Yomawari: The Long Night Collection Switch NSP Free Download Romslab

Yomawari: The Long Night Collection Switch NSP Free Download The good news is that Yomawari is the perfect Halloween game. And in The Long Night Collection, you get perfection twice over. I’ve already reviewed both games in the past, when they were released as PlayStation Vita and PlayStation 4 titles. The Collection on Nintendo Switch is only a port of these two titles, but even as “just” that, this is incredibly good value, because these two little horror games are genuinely intelligent, worthwhile experiences. In both titles, you play as a child on the hunt in their local area for something lost to them. The context changes slightly across both games, but the themes really don’t; this series’ horror comes from imposing the supernatural over the mundane. ROMSLAB.COM BEST SWITCH GAMES

Yomawari The Long Night Collection Switch NSP Free Download Romslab

It gives players a gauntlet of horrific spirits to avoid, while wandering around a suburbia that would, during the day, be perfectly benign. One of the most memorable things that I found about Yomawari is how so many of the spirits and monsters don’t really have a sense of malice about them. They lazily chase the protagonist, and are most certainly not good for them if they actually catch up, but for the most part, the sense that you get as you wander around the suburbs is simply that you’re the one out of place here. Certainly, you’re not being hunted, as such. You’re just a bonus for the monsters if you just happen to be around. Night is the time for the spirits, and if a living human gets caught up in their evening movements and play, so much is the worse for them.

Mechanically, it means that in both Yomawari stories

The experience never feels hostile. One of the issues that I have with far too many horror games is the violent anger that comes across, as though there’s something slightly misanthropic about the entire project. Zombies are ferocious, monsters are evil for the sake of being evil. Everything poses an extreme threat, and the protagonist is usually quite willing to grit their teeth, shout into the wind, and get violent themselves. But in Yomawari there’s a more pervasive sense of sadness and melancholia, coupled with an overwhelming sensation of guilt. That guilt comes because of certain shocking scenes that I’m not going to spoil here, but there’s such a lethargy to movement and the action in Yomawari that the game feels weighed down, rather than angry. Curse of the Dead Gods Switch NSP

Yomawari The Long Night Collection Switch NSP Free Download Romslab

In addition, your characters have almost no capacity to fight back. They can run (to an extent, and slowly), and they can hide if they find a bush to hide in, or a sign to hide behind. But that’s all the tools they have at their disposal to survive the night. In addition to reinforcing the extreme vulnerability that your characters feel – both emotionally and physically – the lack of combat also reinforces the very Japanese aesthetic of Yomawari. To the Japanese, ghost stories and haunted houses are a long-running, hundreds (if not thousands) of years-long tradition. See, Japan gets very, very hot and humid in summer, and so the belief goes, a good horror story or haunted house sends chills down the spine, helping to take the edge of the heat.

Don’t be deceived by the the cute appearance.

Survival horror has always relied heavily on restricting player options, whether it be a limited supply of ammo, a finite amount of saves, or a more recent trend, completely removing the ability to dispose of threats. Yomawari follows in the footsteps of games such as Outlast and Amnesia, eliminating combat, but instead of being set in a environment that has a gritty look and feel, it’s cute and welcoming. But don’t be fooled by it’s charming appearance, because behind it lays a dark and twisted world filled with plenty of eerie elements that’ll be sure to send a shiver down your spine. Yomawari: The Long Night Collection bundles both the first title, Night Alone and the follow up, Midnight Shadows into one package. Upon diving in you’ll quickly notice they both feel very similar to one another. Cyber Hook Switch NSP

Yomawari The Long Night Collection Switch NSP Free Download Romslab

In each you take control a little girl searching a quiet town late at night in hopes of finding a missing person. In Night Alone you are searching for your sister and in Midnight Shadows you’re on a quest to find your missing friend of who you were seperated from earlier that night. The feeling of solitude is captured especially well as you wander the empty and dark streets. Things immediately prove to be more dire than they seem as ghosts, spirits, and abominations haunt you at every turn. A single touch from any of these will result in a blood splattered screen, but luckily there are ways to best these foes despite not being able to physically attack them. Equipped with just a flashlight, exploring the town and finding clues to the whereabouts of your loved one is the main goal.

As you approach a hostile force, your heartbeat will start to pound,

Acting as a sign to be wary and as you get even closer it’ll become louder and more apparent. Hiding in bushes and behind signs to dodge enemies is commonplace, but you can also distract them with objects found around town. Tossing a rock or a paper airplane can shift their focus just long enough to sneak by. There are plenty of different enemies and learning how to deal with them is important. Some require you to tippytoe, some are attracted to your flashlight, and then there are ones that beeline it right for you to name a few. There were instances of enemy placement becoming frustrating as they blocked the path to a key item, especially when it resulted in a somewhat lengthy trek back only to die again. Cyber Shadow Switch NSP

Yomawari The Long Night Collection Switch NSP Free Download Romslab

Fortunately Jizo Statues are placed around town that allow you to quick save, which is usually enough to elevate that problem, but some longer runs back still crop up from time to time. A nice touch is that they also double as a way to quick travel around the decently large maps. Midnight Shadows reuses a lot of the same ideas found in Night Alone, but turns the dial up while adding a few new wrinkles. Playing through the second game I found there to be way more enemies clumped together especially when moving from outside to inside buildings. These areas would require a combination of stealth movement and timely item tosses to overcome and while at times frustrating, ultimately felt rewarding to overcome.

Add-ons (DLC): Yomawari: The Long Night Collection Switch NSP