top of page

Posted 10/23/2018

Review Copy provided by NIS America.

Yomawari: Midnight Shadows

Story
​

Midnight Shadows starts with an interesting parallel to Night Alone through the tutorial section.

 

We are introduced to the first of our two playable characters, Yui, an elementary school girl.

 

Things have not been going well for Yui, as one of her dogs has just died.

 

After burying her dog atop a mountain, Yui makes a slow walk past a small shrine...then commits suicide.

 

After a black screen transition, we're now introduced to Haru, Yui's best friend, who goes with Yui to a fireworks show happening in town. 

They go up the mountain, the same one where Yui committed suicide in the previous scene, and watch the fireworks together.

 

We learn that Haru is moving away, which saddens Yui greatly.

 

After the fireworks show is over, Yui and Haru start their journey back down the mountain.

 

Along the way, Haru starts to hear voices, and both of the girls begin to see spirits.

 

Yui asks Haru to stay behind as she goes ahead to make sure everything is okay, and after doing so, Yui is abducted by an evil spirit.

Haru, being separated from Yui but not knowing what happened, continues to head home alone and leaves a note at Yui's house to let her know she's safe.

 

After some time has passed, Haru sees the note still waiting for Yui where she left it, and Chaco, Yui's dog, beckons Haru to follow him.

 

Wanting to find Yui, Haru follows Chaco into the dark night.

Gameplay
​

Midnight Shadows does what Night Alone did, but in a much better way.

 

Movment is still controlled by the left joystick, and the same tiptoe and run mechanic have returned.

 

The flashlight is still used to reveal enemies and is still limited to simple directions, but now you are able to turn the flashlight on and off.

 

This new mechanic is useful when handling spirit encounters, of which there are many.

 

Spirits are back with a whole new coat of paint.

You have some similar ideas done in a slightly new way, but you also have spirits that will teleport around while striking at you, multiply and divide to overwhelm you, and even some that simply act as a jump scare.

 

Items are still displayed as small lights that twinkle when lit up, but now different icons will be displayed above Haru's head, when she gets close to it, depending on what the item might be.

 

There are also new actions involved, such as carrying a small object around or pushing a large object blocking your path, though these interactions are few and far between.

 

Jizo statues are back again, though now they may change to phones to call home depending on your suroundings, and coins are still abundant which means you do not have to worry when it comes to saving.

 

The biggest change here is that all of these mechanics are featured in Haru's gameplay.

 

This is the most interesting part about Midnight Shadows.

 

The gameplay is split up into two sections.

In Haru's sections you will spend your time following Chaco in search of Yui while collecting items and solving puzzles.

 

But, Yui's sections on the otherhand are often scripted, and frequently strip you of all of your regular abilities to really convey the true horror a child might feel while exploring a town in the dark.

 

These two styles of gameplay are swapped from chapter to chapter, and this is a welcomed change, as the monotonous gameplay from Night Alone, now featured as Haru's sections, would start to drain on you.

 

All of these changes are excellent, and it is very obvious that Midnight Shadows has concepts that may not have been achievable in the first game, making Midnight Shadows my personal favorite of the two.

Audio & Visuals
​

The artstyle in Midnight Shadows is a drastically enhanced version of Night Alone.

 

The game now features a graphics engine that lets NIS use foreground and background art to convey depth.

 

Characters and spirits have a much more polished look, and bigger spirits often feature different dynamic visual effects.

 

The audio also features a large upgrade, letting the developers make use of real life sound effects like a woman screaming or a child crying.

 

These things combine to offer a much more specific horror experience.

Final Thoughts
​

Yomawari: Midnight Shadows is overall the better game.

 

I personally would be okay with paying the full price of this collection for Midnight Shadows, though playing Night Alone does make for some interesting references and parallels.

Return to Long Night Collection
Read Night Alone

Copyright Disclaimer Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for "fair use" for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing. Non-profit, educational or personal use tips the balance in favor of fair use.

 

All clips, videos, images, and logos belong to their respective owners.

bottom of page