Poor old Supernatural Vision: Honjo’s Seven Mysteries. One of the best games of 2023 – for what it’s worth, it’s in my personal top 10 and has almost 2,000 overwhelmingly positive reviews on Steam (if you don’t want to take my word for it) – ever Won’t be seen – when given serious recognition at the end of the year. That’s because Paranormasight is so rare in the industry right now that it’s basically a mystery: a visual novel developed in-house by AAA and distributed globally. Some people like it, but most still don’t quite know what to make of it.
Even at the best of times, visual novels are a bit niche, especially among Western gamers who have been a bit slow to appreciate the joys of a slower-paced genre that has been popular in Japan for decades. . However, if you’ll pardon the pun, appreciation for them is growing, as the majority of new VNs currently are indie or AA titles, primarily distributed via Steam and Itch.io.
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But aside from the occasional snap up of publishing rights to a promising indie game, and with only the rarest of exceptions — and to be honest, Capcom’s Ace Attorney series is almost all I’m thinking of here — the rule is that AAA publishers won’t do that right now Visual novels are popular, at least internationally. When they do, in most cases a remake or sequel can be made within an existing IP. That’s why Paranormasight: Honjo’s Seven Mysteries is an odd little addition to this year’s extensive catalog of truly great games.
Paranormasight, an original horror visual novel developed and published by Square Enix, was quietly announced at this year’s Nintendo Direct in February, leading many of us to briefly believe that it, like many similar games, would be exclusive to Japan. roll out. This wasn’t a completely unreasonable mistake, as its announcement was removed from the international version of the livestream and was only shown in Japanese.
It’s unclear why Nintendo left Paranormasight’s trailer off most viewers’ lists – perhaps it speaks to a belief that visual novels aren’t newsworthy outside of Japan, even if the team behind the title does have the skills to Resources released simultaneously globally. Regardless, despite some initial confusion, when the game launched a month later, it was already available to players worldwide on Steam, Switch, iOS, and Android.
Despite being a AAA title, Paranomasight: Honjo’s Seven Mysteries is a relatively simple visual novel from a production perspective. Even VNs made with more limited budgets than the most frugal Square Enix projects often incorporate elements from other game genres at key points in their narratives: from Danganronpa’s rhythm-action mini-games to Evermore’s The mecha combat section of “Extreme Meatpunk” (selected examples from both ends of the AA independent scale).
But Paranormasight takes a more traditional approach. Aside from its light point-and-click elements and some fourth-wall-breaking puzzles that require you to remember that you’re playing a video game in order to solve them (I won’t say more now for fear of spoiling some of the best section), most of your time will be spent reading the dialogue and thinking about how to apply the knowledge you gained in other interactions. There are few choices on the surface, and it can take a while to understand how the way you interact with the game affects what you see next.
Of course, this surface cleverly hides something pretty complex and creepy. Players familiar with visual novels will feel right at home in the first few hours, but once you get out of the prologue, the strange feeling intensifies. The fact that Paranormasight almost constantly builds up the tension without resorting to any genre-breaking tricks is one of its many strengths as both a visual novel and a horror game.
Considering its status as a strong horror visual novel that’s not shy about dishing out the odd jump scare, I’m surprised Paranormasight has had such little reception in streaming. As a fan of Internet comedy shows, I can’t actually think of a single content creator I’ve followed this year who has been exposed to Paranormasight. The only answer I can think of is that even in its weirder moments, it’s not as compelling as Doki Doki Literary Club. While Paranormasight’s plot twists are well executed, it’s not about subverting your most basic expectations: it sets itself up as a horror visual novel, and that’s exactly what it is. It’s a very good piece of work that touches on all the sinister and sensitive themes you’d expect from the genre, but I think it’s all a little too subtle to become a meme.
However, as a visual novel, “Paranormasight” has one unconventional aspect, that is, it tells the story very concisely, and the complete game time is only 12 hours. By comparison, classics of the genre are often at least twice this length, many of them running into dozens of hours. That’s great if you’re already invested in the concept, but if you’re new to a series – or even the VN genre as a whole – it’s pretty daunting.
Perhaps it was this appealing simplicity that prompted Square Enix to take a punt on this odd horse in their stable and take it global upon release, rather than the traditional wait of a year or two, see See if there is any interest in localization outside of Japan. They also hedged a bit on the prospect of a sequel, hiding the mildest hints at a potential follow-up in Easter eggs that most players will miss by the end of the game, but making sure it’s completely enjoyable as a stand-in – First and foremost the experience alone.
Despite its creepy setting, Paranormasight is well designed and its experience is tight and self-contained in a way that won’t scare off potential fans, even if they haven’t played a similar game before. It tells an original story that even the most genre-savvy players will enjoy, but never over-promises what a traditional visual novel can offer.
At the cost of never really pursuing big money or glory, Paranormasight has quietly laid a solid foundation that could help AAA visual novels become less of a unicorn in the near future – so if there’s a moment for you If you are curious about this type of thing, now is the time.
