingly beautiful apparitions, from the pained, melting face of the Haunting Clappers' curse echo to the floating, severed head of the Ever Burning Lantern's curse echo.
There are many storylines in the game, and they all happen at the same time. At first, you assume control of Shogo Okiie, a young employee in an office who goes out late one night to see his buddy who is obsessed with occultism. Through the story chart, you may access various more storylines after you've finished Shogo Okiie's story in two distinct ways.
This is a very frequent mechanism in visual novels, particularly in dating sim or otome games. Initially, you may pick from a variety of character pathways, but after a certain amount of endings, you can unlock more sophisticated ones. But I think Paranormasight did a great job of introducing you to the other characters via proxies and forcing you to read Shogo's tale first. This way, you can grasp the plot better and avoid being too entangled in its web.
And my, how knotted that web becomes. Since one story is intricately linked to the others, moving forward often requires pausing one to finish the events of another. By use of this approach, the game encourages you to use information from one narrative to feed a character in another, acknowledging you as an ever-present voyeur looking in from the outside.
If you let a protagonist die, an enigmatic storyteller approaches you for a brief conversation, pointing out your distinct viewpoint and offering you suggestions on where you went wrong. While there are undoubtedly some meta aspects that violate the fourth wall, Square Enix handles them with such finesse that it feels totally satisfying.
Some sections need a certain amount of trial and error since the player must see the protagonist's death from a curse before you can understand its nature. Refusing to turn back could be all it takes to avoid these curses, but as you advance, they grow more difficult to overcome.
I won't give anything away, but there was one specific curse that I was in three separate death loops, refusing to be defeated by it as I laid in bed at three in the morning. Subsequently, I recollected the statements made by the enigmatic narrator and came to the realisation that the game's settings may, in fact, aid in preventing curses. I felt a horrible pleasure as I deceived the curse bearer, rejected their curse, and took possession of their soul's remains.
The writing of Paranormasight is excellent. It's well translated (which is surprisingly uncommon in English visual novel translations), incredibly detailed, chock full of thought-provoking little details, and even has a nice dash of dark humour, particularly in the exchanges between detectives Jun Erio and Tetsuo Tsutsumi.
You find small nuggets of knowledge that provide light on past events as you navigate the intricate web of tales told from many points of view. There is a remarkable level of consideration in how each of the ongoing storylines harmonises and enhances the others. Furthermore, the game's duration is easily similar to that of a whole book since there are so many plot pathways to explore and horrifying endings to encounter.
Even though Paranormasight's characters are mostly static sprites, their designs are very dynamic and expressive. Every character has a variety of facial expressions and stances, and when they speak, their lips and eyes move. Despite being obviously 2D drawings with strong, dry-brush style outlines, they blend in well with their surroundings, and their attire and hairdo are appropriate for the time period.
With a black edge and a clear, strong text, the user interface is simple to see against dark backgrounds. While you're still figuring out who is speaking, the speaker's names are coloured differently, making it easier to identify which character is speaking. Important names, locations, or other noteworthy items mentioned in conversation are printed in blue or yellow.
A pop-up alert notifies you when there is an update to your files. You may opt to see the changed information immediately in the files area or at a later time by going to the 'new' files page. This makes it more likely that you won't overlook any important hints or connections to previously learned material.
With fictitious storylines interwoven with genuine Japanese history, culture, mythology, and locales, Paranormasight's design and story create an incredibly interesting combination. The educational files, which skillfully combine history, mythology, and realism, inspired me to go further into subjects about which I had previously just scratched the surface.
It's been fascinating to learn more about how Western occultism and mysticism began to meld with Eastern concepts of the supernatural in the 20th century, as someone who wrote papers on the transatlantic impact of spiritualism and the occult on late 19th-century American and English literature. It's also quite impressive how educational this game is, all the while remaining entertaining and purely original.
To emphasise this even further, every in-game area consists of a 360-degree panoramic picture dome that was created from images of the actual locales from the early 1980s. This is a really intriguing art design that heightens the claustrophobia of each place as you stand still in the centre of a whirling firmament, while also contributing to the realistic grounding of these strange and otherworldly narratives.
Even just a little grunt or sigh would have made my day if there had been authentic Japanese voice acting. Though many visual novels these days sell for almost triple-A prices, I feel far from cheated by its absence for such a low price. In fact, the silence that is only broken by distant ticking or blustering winds ultimately heightens the eerie atmosphere and amplifies the impact of the well-timed musical overtures. In addition, the game's music is excellent and perfectly complements the game's themes and setting.
In my opinion, Paranormasight is an excellent illustration of how to create an interesting visual novel, and it can easily compete with some of the greatest games in Spike Chunsoft's library. It's a very eerie experience that deftly draws you into its universe, making it impossible to take your eyes off of it. I beg you to give this one a go if you like anything related to urban legends, the paranormal aspect of Japanese culture, or the secrets of the occult. I guarantee you won't be disappointed. If you enjoy Danganronpa or AI: The Somnium Files.
Check out our guides to the topvisual novel games andotome games for more suspenseful plots and moving tales. Alternately, check out our list of the top mystery games if you can't wait to get your teeth into a brand-new mystery.