This 1-Bit Love Letter to Junji Ito and H.P. Lovecraft Is My New Drug

Step right up, you bloodthirsty lot, and satiate your Halloween needs! Want buckets of grotesque writhing body horror? We’ve got you covered. Got a thing for dread-inducing cosmic sci-fi? More than you can handle!

What’s that? You want all of that, but filtered through a 90s raster graphics editor? Buddy, you’re in the right place, but beware—your request comes with a price.

Panstasz, the one-man Polish game dev has just released his hit game, “World of Horror” on Nintendo Switch, and I’m losing my mind. Although this creepy 1-bit roguelite came out in Early Access years ago, I stubbornly refused to settle for its Steam release and now, like a total noob who’s just been exposed to a mind-altering substance, I’m addicted to a problematic degree. I was already sold on the beautiful retro vibe and Japanese setting, but the way this game keeps me on the hook with its plethora of putrid possibilities is otherworldly.

Something Weird In The Neighborhood

As a high school student/amateur detective in the fictitious coastal town of Shiokawa, your mission is to investigate grisly and pleasant-sounding events like “Curious Case Of A Contagious Coma”, or the “Macabre Memoir Of Morbid Mermaids.” They sound like silly Hardy Boys novels, but these missions are anything but.

Using point-and-click controls, you navigate Shiokawa in search of clues to further the story, but, if played on the Easy or Medium settings, the game sort of nudges you in the right direction by suggesting the locations you should go next. As a greenhorn, I chose the light-hearted “Spine-Chilling Story Of School Scissors” off the bat, which involved navigating a haunted school in search of a spell to rid it of a creature based off of kuchisake-onna, a classic Japanese yokai, who’s slicing up students. It’s awful stuff, to be sure, but instead of feeling revulsion, it only drew me in deeper.

Like I’ve said before, I’m not a massive fan of super spooky games, but for some reason, Panstasz’s masterful use of MS paint-designed graphics and text-led story reeled me in more than any horror game I’ve played. I credit that directly to Paweł Koźmiński, the brains behind Panstasz (translates to “Mr. Stasz” in Polish), as he has lovingly and painstakingly created what may be the greatest combination of horror elements in history.

Check out the below clip for an example:

God knows why Junji Ito’s Uzumaki is sitting in clear view on my bookshelf, but it is, as if I’m hoping a guest will spot it, giving me a chance to gush. Maybe it’s for the best that it stays closed, otherwise I’d have to again face those hellish images. During my first World of Horror run-through, I started spotting Ito’s fingerprints left and right.

A Page Out Of The Old Book

For one, the setting of Shiokawa is eerily familiar to Uzumaki’s seaside village of Kurouzu-cho, complete with a high-school protagonist and a looming lighthouse in the distance. In other instances, mutilated baddies manifest Ito’s tell-tale body horror, mostly from Uzumaki and Tomie’s vignettes.

But, at the end of the day, these stomach-churning goons are just small potatoes in a far more sinister scheme.

Ito’s influence can be seen in everyday encounters, but on a macro level, it’s the H.P. Lovecraft show. We’ve seen an attempt at adapting this cosmic master’s content before to laughable levels, but no one’s laughing now. Shiokawa has been chosen as the unfortunate rendezvous point for all manner of eldritch gods, with a new entity chosen at random during each session. It’s a genius addition, as the town is blanketed in a figurative sense of doom, and also a literal one. If your “Doom Counter” reaches 100% then it’s game over, which also occurs when you lose your limited amount of stamina, or your precious reason.

Yeah, I can’t tell you how many times I’ve died so far, but according to the Endings Encyclopedia, I’ve only experienced 3 of its grim conclusions. Moreover, when checking my Events Codex and Enemy Bestiary, I haven’t even scratched the game’s surface, which is what keeps me coming back for more of that sweet pixilated gore.

Koźmiński hasn’t just crafted a horror-adventure game or cherrypicked the best parts of two reputable horror gods, but has designed a game that rewards those curious enough to unpack all its secrets, no matter how often you lose your stamina or reason.

I tell ya, these Polish indie horror games are doing things right, but in the case of WoH, it’s as if there’s something diabolical in its programming. It’s seriously all I think about. I played it on the plane next to a scowling parent just days ago, struggled through “Alarming Account Of Abnormal Arms” while in the bathroom, and now I can’t wait to finish writing this article to immerse myself in the very game I’m writing about.

Can you believe that I even created a thread on the game’s community page about a potential bug? I don’t know who I am anymore! World of Horror demands much, but I await the promised reward. You must join us, reader. Join us.